"1834. Paper. Salt. Silver. Sunlight. The first photographs looked like this.
"KaiRenner26th 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.
2Percent
12Percent
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
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.
"KaiRenner26th of April 2026