Enlarging cyanotypes from 35mm film negatives

This is a tutorial on a process i have been testing for over a year for enlarging cyanotypes or any other alternative process for that matter from 35mm B&W film negatives.

[@newq]

This is exactly what I needed. I'm seeking an entirely analog workflow on a budget that wouldn't normally be conducive to buying a traditional dark room and the cyanotype + homebrew UV enlarger combo seems to be the best option. It's encouraging to see that someone else tried it successfully. I'm getting tired of being limited to contact prints.

[@matthewbary1]

I am glad you found this useful. I noticed there wasn't allot on the subject so I started experimenting and hoped someone would find it useful

[@jeremy0wright]

in the same mission!! but I think im going a little different route. any results?

[@marcusc4476]

This is fantastic. Just saw some cyanotype prints in an art auction, and looked it up. I've been looking for a way to print my photos for years since darkrooms are quickly disappearing where I'm from. But I specifically would like to print enlarged versions of shots I've already taken. Thanks for the in-depth detail.

[@Ss0oUuLl]

I was trying the same this year and I got mediocre if not terrible results, but my setup was a little less complicated. I didn't bother buying a powerful uv led, I just bought a simple blacklight fluorescent bulb, taped it into my compact enlarger and left sensitized paper for like 4 hours or something. I was awarded with small low contrast print, anyone will need a lot of imagination to guess what was even pictured on it. Congrats on your more than satisfactory results.

[@peter2712]

Thanks, always nice to see how inventive some people can be.

[@evertdeboer]

Super! I have been thinking about some similar process to use my enlarger.. Also great tip regarding contrast: vinegar!! Thanks for the tutorial.

[@analog_cafe]

Brilliant. Thanks so much for this guide. Just a small correction: increasing ISO value on a camera decreases the amount of light that gets onto film (in your case by one stop) which results in less dense negatives (i.e. a lighter negative is a darker picture when developed).

[@1989FFA]

Thank you so much for showing your workflow. I'm learning a lot with your videos!

[@matthewbary1]

Thank you. I'm glad my videos are helpful 😁

[@AnaLaura-uh5yx]

This is amazing. Thank you so much!

[@teresashinkansen9402]

I been having great results using a 0.3% wash solution of HNO3 is not stinky is cheaper than vinegar and not dangerous, you can always neutralize it with a bit of baking soda if you wanna be very safe before dumping it on the sink (to avoid corrosion of your pipes) but I do get some pretty nice darker colors if I use some H2O2 afterwards. Also to increase sensitivity and tonal range (but less contrast) just apply the Ferric ammonium citrate solution on the paper with no ferricyanide, then develop in a 5% ferricyanide solution, I discovered this while trying to make prints from an LCD screen, the exposure time was about 24h with the brightness of the screen to the max. I want to get a cheap screen and convert it to UV LEDs. Ferric ammonium oxalate works much better, is far more sensitive but has the disadvantage of staining the paper if it is buffered (can't find unbuffered paper at reasonable prices were I live).

[@leandrorabino1203]

Excellent!!! Thanks for sharing

[@BriefSaga]

Amazing! Wizard lab🥂✨

[@Stop4MotionMakr]

Oh the highlighter paper idea for focusing is pure genius.

[@abesalamanca]

Thank you for this videos! I am starting to print cyanotypes and was wondering how large of a format I can print. What is the largest or biggest format you can print with that enlarger?

[@dylangergutierrez]

He says an 8x10 would take 2-4 hours. By the inverse square law, an 11x14 should take about twice as long (4-8 hours) and a 16x20 should take 4x as long as an 8x10 (8-16 hours). Not sure you'd want to go much larger than 16x20 if this holds, since unexposed cyanotype starts to degrade after a day or so from what I hear.

[@willmcguire5099]

Thanks for sharing, much appreciated. I have no desire to keep printing inkjet transparencies. I would like to know why the exposure time changes with size of print. Not really following that. Thanks!

[@matthewbary1]

it has to do with the amount of light hitting the surface area of the print. For example if it was 2 feet away to make a 8x10 print and it took 2 hours then at 4 feet away making a 16x20 print would take 4 hours because it is receiving half as much light over the given area.

