Daguerreotype Process PDF

Daguerreotype Proses Tomake adaguerreotype, a sheet of copper is plated with a thin coat of silver. This plate is then cleaned and polished to a mirror finish, Next, it is sensitized in a light tight box with iodine and bromine vapors until its surface turns yellow. The reaction between the iodine...

Daguerreotype Proses Tomake adaguerreotype, a sheet of copper is plated with a thin coat of silver. This plate is then cleaned and polished to a mirror finish, Next, it is sensitized in a light tight box with iodine and bromine vapors until its surface turns yellow. The reaction between the iodine vapor and the silver coating produces light-sensitive silver iodide. Once sensitized, the plate is kept in a lightproof container and inserted directly into a camera, where the exposure is made. Development is then accomplished by placing the exposed plate face down over asource of heated mercury fumes until the image appears. Chemically, the mercury merges, or amalgamates, with the silver creating a milky white image. The image is fixed in a solution of sodium chloride, or table salt. Later, sodium thiosulfate (hyposulfite of soda or hypo) filled this role. The plate is treated or "toned" with gold chloride, which intensifies the image. Finally, the plate is washed in distilled water and dried.