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# Learn Salt Print Photography at Home

- [Made in Slatesource](https://slatesource.com/u/kairenner/learn-salt-print-photography-at-home-827)
- By [KaiRenner](https://slatesource.com/u/KaiRenner)
- Arts & Culture
- Created on Mar 20, 2026

> 1834. Paper. Salt. Silver. Sunlight. The first photographs looked like this.
>
> — KaiRenner · 26th of April 2026

## What Salt Printing Is

Salt printing, invented by William Henry Fox Talbot in 1834, is the earliest paper photographic process. Paper is coated with a sodium chloride (salt) solution, allowed to dry, then brushed with silver nitrate. The salt and silver react to form silver chloride — a light-sensitive compound. Placing a negative over the paper and exposing to sunlight produces a contact print. Salt prints have a warm, matte surface with a soft, diffused image quality unlike any modern paper.

**2** Percent

**12** Percent

Salt the Paper

Brush a 2% salt solution onto paper and let dry completely.

## Salt the Paper

Dissolve 2g of non-iodized table salt in 100ml of distilled water. Brush onto one side of watercolor or drawing paper with a wide watercolor brush in even strokes. Allow to dry completely — 30 to 60 minutes. The dried paper is not yet light-sensitive and can be handled in normal light.

Sensitize with Silver Nitrate

In low light, brush 12% silver nitrate over the salted paper and dry.

## Sensitize with Silver Nitrate

Under dim indoor light (no direct sunlight), brush a 12% silver nitrate solution over the dried salted surface. The paper will immediately turn pale yellow as silver chloride forms. Work quickly and evenly. Allow to dry in a dark space — 5 to 10 minutes. The sensitized paper is now light-sensitive and must be kept from sunlight until printing.

Contact Print Under the Sun

Place a film negative or transparency face-down and expose in direct sun.

## Contact Print Under the Sun

Place the sensitized paper emulsion-side up in a contact printing frame. Lay a 4x5 or larger film negative (or a printed transparency on clear film) face-down in contact with the paper. Expose in direct sunlight — 3 to 15 minutes depending on UV intensity and negative density. The print will appear during exposure (print-out process). Check progress by lifting the frame corner.

Fix and Wash

Fix in sodium thiosulfate, wash thoroughly, and dry flat.

## Fix and Wash

Once the image is fully printed, fix in a 10% sodium thiosulfate solution for 2 minutes. The print will shift in color during fixing — this is normal. Wash in running water for 20 minutes to remove all residual chemistry. Dry flat on a screen or blotter. Salt prints may continue to shift slightly in color as they age — this is characteristic of the process.

What You Need

0%

Non-iodized sodium chloride (table salt)

Silver nitrate — 12g per 100ml distilled water

Sodium thiosulfate for fixing

Distilled water for all solutions

Watercolor or drawing paper — 140lb hot press

Wide flat watercolor brush for coating

Contact printing frame or heavy glass

Negative on film or printed on clear transparency

Iodized Salt Inhibits Sensitization Use only non-iodized plain table salt. The iodine additives in iodized salt interfere with the silver chloride formation and produce blotchy, poorly sensitized paper. Use kosher salt, canning salt, or a non-iodized table salt and dissolve completely before use.

> Every photograph in the world descends from this piece of salted paper.
>
> — KaiRenner · 26th of April 2026

[Alternative Photography — The Complete Salt Print Process Guide](https://www.alternativephotography.com/salt-print-process/?utm_source=slatesource)