Cyanotype Fogging

Hoping for some advice on some Cyanotype dove been working on. I’m not new to them but I’ve run into some confusing results.

My paper is turning blue while it is drying. I have been using Jacquard Cyanotype kit. I was originally just getting a slight fog as my papers would dry mainly around the edges. I determined it might be caused by the LED lights in the room I was in. Changed out for a law wattage tungsten bulb. Coating looked good and to make sure they stayed in the dark I covered them with a dark plastic tote. I inspected them this afternoon and found them to be entirely blue as if they had been exposed and washed.

My main question is what external factors could cause Cyanotype coated papers to fog like this?

Well, cyanotypes are supposed to be blue... Are you saying the highlights are blue and not paper white? How old is the kit?

Andrew O'Neill said:

Well, cyanotypes are supposed to be blue... Are you saying the highlights are blue and not paper white? How old is the kit?

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The kit is about 8 months old. They are completely blue with no known UV exposure. I went ahead and washed one to see if it would wash out and yield a white piece of paper buy stayed blue as if it had been exposed.

rcphoto said:

My main question is what external factors could cause Cyanotype coated papers to fog like this?

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Mostly the paper itself. Some papers just make cyanotype fog. Have you printed successfully with the exact same paper before?

rcphoto said:

The kit is about 8 months old. They are completely blue with no known UV exposure. I went ahead and washed one to see if it would wash out and yield a white piece of paper buy stayed blue as if it had been exposed.

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I'm not familiar with the kit, as I have always mixed from scratch (traditional cyanotype). I know that if my FAC gets too old, it will fog the paper... and I'm using Hannemuhle Platinum Rag, as well as Revere Platinum. What paper are you using, and in the past, were you able to get good whites?

Andrew O'Neill said:

I know that if my FAC gets too old, it will fog the paper.

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The same will happen with the potassium ferricyanide btw. If it's a bit dull brown instead of a bright and pure yellow, it's no longer good.

I use the Jacquard kit too and only found it to fog after two years of being open. I'd suggest the paper is the problem too...
Have you tried exposing the paper anyway? That has worked well for me in the past even if it was already blue to begin with.

I agree with @koraks, it is most likely the paper.

What paper are you using?

If it is the paper, it is usually easiest just to try another paper instead of searching for a workaround for a particular paper.

That said, many years (i.e. 15-20 yrs or so) ago I experimented with cyanotype on wood. A number of species of wood reacted immediately with cyanotype sensitizer, giving Prussian Blue, to varying degrees.

I was able to reduce this problem by coating the wood with a light coat of shellac and/or a coat of a clear gesso type material as I was interested in having the wood grain show. Sorry for the lack of specifics, I have no idea where my notes from back then are now and my memory is dim.

Thus, if you need to use a specific but troublesome paper, you might want to experiment with precoating the paper before coating with cyanotype sensitizer.

I have tried exposing the paper and my highlights are just blue.

I've used several types of artists paper available in pads from Hobby Lobby. We don't have many options for paper near me. Although, in my limited past, I never experienced this on any type of paper. I can see some issues caused by paper but these look almost as if they have already been exposed and washed.

I picked up some Arches hot pressed water color on my way home from work and will try coating tonight and see how it goes. I also have some Hahnemuhle platinum rag on order.

rcphoto said:

I have tried exposing the paper and my highlights are just blue.

I've used several types of artists paper available in pads from Hobby Lobby. We don't have many options for paper near me. Although, in my limited past, I never experienced this on any type of paper. I can see some issues caused by paper but these look almost as if they have already been exposed and washed.

I picked up some Arches hot pressed water color on my way home from work and will try coating tonight and see how it goes. I also have some Hahnemuhle platinum rag on order.

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Glad you ordered some Hahnemuhle PR. I was leaning towards a paper issue, hence the question about what paper you use. There are some papers that I like but are alkaline buffered. Not appropriate for Cyanotype or other Alt. processes, like Kallitype. A quick bath in a citric acid bath, or even better, a Sulfamic Acid bath, will fix it.

I had this issue with Ware's New Cyanotype early this year- the coated paper going completely blue before exposure, stored in a light tight drawer. Ellie Young from Gold Street suggested it might be a chemical issue, and to filter it a couple of times - which I did, and the problem largely went away; and did produce very acceptable prints, with strong blues and paper white. Paper was Arches Platine, but from a 20 year old batch.

I agree with everyone above suggesting that it is probably the paper, but here's one more possibility that happened to me a couple years ago. I was coating the paper rather heavily, and it was taped to a piece of cardboard during the coating. The moisture got through the paper and something in the cardboard fogged the paper greenish-blue. Now I tape to a cheap plastic cutting board for coating cyanotype.

rcphoto said:

I have tried exposing the paper and my highlights are just blue.

I've used several types of artists paper available in pads from Hobby Lobby. We don't have many options for paper near me. Although, in my limited past, I never experienced this on any type of paper. I can see some issues caused by paper but these look almost as if they have already been exposed and washed.

I picked up some Arches hot pressed water color on my way home from work and will try coating tonight and see how it goes. I also have some Hahnemuhle platinum rag on order.

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First a confession... I am a paper snob! This snobbishness comes about from many years of alt process printing.

Generally, student or hobby grade papers that are commonly available at the big chains are not suitable for alt process printing. They are often made from inexpensive pulp and can contain all sorts of additives which interfere with alt process chemistry.

Mike Ware has a somewhat dated article describing the characteristics of a good alt process paper, see: https://www.mikeware.co.uk/mikeware/Alternative_Printing.html

For alt process printing stick with higher grades of paper made from alpha-cellulose (a purified form of wood pulp) or cotton rags. How do you know when a paper is made from these pulps? The manufacture will tell you! These materials are the mark of quality papers and the manufactures will want you to know!!!

There is one hitch to worry about with these papers though. That is that many 'art' papers include calcium carbonate to protect them from long term exposure to acids in the environment. This carbonate is incompatible with most alt processes. However it is easy to remove by pre-treating papers with an acid (as others have mentioned).

One can also avoid the "carbonate problem" by (again, as others have mentioned) using a paper designed for alt process printing. Hahn. Platinum Rag, Arches Platine, Legion Revere Platinum and Bergger Cot are the four ''biggies" in this arena.

The Arches watercolor paper you bought is a carbonate buffered paper and thus is not likely to work with standard cyanotype procedures without pre-treatment with acid. However, if you 'develop' your cyanotype using acidic conditions instead of plain water it may work for you. See this post, by yours truly, for some additional information on this topic: https://www.photrio.com/forum/threa...on-of-paper-for-traditional-cyanotype.176816/.

Additionally, you can find much more information about papers for alt process here: https://www.alternativephotography.com/paper-and-artpaper/. Specifically, Chris Anderson's article (https://www.alternativephotography....sic-cyanotype-process-1613-research-for-free/) will be of particular interest.

Regards,

--- Frank

@fgorga Thanks for a ton of good info for me to go through. The Arches watercolor paper did seem to work much better than my other papers with only SLIGHT fogging occurring. After washing thoroughly, I did maintain some highlights. I will definitely be looking into your other recommendations. I wouldn't say I'm a paper snob, but I appreciate high quality papers.

Thanks all for taking the time to help! Much appreciated!