Carbon Paper Trace Monotypes

The Latent Image.

Antony R James (Artist/Printmaker without a press!).

There is a fascinating discovery to be made when producing Carbon Paper Prints: The carbon paper retains drawn information as a latent image - carbon is removed from the carbon paper and  deposited onto the blank paper placed underneath it when you trace an image. If you look carefully at the carbon paper once you have finished tracing, you will see a faint image (a negative).

This negative can be scanned onto a computer and developed like a photograph using image editing software such as Gimp 2 or Photoshop. This latent image is not always usable, however when it proves successful it can be very exciting seeing your image appear! The best latent images are obtained when tracing an image using plain printer/photocopy paper or thin cartridge paper.

Very complex images can be rendered and "stored" on the carbon paper. Handle the carbon paper with care when you have finished a tracing and place gently onto a home scanner to "develop" the image.

An example of a "developed" latent image is shown below.

Carbon Paper Trace Monotype: A Bar at the Folies-Bergère - after Edouard Manet.