Field Guide

CYANOTYPE

A guide to sun printing with natural materials, from the first steps to creative explorations. Learn the process, get the best results, and discover new ways to connect with the natural world.

NOTICE → ENGAGE → CREATE

EXPERIMENTING
WITH PROCESS

TIPS &
TROUBLESHOOTING

SAFETY
INFORMATION

WHAT'S IN YOUR KIT

CYANTOTYPE ESSENTIALS

Everything you need to make your first sun prints is inside. You’ll just need to add sunshine, water, and something interesting to print.

Cyanotype Paper
Pre-treated, light-sensitive paper ready for printing. Keep it protected from sunlight until you’re ready to create.

Clear Acrylic Sheet
Holds your objects flat against the paper for crisp, detailed silhouettes while still allowing sunlight to reach your print.

Backing Board
Provides a sturdy, flat surface beneath your paper and makes it easy to carry your arrangement outside without disturbing it.

Binder Clips
Secure the acrylic sheet, cyanotype paper, and backing board together during exposure. Position them along the outer border so they don’t appear in your finished print.

Instruction Card
Your quick-start guide to making a cyanotype, from arranging your objects to rinsing and revealing your finished print.

ADDITIONAL ITEMS YOU WILL NEED

You only need a few things to turn your kit into a finished print.

Sunshine
Cyanotype is activated by UV light. For your first print, choose a day with bright, direct sunlight for faster, more predictable exposure. Cloudy days can work too, but your print will usually need more time.

Water
You’ll need plenty of cool, clean water to rinse and develop your print. We recommend using a utility sink, bathroom sink, outdoor area, or separate basin away from surfaces used for food preparation.

Something to Print
Bring your own leaves, flowers, grasses, feathers, or other flat found objects. Head to the Find & Collect section for ideas and tips on choosing specimens.

HOW IT WORKS

THE SCIENCE BEHIND THE MAGIC

Cyanotype is one of the oldest photographic printing processes. Instead of ink or paint, it uses light-sensitive iron compounds, sunlight, and water to create an image. The paper in your kit has already been coated with a cyanotype solution. When you place an object on the paper and expose it to sunlight, something interesting happens:

Sunlight starts the reaction
Ultraviolet (UV) light reacts with the iron compounds in the coating. The areas exposed to the sun begin a chemical change that will eventually produce cyanotype’s characteristic deep blue.

Your objects block the light
Leaves, flowers, feathers, and other objects act like tiny photographic masks. Wherever they block the UV light, the reaction is reduced or prevented. That’s what creates the pale silhouettes in your finished print.

Water reveals the image
Rinsing washes away the unreacted chemicals while the exposed areas remain behind and begin turning blue.

Air finishes the transformation
As the print dries and reacts with oxygen, the blue continues to deepen. A freshly rinsed print may look surprisingly pale, so give it time before deciding how it turned out.

Why is it blue?

The chemical reaction ultimately creates an iron-based pigment called Prussian blue — the rich, unmistakable color that gives cyanotype its name.

SUNLIGHT → CHEMICAL REACTION → WATER → OXIDATION → BLUE

FIND & COLLECT

LOOK CLOSELY. GATHER THOUGHTFULLY

Part of cyanotype is discovering which shapes, textures, and details in the natural world become interesting when reduced to light and shadow. You don’t need perfect specimens. Start by looking for things that make you curious.

What makes a good sun print?

Flat is your friend. Objects that can sit close against the paper generally create the sharpest, most recognizable prints. Try:

Leaves & ferns: Look for interesting edges, veins, and shapes.
Flowers & petals: Small or relatively flat flowers work best. Thick flower centers may create softer edges.
Grasses & seed heads: Excellent for fine lines and delicate details.
Small stems & branching plants: Look for interesting structure and negative space.
Feathers: Their fine details can produce beautiful silhouettes.
Already fallen finds: Dried leaves, pressed flowers, and other lightweight natural materials are great for experimenting.

Thin or slightly translucent materials can create shades of blue rather than a completely white silhouette, so don’t be afraid to experiment.

Before you pick
Know what you’re touching. If you don’t recognize a plant, identify it before handling or collecting it. Some plants can cause skin irritation or other reactions, and appearance alone isn’t always enough to determine whether a plant is safe to touch. Avoid collecting anything you suspect may be irritating or toxic. When in doubt, leave it where it is and choose another specimen.

