Cyanotype 101

I first really noticed cyanotype not in a reel or a Pinterest rabbit hole, but at the Bombay Zine Fest, 2025. Amid the smell of paper, ink, and mild creative panic, I met an artist named Hari Chakyar, who had made a zine called Man Like Damu entirely through cyanotypes. The pages were a rich, unmistakable blue, holding silhouettes, textures, and images that felt precise yet strangely tender. It wasn’t just a print process anymore, it was a way of thinking through images. I remember wanting to understand how something so restrained could still feel so alive on paper. Shortly after, thanks to the generosity of my professor, Prof. Jai Ranjit, I was given a cyanotype kit, and what followed was less of a technique and more of a slow, blue-stained initiation.

At its core, a cyanotype is a photographic printing process that uses chemistry, light, and patience. The science is surprisingly elegant. A solution of ferric ammonium citrate and potassium ferricyanide is brushed onto paper. When exposed to ultraviolet light, usually the sun, the iron compounds react and form ferric ferrocyanide, better known as Prussian blue! Areas exposed to light turn blue, while areas blocked by objects or negatives remain pale. Washing the print in water halts the reaction, revealing an image that feels both deliberate and accidental.. At this stage, a small amount of hydrogen peroxide can be added to instantly oxidise the print, deepening the blue and making the Prussian colour appear more vivid and resolved. 

Historically, cyanotype dates back to 1842, invented by Sir John Herschel, a scientist who probably did not intend to become beloved by art students two centuries later. Its most famous early use came from Anna Atkins, who used the process to document botanical specimens, creating what is often considered the first photographically illustrated book. Somewhere along the way, utility turned into art, and blue became a language.

Anna Atkins' Cyanotype Book

A Little Goes a Very Long Way

Once you move past the romance, cyanotype quickly teaches you humility. The first thing it demands is restraint. A little solution goes a very long way. What looks like an insultingly small amount will easily coat multiple sheets. Over-brushing does not make the print better, only wetter, streakier, and more emotionally exhausting. Cyanotype rewards light hands and punishes enthusiasm. 

Use the Right Negatives (No, Really)

Next, comes the matter of negatives. Print your inverted images on OHP sheets. Not butter paper, not tracing paper, not “this might work, let’s see.” OHP sheets have the density and clarity needed to block light properly. Cyanotype is generous, but it is not forgiving about shortcuts. If the negative is weak, the print will look like it gave up halfway through.

Commitment Issues Are Never Okay

Pressure matters. Always place weight on top of whatever is covering the paper to be printed. Glass plates, clips, anything that ensures close contact between the paper and the negative or object. Gaps invite light leaks, soft edges, and shapes that look like they are slowly drifting away from themselves. Cyanotype likes commitment. It wants things pressed together, firmly, with intent.

The Sun Will Not Follow Your Schedule

Timing is another lesson learned through failure. Overexpose, and the image loses contrast. Underexpose, and it sulks, pale and unresolved. The sun is a collaborator with (not your) moods, seasons, and the environment. So, test strips are not optional, they are survival tools. The print will not look finished until it is washed, so panic during exposure is unnecessary but inevitable. 

The One Negotiation You Will Never Win (Even as an Indian)

Finally, accept that cyanotype is a process of negotiation. Water, temperature, paper quality, humidity, the angle of the sun, and your own patience all have opinions. Perfection is not the goal, however, consistency is a myth. What cyanotype offers instead is presence, a slowing down, an insistence on paying attention. You wait with the paper. You watch the blue emerge. You learn when to interfere and when to step back

Cyanotype is less about having control and more about relinquishing it. It will stain your hands, your workspace, your sink, and your expectations. But when it works, it leaves behind something that feels earned. A record of sunlight, held still, just long enough to look at.