Re: New Cyanotype - my first unsuccessful attempt

Hi again,

----- Original Message -----
From: "Scott Wainer" <swphoto@verizon.net>
To: <alt-photo-process-l@sask.usask.ca>
Sent: Thursday, August 19, 2004 4:22 AM
Subject: Re: New Cyanotype - my first unsuccessful attempt

> Hi Loris -
>
> I am glad Dr. Ware's trick worked for you. I almost gave up on the formula
> because every paper I tried it with turned blue within 15 minutes after
> coating. Then I contacted him and he told me about the citric acid trick
and
> everything worked great.

Do you or anybody else know what is the life of solution (or coated paper)
when one adds citric acid in it? My practice is to add 2 drops per ml of
sensitizer (1ml = 24 drops, 2 drops ~= 0.08ml) BTW.

> As for the slight staining I have also run into that and a 2-5% citric
acid
> bath will clear it completely. There was some question as to whether
citric
> acid will cause the print to fade sooner (as mentioned in the James book).
> To that end, I have noticed that a number of prints which were given a
> citric acid bath were noticably lighter after being displayed in a gallery
> for a month.

Oops! Then I definitely won't clear in citric acid - I sell prints sometimes
and I absolutely don't want them to fade in normal display conditions. What
can you say about citric acid addition into the sensitizer? Can this affect
the longevity of the print in the same way?

> I currently use a 1/2% nitric acid bath since I have several
> liters of the acid at hand and I haven't noticed the same fading with
these
> prints.

Ok, then nitric acid is the way... Well, that's nasty! I have dealt with
concentrated sulfuric acid but not nitric - I guess it's nastier than
sulfuric (more toxic fumes? My concentrated sulfuric didn't fume much, if
not at all)...

> The test print you posted look beautiful. I absolutely adore the depth of
> blue that you achieved and the process is especially suited to the subject

Thanks.

Regards,
Loris.
Received on Thu Aug 19 05:55:10 2004