Learning About Alternative Printing Methods | Canvas Press
by Cody Johnson | Sep 3, 2013 | Art & Decor
Not only are we passionate about printing your photos on canvas, but we love all types of printing methods. Caroline is our amazing customer service and production director. If you have ever called us then good chances are you have had the pleasure of talking with her. What you may not have know about her is that she has a B.A. in Photo Communications from St. Edward’s University here in Austin, TX. It is good to have someone with that type of education dealing with your photos on a daily basis. Caroline wanted to show you a different type of printing. These alternative printing methods are much more old school. These methods are still around, but mostly used by photo artists. Take it away Caroline
In college I took several classes on Alternative Photographic Processes. By using light sensitive chemicals on watercolor paper and contact printing large format negatives, we were able to recreate some historic photographic processes for some really neat results. The rough edges come from painting the chemicals onto the paper. You may find that some digital photographers will add this effect to their work in Photoshop. Now you know where those sloppy borders originally came from.
These are some examples of Albumen prints (the red rust color), Cyanotypes (blue) and Platinum/ Palladium prints.
In studying the history of photography, I was inspired by a collaborative image I came across. The negative was a photo by Oscar Rejlander, a Swedish photographer in the mid 1800s who specialized in portraiture and often worked with theater actors and models. A contemporary of his, Julia Margaret Cameron, printed the image adding a floral border to it in the process.
Using Argyrotypes and Salted Paper Prints, I made a series of images in the same style. I hope that this has given you some inspiration on what you can do with your photos. You can achieve these looks by using Photoshop or even Photoshop elements. If you don’t have either of those programs we can always help you out with a project. If you have a vision we can finish it up for you. Give us a call at 888.784.5553, email us at
support@canvaspress.com, or visit us online at www.canvaspress.com
