cyanotype

[ sahy-an-uh-tahyp ]

noun

1. a process of photographic printing, used chiefly in copying architectural and mechanical drawings, that produces a blue line on a white background.
2. a print made by this process.

cyanotype

/ saɪˈænəˌtaɪp /

noun

1. another name for blueprint

Word History and Origins

Origin of cyanotype¹

First recorded in 1835–45; cyano- ¹ + -type

Example Sentences

For Sunprints, a new wallpaper from Calico, the company’s founders, Rachel and Nick Cope, caught the images of fresh-cut flowers through the cameraless photography technique called cyanotype.

From Seattle Times

She used a combination of letter press and cyanotype techniques to depict a child "lost in a forest of letters".

From BBC

“River Light” was first a photograph, and then a cyanotype, but it looks very different in its mosaic incarnation.

From New York Times

Among the highlights are Marty Ittner’s cyanotype of a blue catfish, reversed atop a maritime chart; Julie Wolfe’s trio of jellyfish, screenprinted in contrasting aqua and magenta; and Eveline Kolijn’s etching and linocut of several lionfish in a sea that seems to flow from a single gush of water.

From Washington Post

Then, he hand-coats a paper with a cyanotype solution that adds slickness to the piece.

From Los Angeles Times