I don’t mean crazy pictures created with an acurate prompt, but the recipe for casein print in chiba system.
Searching for the colours
Have you ever heard about Chiba system or Chiba process? You may call it a new approach to old photographic techniques. Nontoxic approach. The whole system is based on FAC (Ferric Amonium Citrate) that you also find in cyanotype formula.
The Idea is incredibly simple. Substitute toxic photosensitizers from alternative photographic processes with FAC and see what you get. Usually you get a picture, not a perfect one of course, but with a perspective of future improvement.
I love cyanotype in every aspect of its blue and toned brownish colours. But nevertheless I’m a green, liliac, yellow, red, pink thirsty. When i heard of Chiba process for the first time, I realised that finally my dream of making gum bichromate may come true.
Original formula includes potassium bichromate, which is extremly toxic. For that reason i was too affraid to make gum prints at home. FAC turned out to be a game changer. I found the formula, i started to make first prints and i got dissapointed. When you work with arabic gum ot gelatine you have to control the temperature all the time. Soon i gave up…
Few weeks ago I looked up the alternative photography group posts. Usualy there are cyanotypes, some collodions. But this time someone posted a casein print. Doesn’t it look like gum bichromate? Yeah. It does. In that case caseine was used instead of arabic gum not a sensitizer. What if I replaced bichromate with FAC? Has anyone done it before?
I checked a few pages. Yes. I found out that you can make caseine prints in Chiba system, but there was no formula availible online.
– Ask AI – my husband spends hours talking and working with AI. For him it was so natural suggestion.
– Ask your AI, it is more clever… – my husband uses more sophisticated tools.
– Don’t be silly 🙂 Do it yourself!
So I asked the question:
”Do you know the formula of caseine print?
Sure. Here you have it:
10 ml of caseine
20 ml of destilled water
0,5 g of pigment
30 ml of FAC 20%.
Bath in H2O2 0,3%
Next day I made a first try. So now I can tell you – It works!
Why caseine?
The final effect of casein print is very similar to gum bichromate. The whole process is based on transparent medium (caseine) mixed with pigments, so you can get any colour you only wish. The main advantage of caseine is that it is not so demanding if it comes to temperatures. Around 20 C gives perfect results.
When Casein prints dried i coated them again with cyanotype. Look what I got! 🙂
Cyanotype on casein print in chiba system
Cyanotype on casein print in chiba system