Van Dyke/Kallitype process 4 - Development and Processing

After the exposure, remove the negative from the paper and place the paper in a tray. Use running water (temperature isn't too crucial) to develop the image. It will darken on contact with the water. The kit from Photographer's Formulary also contains the chemistry for mixing up some potassium dichromate. It is 5 grams of the dichromate per 50 ml water. This dichromate solution can be added to the developing water at the ratio of about 20 drops per liter to enhance contrast, if needed. However, be careful and vigilant if you use it. Dichromate compounds are quite toxic, so use rubber gloves and handle with care. I am finding with the Arches 90 pound gelatin sized paper that the dichromate is not necessary.

After developing in water for about two minutes, the next step is to fix the print. I have tested, and unfixed prints WILL darken after exposure to strong light. However, due to the very fine grained silver salts produced, a very weak fixing solution is called for. The normal strength print fixer will harm your image. Instead, use a 3-5% fixer solution (30-50 grams sodium thiosulfate per liter of water). Formulary recommends 5 minutes in 5% solution, but others recommend less. I use 5% for 2 minutes. The longer the print is in the fixer, the more danger it will start to fade. Also, it is then more difficult to completely wash the fixer out of the fiber-base paper. When immersed in the fixer, the print will rapidly change color and turn a beautiful sepia brown. This color will further darken as the print dries, so be warned! Tailor your exposures with the thought that they will get darker and darker....

After the fixing, remove the print and rinse in running water for 20 minutes. Afterwards, use a clearing solution such as Hypo-Clear or Perma-Wash to accelerate the removal of the fixer chemicals and save water. I use Perma Wash for three minutes. Finally, wash the print in a print washer for 15-20 minutes.

When completely washed, remove from the water and either hang up to dry or place in a print drying screen. I like to tape the final prints down after they are mostly dry, so that they shrink and dry flat.

That's it! It really is one of the easier alt-photo processes, but it has the potential to give quite fine results. The keys are of course a fine negative with a good contrast range, graceful and smooth coating of a sized paper, and test exposures to find the perfect UV exposure level. I hope that you find these notes useful...

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