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What went wrong?

My finished cyanotype is fading or turning yellow

Alternative processes

What you're seeing

A cyanotype that looked fine loses its blue after display in bright light, or goes pale or yellowish where it touches a mount, or after washing a fabric print.

Check this first

Check this first

Put the print away in the dark, open to the air (not sealed in a polyester sleeve), for a few days. If the blue comes back, it was light fading.

Likely causes, most common first

  1. 01

    Light fading

    Common
    How to tell
    Fading after display in daylight or bright light, and the blue returns after a few days in the dark. Mike Ware measured at least 95% regain within a day and full regain within about five days.
    Test it
    The dark-storage test above.
    The fix
    Display at low light levels (Mike Ware: 50 to 200 lux should cause no measurable fading) and let the print breathe: polyester sleeves keep out the air it needs to recover.

    Sources Mike Ware, Siderotype Workshop Notes: Simple Cyanotype; Mike Ware, A Blueprint for Conserving Cyanotypes; AlternativePhotography.com (Malin Fabbri), Cyanotype

  2. 02

    Alkali from a buffered mount, wrapping or adhesive

    Common
    How to tell
    Loss where the print touches its mount or backing, and dark storage does not bring it back. Mike Ware: Prussian blue is destroyed by alkali, so avoid buffered mounts and wrappings.
    Test it
    Check whether the mount or tissue is alkaline-buffered, and compare an area that touched it with an area that did not.
    The fix
    Use unbuffered mounts and wrappings and put no adhesive on the back of the print.

    Sources Mike Ware, A Blueprint for Conserving Cyanotypes; Mike Ware, Siderotype Workshop Notes: Simple Cyanotype

  3. 03

    Laundering fabric with phosphates, bleach or sodium

    Common
    How to tell
    Fabric prints turn bleached yellow, sometimes after a single wash. Malin Fabbri found any washing shortens a cyanotype's life.
    Test it
    Test-wash a small offcut printed at the same time before washing the whole piece.
    The fix
    Wash gently, only with a soap whose label shows no phosphates, bleach or sodium, and as rarely as possible.

    Source AlternativePhotography.com (Malin Fabbri), Washing cyanotypes on fabrics or cloth

  4. 04

    Residual sensitiser or acid from a short wash

    Occasional
    How to tell
    Briefly washed prints fade more than well-washed ones from the same batch. In Mike Ware's tests a 4 minute wash faded far more than a 20 minute wash. He also warns citric acid left in the print may make it more prone to light fading.
    Test it
    Wash two halves of a test strip for 4 and 20 minutes, put both in a bright window for a day, and compare.
    The fix
    Wash until no trace of sensitiser remains, without excessive washing.

    Sources Mike Ware, A Blueprint for Conserving Cyanotypes; Mike Ware, The New Cyanotype Process

Avoiding it next time

  • Display cyanotypes in low light and frame with a deep window mat.
  • Use unbuffered mounts and wrappings.
  • Wash fabric prints only with phosphate-free, bleach-free soap.

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