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Free Cyanotype Negative Maker
Turn any photo into a print-ready cyanotype negative right in your browser. Adjust levels and contrast, invert and mirror the image, add a calibration step wedge, and download a negative sized for your paper or fabric, all without uploading your photo anywhere. Prefer to learn the process first? Jump to the step-by-step guide below.
Runs entirely in your browser. Your photo is never uploaded anywhere. It’s processed on your own device.
This tool is built for a mouse and a bigger screen. Cropping and removing the background especially are easier on a desktop or laptop.
Tone: black and white, with your levels and contrast applied, before inverting.
Negative: the inverted image you actually print onto transparency film.
Cyanotype preview: an approximation of the finished blue print.
On a shirt: a mockup of the cyanotype print on a garment.
ⓘTap a background area to select it (like flood fill), then Apply to flatten it to flat white. White inverts to solid black in the negative, which blocks UV completely, so your background prints as clean paper instead of mottled blue. Turn on “Add to selection” (or shift-click on desktop) to select more than one area, like sky and shadow at once. “Contiguous” limits the selection to pixels touching where you tapped, switch it off to grab a similar colour anywhere in the photo.
Drop a photo, or click to choose one
JPG, PNG or WebP. Works best with a clear subject and a good tonal range.
● Nothing leaves your device
Tonal histogram
ⓘThis chart shows how many pixels sit at each brightness level, from black on the left to white on the right. A tall spike jammed against either edge means “clipping”: detail has been squeezed into pure black or pure white and can’t be recovered. Pull the Black point or White point sliders in from that edge until the spike moves away from the wall.
Preparing export…
How to Make a Cyanotype Negative, Step by Step
A cyanotype negative is just a black-and-white image with the tones flipped: light areas of your photo need to end up dark, and dark areas need to end up light, so that when you expose it, UV light passes through the clear parts and blocks against the dark parts. Here’s the short version of the process. For a deeper walkthrough of cyanotype from start to finish, see our full cyanotype guide.
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1. Choose the right photo
Cyanotype has a shorter tonal range than a regular photo, so images with clear contrast and simple, well-defined shapes translate best. Portraits, botanicals, and architectural shots with strong light all work well. Very flat, low-contrast photos (an overcast sky, a hazy landscape) tend to print muddy.
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2. Convert to black and white and adjust the tone
Desaturate the image, then use levels (black point, white point, gamma) and contrast to shape the tonal range before you invert anything. This is the step most tutorials skip, and it’s the one that separates a flat print from one with real depth. Use the negative maker’s histogram to check you’re not clipping detail into pure black or white before moving on.
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3. Invert the image to make a negative
Inverting swaps the tones: what was light in your photo becomes dark in the negative, and what was dark becomes light. The dark areas of the negative block UV light, so that part of the paper stays white. The light, clear areas let UV through, so that part turns Prussian blue.
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4. Mirror the negative for contact printing
Inkjet transparencies are exposed ink-side down against the coated paper or fabric, which flips the image. Mirror your negative horizontally before printing so the finished print reads the right way round, this is especially easy to forget the first time and easy to fix once you know to look for it.
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5. Print onto transparency film
Print the negative onto OHP transparency film matched to your printer type (check the packaging for “inkjet” or “laser”, they aren’t interchangeable), typically at 300 DPI, sized to fit your coated paper or fabric. Let the ink dry fully before handling the transparency or laying it against your coated surface. If a test print looks too thin (light still passes through the darkest areas), print a second copy and layer both sheets in registration rather than trying to force more density out of a single print.
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6. Add a step wedge and test your exposure time
Print an 11-step grey scale alongside a test strip, expose and develop it exactly as you would a real print, and note the exposure time that keeps visible detail in both the lightest and darkest steps. Reuse that time for the rest of the edition instead of guessing on every print.