[@andreae5030]

super great! do you think it will work with an uv pocket lamp with 380nm instead of the normal light?

[@matthewbary1]

It is possible yes just have to play with the distance of the light source to the condenser lens assembly and if it is lower than 10 watts of power it will take longer to expose

[@antoniodurso3353]

Thanks for sharing your project. Can I ask you why you use the green filter? What kind of lens did you use? Can that lens pass UV? Aren't there any problems with the different frequency of UVs compared to normal light?

[@matthewbary1]

The light hitting the target screen just looks green because of the highlighter I used. The lens is a 5 inch f3.5 projector lens and the projector lenses do not have any type of UV coating on them so they should all work. The different UV lights I tested all work but 380 nm worked the best per watt of output. www.amazon.com/dp/B01DBZHUH6/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_J7529YDQTV87R2J2JBK4?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

[@octi1978]

@@matthewbary1 have you also tried 365nm led?

[@matthewbary1]

@@octi1978 yes and it was less effective. May have to do with the manufacturer of the led I don't know for sure but 380 was the best for some reason

[@The_LaughingHyena]

I’ve heard there is a cyanotype process that has faster exposure times. What ya do is coat the paper with just ferric oxalate. Expose it and you develop it in the potassium ferricyanide. I haven’t had a chance to play with this too much as I got busy. Though it worked with Kallitypes quite well. Thanks for sharing bud!

[@matthewbary1]

I have tried it and it works you just have to be very precise in the making of the solution. I had to much crystals in the solution and it messed it up. But it is way faster www.alternativephotography.com/new-cyanotype-process/

[@friedasorber1653]

Thank you so much for sharing your resaerch. I am working with the archive of a lace business and found some reverse cyanotypes, the lace blue on a white background. They are certainly pre wwII. So your analog method gives me a solution for how they could have been done. Would exposure time have been less for a subject like lace with no different tonal values?

[@matthewbary1]

Do you mean lace directly on the paper or a picture of lace?

[@friedasorber1653]

Moat cyanotypes were of lace directly on paper. But now I found some were the lace is blue on a white background, so I assume they were made using a photographic negative.

[@matthewbary1]

It could be possible to do this with Ortho Litho film to make large negatives @@friedasorber1653

[@jrfernandez7213]

Not too knowledgeable on heatsinks. What should I be looking for if I plan to use the same 10W led?

[@matthewbary1]

Awxlumv Large Aluminum Heatsink 4.72" x2.71" x 1.41" / 120 x 69 x 36mm Heat Sinks Cooling 27 Fin Radiator for IC Module, PC Computer, Led, PCB www.amazon.com/dp/B07TJY3GKP/ref=cm_sw_r_apan_glt_fabc_M6FDNHPAW3QVBJQSZW3M This or anything similar will work

[@Lornado]

Can you add colour to cyanotypes?

[@matthewbary1]

It is possible but very tedious and as far as I am aware nobody has done it with film negatives. Read the book cyanotype toning by Annette Golaz on how to tri color cyanotypes

[@michaelreynolds6288]

What kind of slide projector is that? I'd like to try to make one. You mentioned it isn't one with the carousels (which I do have one available), but wikipedia lists a bunch of different types. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slide_projector Is there anything comparable on ebay?

[@matthewbary1]

The easiest and least expensive to convert is a Minolta mini-35 and you can get them on eBay. My favorite converted projector is the Minolta mini the one in the video is a bell and Howell side load projector

[@michaelreynolds6288]

@@matthewbary1 I just bought one of those, I think it'll work best with the LED and heatsink you're talking about, however a UV flashlight seems easier and plenty bright to me. I also just discovered this which might be even easier. It's the Kodak Ektagraphic Filmstrip Adapter.

[@matthewbary1]

@@michaelreynolds6288 very cool

[@monserratmiranda4481]

@@michaelreynolds6288 did you ever use the Kodak Ektagraphic Filmstrip adapter for the cyanotype & if you did, did it work???

[@dalehammond1749]

This is the only way to do cyanotype. It's a shame nobody commercially makes these.

[@melody3741]

“Dots on transparent plastic” Well, technically……….

[@jmoyetlife]

I've done this before. Took me 4 hours. Too slow for my liking.