Home > Resources > Print Types

Print Types

In our gallery, we display several different types of prints. Some are based on historical printing methods - such as Cyanotypes - while others explore areas still undefined. This section provides a few explanations for various types of photographic prints. Covered are silver based prints, digital prints and alternative process prints.

Alternative Process Prints

Albumen
TBD

Carbon
Also known as autotypes, carbon printing was first patented in 1855 by Alphone Poitevin. It was the first practical method of printing an image with a permanent pigment. Carbon tissue is sensitized with potassium bichromate, then exposed to a negative. The hardened gelatin image is transferred twice because only one transfer leaves the image reversed. Commercial carbon paper was once available in many colors. These prints are generally printed on a smooth heavy weight paper, showing a slight relief in the image. They are capable of showing fine detail with a rich tonal range.

Carbro
Carbro printing was a permanent process related to carbon printing. The prints can be found in many colors, but detail is not as sharp as found in a carbon print. A silver print was pressed into contact with a specially treated carbon tissue. The gelatin of the carbon tissue is hardened by contact with the silver. This image is then transferred to another medium. This process was introduced by Thomas Manly in 1905 first as the ozobrome, then with improvements as the carbon process.

Calotype
This photographic printing process was discovered and named by Henry Fox Talbot in 1840. He patented the process in 1841. The paper was hand coated, dried and exposed within a camera. the calotype negative was later waxed and used to make salted paper prints. These are reddish to purplish brown, depending on how they were toned. This process was replaced by the 1850's, but was later revived by the Pictorialists in the 1890's.

Casein Bichromate
Similar to gum bichromate printing, this process uses casein (milk solids dissolved in ammonia) instead of gum arabic. Casein bichromate prints are said to produce a clearer image with stronger colors than gum bichromate prints.

Collodion
TBD

Cyanotype
Also known as a blueprint, this process was first demonstrated by Sir John Herschel in 1840. It is based on the light sensitivity of iron salts and is characterized by it's "prussian blue" color. Cyanotypes can be be toned to black or other colors, but this is rarely done. Traditionally, the light sensitive emulsion is a mixture of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide. It is coated on paper or cloth, exposed and processed by washing in water to remove unexposed emulsion. For many years, the main commercial use of this process was to duplicate engineer's and architect's drawings.

Daguerreotype
TBD

Gum Bichromate
Gum bichromate was popular among Pictorialists in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It was revived in the latter half of the twentieth century by artists looking for a more expressive printing process. Color pigments - often watercolor - are mixed with gum arabic and potassium bichromate. This light sensitive solution is brushed onto paper, dried and then exposed in contact with a negative to an ultra violet light source. Many gum printers prefer using the sun as a light source, others use artificial lighting. The print is made permanent by washing in water to remove unexposed emulsion. The emulsion is very soft at this point and open to direct manipulation by the artist with brushes, jets of water, or other tools. Once dry, the print is as permanent as the pigments and paper used. Prints range from slightly un sharp to very fuzzy, depending on the coating technique, contact with the negative and paper texture. Tonal range is short and limited by the pigment used. Photographers may re-coat the same print with multiple layers and exposures, increasing tonal range depth and color possibilities. Although some photographers have refined the technique considerably to achieve consistency across an edition, most gum prints can be regarded as monoprints.

Kallitype
The Kallitype process was invented by Dr. W. W. J. Nicol around 1889-1891. Dr. Nicol coated paper with a ferric salt and silver nitrate solution, exposed it through a negative, and developed it.  A Kallitype is made by combining  equal parts of a 10% silver nitrate solution and a 20% ferric oxalate solution. A sheet of paper is then coated with this solution and allowed to dry in total darkness.  The sensitized paper is later exposed to an ultra violet light source in contact to a negative. After exposure, it is developed in either sodium acetate, sodium citrate, potassium oxalate or Rochelle salts depending on the desired print color.  Although Kallitype  prints are similar to Vandyke prints - in that both are iron-silver processes - they are distinctly different.  The Kallitype process is fairly complicated but it offers a wide latitude of contrast and image color. Vandyke prints are simpler to produce and require less processing but are more limited in tonal range and color.

Kwik-print
TBD - similar to gum bichromate printing

Oil
TBD - bromoil

Palladium
TBD

Photogravure
TBD

Photolithography
TBD

Photo Serigraph
TBD - silk screen printing

Platinotype
TBD

Salted Paper
TBD

Vandyke Brown
This print is named for its similarity in color to the pigment "Vandyke Brown," used by the Flemish painter Van Dyck. Born in Antwerp in 1599, Antoon Van Dyck was invited to London to be court painter for Charles I in 1632.  He was knighted Sir Anthony Vandyke in 1633, causing the confusion between the two names.   Vandyke prints are made by combining silver nitrate, ferric ammonium citrate and tartic acid to make a solution that keeps for up to two years.  Paper is coated with Vandyke sensitizer, exposed in contact with a negative to an ultra violet light source, and then cleared in water.  Vandyke prints have also been referred to as sepia prints or brown prints.  Both Vandyke and Kallitype prints are similar, in that they are iron-silver processes.  Vandyke prints are simpler to create - requiring less processing - but they do not offer the latitude in contrast and image color available through the Kallitype printing process.

Vectography
TBD - stereo photographs with a special sheet of plastic over them