Van Dyke Brown
to 100 ml of distilled or de-ionized
water add:(even a small amount of chloride in normal tap water can foul results)
9 grams of ferric ammonium citrate
(green scales is more sensitive than the brown lumps)
1.5 grams of tartaric acid
3.75 grams of silver nitrate
Keep in dark as this mix is
light sensitive.
Agar Size:
to 100 ml of distilled or de-ionized
water add 2 grams of agar (also called agar-agar)(make sure you get the off
white stuff, not the colored)
Bring the mixture to a boil
to dissolve the agar.
Pour the mixture into a clean
Pyrex baking dish big enough to fit your paper. Float your paper on the surface
of the agar mix. Remove from the agar and drain off excess, then rotate the
paper 180 degrees and hang to dry.
The agar sizing will improve
the clarity and depth of the Van Dyke print immensely.
Coat sized paper with the Van
Dyke Brown mix and dry under a red or yellow bug light with a hair dryer. Contact
print your negative in direct sunlight for 2-5 minutes.
Rinse print in distilled water
and fix in 10% sodium or ammonium thiosulfate. Now you can do the final wash
in normal tap water, including using hypoclear, etc. Print will be darker upon
drying. |