Photographs can be very effectively printed upon silk, satin, or other
fabrics. There are several methods of accomplishing this. A simple one
is the following:[2] The silk best suited for the purpose is that
known as Chinese silk, and this is first washed in warm water with
plentiful lather of soap, then rinse in hot water, and gradually cool
until the final washing water is quite cold. Next prepare the
following solutions: Tannin, 4 parts; distilled water, 100 parts.
Sodium chloride, 4 parts; arrowroot, 4 parts; acetic acid, 12 parts;
distilled water, 100 parts.
[2] From the "Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Photography," by the author.
The arrowroot is mixed up into a paste with a little of the distilled
water, and the remainder added boiling hot, with the acid and the salt
previously dissolved in it. When the solution is quite clear the
tannin solution is added, and the whole allowed to get fairly cool.
The silk is then immersed for about three minutes, being kept under
without air in the folds, and then hung up to dry, or stretched out
with pins on a flat board. The material is then sensitized by brushing
over with the following solution: Silver nitrate, 12 parts; distilled
water, 100 parts; nitric acid, 2 drops to every 3 ounces. Other
methods of sensitizing are by immersing in or floating on the silver
solution. After sensitizing, the material is dried by pinning on to a
board to keep flat. It is then cut up as required, and printed behind
the negative. Every care must be taken in printing to keep the
material flat, and without wrinkles or folds. It must also be kept
quite straight; otherwise, the image will be distorted. Printing is
carried on in the same manner as with printing-out paper. It is then
washed and toned in any toning bath. The sulphocyanide gives the best
action. Fix in a 10 per cent. solution of hyposulphite of soda for ten
minutes; wash and dry spontaneously. When just damp, it is ironed out
flat with a not over-heated iron. Black tones can be obtained with a
platinum toning bath, or with the uranium and gold toning bath, made
up as follows: Gold chloride, 1 part; uranium nitrate, 1 part.
Dissolved and neutralized with sodium carbonate, and then added to
sodium chloride, 16 parts; sodium acetate, 16 parts; sodium phosphate,
16 parts; distilled water, 4,000 parts.
Very effective results may be made by printing with wide white
margins, obtained by exposing with a non-actinic mask.
Another method is the following: Ammonium chloride, 100 grains;
Iceland moss, 60 grains; water (boiling), 20 ounces.
When nearly cold this is filtered, and the silk immersed in it for
about fifteen minutes. To sensitize, immerse the silk in a 20 grain
solution of silver nitrate for about sixteen minutes. The silver
solution should be rather acid.
Or immerse the silk in water, 1 ounce; sodium chloride, 5 grains;
gelatine, 5 grains. When dry, float for thirty seconds on a 50 grain
solution of silver nitrate. Dry, slightly overprint and tone in the
following bath: Gold chloride, 4 grains; sodium acetate, 2 drachms;
water, 29 ounces. Keep twenty-four hours before using. Fix for twenty
minutes in hypo, 4 ounces to the pint of water.