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7. Expose in sunlight or under a UV light
Place the negative ink-side down against the dried, coated paper or fabric, weight it under glass or an exposure frame so it stays in full contact, and expose for the time you calibrated, typically a few minutes in direct sun or somewhat longer under a UV lamp. The print should look bronze before you wash it; overexposure is almost always more forgiving than underexposure.
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8. Wash and let the print oxidize
Wash the exposed print gently in cool water for five to ten minutes, until the yellow-green tint clears, then let it air dry away from direct light. The image will keep deepening to its final blue as it oxidizes over the next day.
New to cyanotype? Our DIY kit has the chemistry, paper, and instructions to go with a negative you make here.
What You’ll Need
- A photo with good contrast
- A cyanotype kit (sensitizer + paper or fabric)
- Inkjet transparency film
- An inkjet printer
- Sunlight or a UV light source
- A tray for washing prints
Choosing the Best Photos for Cyanotype Negatives
Look for a clear subject, strong directional light, and a mix of genuinely dark and genuinely light areas rather than a photo that sits mostly in the midtones. Botanicals with backlit leaves, portraits with hard side light, and architectural shots with deep shadow all tend to hold up well once inverted. If your photo has a busy or distracting background, the background removal tool above can flatten it to plain white before you invert, which keeps the final print’s background clean paper rather than mottled blue.
Paper vs. Fabric Cyanotype Negatives
The same negative behaves slightly differently depending on what you coat. Fabric tends to lose subtle shadow detail during coating and washing, so a little extra contrast and a slightly lifted black point in your negative usually holds up better than the settings you’d use for paper. Treat the paper and fabric presets in the tool above as starting points, then adjust by eye once you’ve made a test print.
Cyanotype Negative Troubleshooting
Why is my cyanotype not turning blue, or fading right after washing?
This is almost always underexposure, old or poorly mixed chemistry, or paper that reacts badly with the sensitizer. Try a longer exposure time first, since cyanotype tolerates overexposure far better than underexposure, and check that your paper doesn’t contain carbonate buffering, which fights the chemical reaction.
Why does my print look grey or washed out instead of deep blue?
Grey, weak results usually point to underexposure, a negative that’s too dense (not enough contrast, so not enough UV gets through), or a wash that was too rough or ran too long. Increase exposure time, boost contrast in your negative using the tool above, and wash gently in a tray rather than under a direct running tap.
Do I need to flip or mirror my cyanotype negative before printing?
Yes. Inkjet transparencies are exposed ink-side down against the coated surface, which mirrors the image. The negative maker above does this for you automatically, on by default, when you export or print.
How long should I expose a cyanotype print?
It depends on your light source, paper, and how dense your negative is, which is exactly why a step wedge test is worth doing once. Print the step wedge, expose and develop it like a real print, and read off the exposure time that keeps both highlight and shadow detail. Reuse that time for the rest of the edition.
What paper size and resolution should I use for a digital negative?
300 DPI is the standard for a sharp cyanotype negative on a home inkjet printer, sized to match your coated paper or fabric, commonly A4 or US Letter for a first test print.
Do I need special transparency film, and does laser or inkjet matter?
It’s not that one printer type is better, it’s that OHP transparency film is printer-specific, and using the wrong one is how negatives end up melted or jammed inside the printer. Laser printers fuse toner with heat, so they need film rated for laser use; feeding a laser printer film made for inkjet can warp, melt, or shed a coating inside the print mechanism. Inkjet printers need film with a coating that accepts liquid ink without beading; printing a laser-only film on an inkjet just gives you ink that won’t dry or absorb properly. Check the box or listing for “inkjet” or “laser” before you buy, and match it to the printer you actually own.
If a single print doesn’t look dense enough once you invert and check it (light still visibly passes through the darkest areas), the standard fix isn’t a different printer, it’s printing the same negative twice and layering the two sheets in perfect registration. This doubles the density in the shadows without you having to fight your printer’s ink limits.
Ready to make your first print? Our cyanotype kit has the chemistry, paper, and instructions to go with it, and our full guide covers the whole process in more depth.