Collect with care
Take only what you need, and consider fallen material before picking something living. Be mindful of where you’re collecting and follow the rules of parks, preserves, beaches, and other public lands. Never collect protected or rare species.

And remember: you don’t have to collect everything you notice. Sometimes paying attention is enough.

MAKING YOUR PRINT

FIVE SIMPLE STEPS

Ready to create?Your instruction card walks you through the full process:
Find → Arrange → Expose → Rinse → Dry & Watch

Here, we’ll take a closer look at the little things that can make a big difference in your finished print.

Arrange with intention

Work indoors and away from direct sunlight while you build your composition. Your cyanotype paper begins reacting to UV light as soon as it is exposed.

Place your objects directly onto the blue surface and experiment with their arrangement before securing the acrylic. Think about shape, overlap, negative space, and the areas of blue you want to leave visible.

For the crispest details, good contact matters. Flat objects pressed tightly against the paper will create sharper edges. Objects that lift away from the surface may produce softer, more diffused shapes — which can also be a beautiful effect.

Keep your composition inside the designated print area so your binder clips remain outside the finished image.

The reveal

When exposure is complete, take your print out of direct sunlight before removing the acrylic and specimens.

Rinse thoroughly in cool water in a container or basin that is not used for food preparation. As the unreacted solution washes away, your image will begin to appear. The light areas may become brighter while the exposed areas begin their transformation toward deep Prussian blue.

Keep rinsing until the water runs clear and there is no obvious yellow or green residue remaining on the paper.

Secure before you move
Once you’re happy with your arrangement, place the acrylic sheet over your objects and secure the entire stack to the backing board with the binder clips.

Keep the binder clips secured within the white border space to prevent them from being captured within your print. Before heading outside, gently check that nothing can shift. Even a small movement during exposure can create doubled or blurred edges.

Let the sun do the work
Place your assembled print in direct sunlight, with the acrylic facing the sky. Exposure isn’t an exact science: UV strength changes with the weather, season, time of day, and location. In bright direct sun, full development can occur in as little as 3 minutes while cloudy, indirect conditions may take up to 10 minutes. Watch the paper as much as the clock.

During exposure, the uncovered blue areas will begin to change color, often becoming lighter, muted, or slightly bronze. Don’t worry if the color looks strange. The color you see during exposure is not the final blue.

Starting
exposure

Fully
developed

Give it time
Lay your print flat to dry away from direct sunlight.Your cyanotype isn’t finished when it leaves the water. Oxygen continues to deepen the blue as the print dries and oxidizes.

The final result can look considerably richer after several hours and may continue developing for roughly a day.The magic happens slowly.Resist the urge to judge your print while it’s still wet. Let the process finish.

EXPERIMENTING WITH PROCESS

THINGS TO TRY

Once you understand the basic process, start playing with it. Cyanotype responds to light, time, movement, transparency, and contact, which means small changes can produce dramatically different results. There’s no single “right” outcome.

Try a little movement

Your objects don’t have to stay in place for the entire exposure. Start with several objects on the paper, then remove selected pieces at different points during exposure. Areas exposed for different lengths of time will develop into different shades of blue. This is a great way to create layered botanical compositions with more depth than a simple silhouette.

Tip: Plan which objects you’ll remove first and work quickly so you don’t accidentally shift the rest of your composition.

Play with transparency

Not everything has to completely block the sun. Thin petals, translucent leaves, lace, mesh, tissue, or other semi-transparent materials allow some UV light through. Instead of producing only dark blue and white, they can create soft blue tones, textures, and ghostlike details. Try printing the same specimen both fresh and pressed and compare the results.

Experiment with contact

A perfectly flat specimen pressed firmly beneath the acrylic produces crisp edges. Allow a leaf, stem, or flower to sit slightly above the paper and sunlight can creep underneath it, producing a softer, blurred silhouette.

Try combining sharp and soft elements in the same composition.

Make a double exposure

Expose one arrangement, then move or replace some of your objects and expose the paper again. The overlapping exposures can create unexpected shapes and different values of blue.

Start simple. Two carefully planned layers are much easier to control than several.

