Cyanotypes are one of the most accessible photographic printing processes. With a few compact tools in your backpack, Christiane Casas shares how to create unique blue-toned prints on the go – in just five minutes! Whether you’re at the beach, in a park, or exploring a new city, this method lets you capture the moment in a tactile, artistic way. Here’s how to turn a snapshot into a cyanotype print.
Read the MSDS (Material Safety Data Sheet) before attempting to use chemicals and use the correct safety equipment.
What You’ll Need
This is the set I always carry with me in my backpack!
- Cell phone – to take and send the photo
- Pre-coated cyanotype paper – stored in a lightproof envelope (you can even use old teabags for coating alternatives!)
- Mini thermal printer – mine is an Aurtec mini printer that prints on transparent labels
- Transparent film or rhodoïd (plastic film used for baking) – to hold your image
- A6 exposure frame – thick cardboard + a small plexiglass plate and a few clamps
- Small container of clean water – for rinsing the print
- Sunlight – nature’s UV light source
Step-by-Step Instant Cyanotype
- Take a photo with your phone—capture something that inspires you in the moment.
- Print the photo using your mini thermal printer onto a transparent label.
- Stick the label onto a piece of rhodoïd or any clear film to create your digital negative.
- Assemble your printing sandwich:
Bottom: thick cardboard
Middle: pre-coated cyanotype paper
Top: transparent film with your image
Cover: plexiglass plate, secured with clamps (though… I sometimes skip the clamps )
- Expose to sunlight – exposure time will vary depending on sunlight intensity, but usually just a few minutes.
- Rinse the print in clean water to reveal your cyan-blue image. Watch it develop before your eyes!
A Note on Aesthetics:
The thermal printer creates images using a pattern of black dots, which adds a charming distortion to the final print. I love this slightly imperfect quality—it gives each cyanotype a unique and dreamy character.
Rated 9,46 - based on 182 votes
World Anthotype Day
World Cyanotype Day
Hi Albert, you’re completely right ! The final print is the negative of the image since I don’t make any inversion of the initial print in between.
Thanks for these ideas !!
A question: We do not create a negative, right? There is no way for us to invert the image, so the cyanotype at the end will be the negative of the image. Am I missing something?
Hi Iben, in my tool kit I have some pieces of pre-cut plastic film or rhodoid. They have about the same size than my transparent labels, and they allow me to stick the label on something transparent but not sticky 😉 in order to realize my printing sandwich. Hope it’s more clear for you now 🙂
” 3. Stick the label onto a piece of rhodoïd or any clear film to create your digital negative”.
How do I do it, being in nature?
Please help.
That is an interesting question Ana, but to be honest, I don’t really know if the transparent labels I use are prepared the same than the paper for thermic printers which is coated with bisphenol.
I’m convinced that bad chemistry is everywhere , my goal is to be reasonable as much as I can with my practice (labels are 5 cm length).
Thank you for this very useful step-by-step insturctions! – And I am surprised, that in my drawers I found every item for making cyanotypes on the go. So it is time to create a light container to carry all the items. Maybe I will sew it …
Very cool, but what is your opinion about the toxic chemicals used on the labels of that type of printer?