By Julian Huang ‘23

Materials

• Fine art paper

• Table salt

• Regular Water

• Distilled water

• Silver nitrate

• Citric acid

• Sodium-thiosulfate fixer

• Negatives (digital or film would work)

• Picture frame

Process

1. Mix a 2% salt solution in a big rectangular container using regular water and table salt. （ie 100g of salt in 5l of water)

2. Once the salt is dissolved, place the fine art paper into the solution for 30 minutes until fully saturated.

3. In the meantime print a digital negative if using one. If using just film negatives ignore this step.

4. Lay the paper flat on the ground to fully dry overnight

5. In the meantime create a solution with 10g of silver nitrate and 42 ml of distilled water and a solution with 5g of citric acid and 42 ml of distilled water. Transfer both solutions into the same container and mix well.

6. In a dark room paint the solution onto the salted paper and wait for the solution to dry completely.

7. Place the dried paper and the negative on top into a picture frame.

8. Take the picture frame with the paper out into the sun.

9. Let the paper sit in sunlight until a clear image appears (usually around 3-4 minutes).

10. Fix the image in the sodium-thiosulfate for 10-15 minutes.

11. Hang the paper to dry.