This weekend, E and I did some experiments in cyanotyping. To create the screens, we used a combination of the pen plotter (with STAEDTLER Lumocolor Permanent pens), and printing on laserjet transparencies. The transparencies were made by thresholding photographs, then converting them to negatives (flipping image and reversing colors).

Waverley oak cyanotype

Moon phase cyanotype

In general, I was pretty impressed with the results and the level of detail that came through especially on the pieces made with transparencies.

Cyanotype of two turkeys perched on a bench in front of a park fence

Close-up detail of the turkey cyanotype showing the fabric texture

We exposed using a UV lamp for about 15 minutes which seemed to work well enough. Here are a few process pictures:

UV lamp on a tripod exposing a cyanotype print on the floor, bathed in purple light

Freshly rinsed cyanotype prints drying on a rack over the bathtub

In general, I think there’s a lot more that could be fun to explore here. I’m interested in trying some transparencies without the thresholding, or other ways of creating more greys/midtones. I’d like to try printing on paper and also directly on to something like a t-shirt. This experiment also inspired me to want to try other related processes that rely on UV exposure, like solarplate and also maybe screen printing someday.