A couple times over the last year I have experimented with cyanotype printing. The cyanotype process produces a dark blue color when exposed to UV light, this dark blue is the “blue” refered to by the word blueprint. I have made prints by holding them outside in the sun. To make my printing process easier and more reliable, I would like to have a stable UV source for printing.

In this photograph you can see part of one of my first prints, and the print that hooked me on this process. Tea Leaf

I plan to make a box with 265nm UV leds attached to an aluminum heatsink with a glass plate on the other side. Then I can sandwitch the negative and the sensitized paper against the glass. I’ll start without a timer, but I would like to add a small LCD screen and a timer to enable accurate and care-free exposure.

Current work continuing the tea leaf prints. Tea Leaf