Is it really that simple?
Yes it is.
Since the literature on the process is sometimes difficult to access, I will simplify the whole process here to a few essential steps.
To begin with, every single step must not only be implemented in an extremely disciplined manner, but must also be reproducible.
A scale that weighs 100 grams and 120 grams for the same quantity is rather useless.
standardization is the most important thing of all” important! As soon as I change one part of the process, I have to adjust all the others as well.
Roughly described, I need a suitable negative, either a real one or the output of a photograph as transparency with the help of an inkjet printer in the format in which I want to have the result later. I’ll worry about the quality of the negative or the transparency later with an other post.
Now that I have a negative of some sort, of course I need my carrier to provide the pigments I mentioned earlier.
For this I need a flexible carrier that is waterproof, non-absorbent and slightly larger than the negative.
This carrier is coated with a prepared gelatin and pigments dispersed in it and dried.
In the next step, I bring the negative into contact with the support and expose it to the light of the sun or another light source with a high proportion of ultraviolet radiation.
The substrate exposed in this way is now moistened and brought into contact with the final paper until the two adhere to each other.