Salt print
Encyclopedia
The salt print was the dominant paper-based photographic process
for producing positive prints during the period from 1839 through approximately 1860.
The salted paper print was the first type of paper
print used in photography
, and remained the most popular paper print until the introduction of the albumen print
process in the 1850s. The salted paper technique was created by British photographer William Henry Fox Talbot. He called his negative process calotype
printing, while the salt print process was used for making positive prints from the Calotype negatives. They both employ a technique of coating sheets of paper with silver salts, but the Calotype process differs slightly in chemicals used in the sensitization procedure, and uses an extra 'accelerator' step, immediately prior to exposure of the sensitized paper.
Salt prints could be made from both paper and glass negatives
. Paper negatives produced a grainy and slightly mottled image. Glass
negatives produced a sharp, crisp image. Salt prints have white highlights.
Photographic processing
Photographic processing is the chemical means by which photographic film and paper is treated after photographic exposure to produce a negative or positive image...
for producing positive prints during the period from 1839 through approximately 1860.
The salted paper print was the first type of paper
Paper
Paper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
print used in photography
Photography
Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...
, and remained the most popular paper print until the introduction of the albumen print
Albumen print
The albumen print, also called albumen silver print, was invented in 1850 by Louis Désiré Blanquart-Evrard, and was the first commercially exploitable method of producing a photographic print on a paper base from a negative...
process in the 1850s. The salted paper technique was created by British photographer William Henry Fox Talbot. He called his negative process calotype
Calotype
Calotype or talbotype is an early photographic process introduced in 1841 by William Henry Fox Talbot, using paper coated with silver iodide. The term calotype comes from the Greek for 'beautiful', and for 'impression'....
printing, while the salt print process was used for making positive prints from the Calotype negatives. They both employ a technique of coating sheets of paper with silver salts, but the Calotype process differs slightly in chemicals used in the sensitization procedure, and uses an extra 'accelerator' step, immediately prior to exposure of the sensitized paper.
Salt prints could be made from both paper and glass negatives
Negative (photography)
In photography, a negative may refer to three different things, although they are all related.-A negative:Film for 35 mm cameras comes in long narrow strips of chemical-coated plastic or cellulose acetate. As each image is captured by the camera onto the film strip, the film strip advances so that...
. Paper negatives produced a grainy and slightly mottled image. Glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
negatives produced a sharp, crisp image. Salt prints have white highlights.