This Experiment Failed

(End credits, Excel Saga)

Yes, today I have a very sad tale to share in my cyanography experiments.

You remember last time, I shared this:

Well, I have experimented further with inkjet photo paper, and made some very unpleasant discoveries along the way.

The first is the streaking - without using a non-contact application method, I am not going to avoid it. The gel surface is just too fragile. So if I want to persist with this, it will be out with the air-brush. I somehow doubt I am going to find spray-cans of cyanotype sensitiser, after all. 

The second is in washing. Because there is no cellulose for the Prussian Blue to bond with, the washing inevitably destroys the image, meaning that you cannot preserve the image long-term. This also means that you end up including the un-exposed chemicals in the scan, which adds considerable grain and loss of contrast - especially in the high-tones of the inverted image. 

This second issue is essentially insoluble, which is a pity, as it would have made for a very clean medium once the solution application problem was fixed.

The glare! The glare!

There is a third problem, but it is minor, and easily solved. The photo paper I am using has a gloss finish. This makes using the photoscan app a problem, because it cannot completely eliminate the glare from the flash. This last issue I can easily solve by using a matt or satin finish paper. To be honest, I probably will not bother, and I'll just go back to traditional papers, despite the effects of the fibres and surface texture.