Give your blue an instant boost

Normally, a freshly rinsed cyanotype gradually darkens as it reacts with oxygen in the air. If you’d rather see that transformation immediately, you can use 3% household hydrogen peroxide after the print has been thoroughly rinsed. Add a small splash of 3% hydrogen peroxide to a tray of clean water and briefly immerse the print. You’ll see the blue deepen almost instantly. Then rinse again with clean water and allow it to dry.

Hydrogen peroxide doesn’t make an underexposed print properly exposed or create extra detail. It simply speeds up the oxidation that would otherwise happen naturally as your print dries.

Change the shape of the sunlight

Natural objects are only the beginning. Try arranging string, lace, cut-paper shapes, stencils, mesh, handwriting on transparent film, or other flat objects over your paper. You can even create your own photographic negative by printing a high-contrast image onto transparency film.

Record your experiments

Cyanotype rewards curiosity. When you find a result you love, make a quick note of:

What you used • Weather conditions • Exposure time • Time of day • What you changed

You’ll gradually develop your own sense for how cyanotype behaves in your environment.

Try changing one thing at a time
You’ll learn much more from comparing two slightly different prints than from changing five variables at once.

TIPS & TROUBLESHOOTING

EVERY PRINT TEACHES YOU SOMETHING

Cyanotype is sensitive to sunlight, weather, moisture, and the materials you use, so some variation is part of the process. If your print doesn’t look quite how you expected, these are the first things to check.

My print is too pale
Your print may have been underexposed. Try a longer exposure or stronger direct sunlight next time. Remember that a freshly rinsed print will also look lighter than the finished result—allow it to fully dry and oxidize before judging the color.

My print is very dark and I lost detail
You may have exposed it for too long, especially in strong midday sun. Shorten your exposure next time. Thin or translucent specimens can also allow UV light through, so some areas you expected to remain white may turn blue.

The edges of my objects are blurry
This usually means there wasn’t enough contact between the object and the paper, or something moved during exposure. Choose flatter specimens and make sure the acrylic is clipped securely against the paper. A little blur can also be used intentionally for softer effects.

I can see the binder clips in my print
Anything that blocks sunlight can leave a mark. Keep your clips along the outside border of your designated print area.

My print looks yellow, green, or muddy after rinsing
It probably needs more rinsing. Use cool, clean water and continue until the water runs clear and the unexposed coating has washed away.

My objects moved when I carried the print outside
Assemble and clip your print completely before moving it. Hold the press flat while carrying it outside and avoid opening it again once exposure has begun.

My flower or leaf didn’t make a solid white shape
That’s not necessarily a mistake. Some natural materials are translucent and allow UV light to pass through, producing lighter shades of blue and revealing internal details. For a stronger silhouette, try a more opaque or pressed specimen.

One part of my print exposed differently than another
Check for shadows from trees, buildings, clouds, or even the edge of your acrylic setup. Place the print where the entire surface receives even, direct sunlight.

A few tips for better prints

For your first few prints, keep it simple. Use a small number of relatively flat objects, work away from direct sunlight until you’re ready to expose, secure everything firmly, and change only one variable at a time when experimenting.

And save the imperfect ones. A blurred stem, unexpected shadow, or unusual shade of blue can teach you just as much as the print that came out exactly as planned.

SAFETY INFORMATION

SAFE METHODS FOR CYANOTYPE

The cyanotype paper in your kit has been pre-treated, so there are no chemicals to measure or mix. A few simple precautions will help keep your printing experience safe and tidy:

Do not eat, drink, or prepare food while handling or rinsing cyanotype materials.
Use a rinsing area separate from food preparation and clean the area when you’re finished.
Wash your hands after handling the treated paper and after rinsing your prints.
Avoid putting the paper in your mouth or intentionally ingesting any cyanotype materials.
Children should create with adult supervision.
When collecting natural materials, identify unfamiliar plants before touching or picking them. Some plants can irritate skin or be harmful if handled.
Keep unused cyanotype paper dry and protected from light until you’re ready to use it.

If you have particularly sensitive skin, wearing disposable gloves while handling wet, treated paper is a simple additional precaution.

Materials & Safety Information
Florida & Fauna cyanotype papers are prepared using Jacquard Cyanotype Chemistry. For additional product and safety information, visit Jacquard’s resources.