Digital Negative Lab

Digital Negative Lab is a simple, web-based tool for creating digital negatives for cyanotype and alternative photographic printing processes. It's designed to help artists get a clean, printable starting point without spending hours wrestling with complex software.

Digital Negative Lab is built for: • hobbyists and home printers • beginners learning cyanotype or alternative processes • experienced printers who want a faster, more focused workflow • teachers and workshops working with students It's intentionally approachable, while still offering enough control for users who prefer to fine-tune their work.

Digital Negative Lab is designed for any process that uses digital negatives, including cyanotype, platinum/palladium, salt print, Van Dyke brown, gum bichromate, and other alternative photographic workflows. Printing results depend on materials, chemistry, exposure source, and environment. The tool helps simplify preparation, not eliminate testing.

No. Digital Negative Lab is not intended to replace full photo-editing software. It's a focused tool built specifically for preparing digital negatives. Many users still do basic image editing elsewhere before bringing an image into Digital Negative Lab.

No. While Digital Negative Lab is accessible for beginners, it's not a simplified or limiting tool. Users can adjust curves and contrast as needed, and the workflow stays out of the way once you know what you're doing.

Previews are visual guides, not scientific measurements. They are meant to help you judge tonal balance and risk areas before printing. Final results will always depend on your specific materials and process.

The Exposure Safety Preview is an optional visual aid that gently highlights areas that may be at risk of blocking up or washing out during printing. It's subtle, off by default, and intended as a quick visual check—not a warning system or exposure calculator.

No. Exposure time depends on too many variables to be reliably calculated by software. Digital Negative Lab focuses on preparing the negative itself. A simple UV timer is included as a tracking tool, but exposure decisions remain in the printer's hands.

Digital Negative Lab is web-based and works on modern desktop and mobile browsers. There's no software to install.

Yes. An account helps keep access simple and allows features like remembering your last-used settings.

Yes. Teachers and workshop instructors can request complimentary access for classroom use. Students may be eligible for discounted access through participating educators.

Yes. You can generate and download digital negatives from any supported browser and print them using your existing workflow.

No. Images are only processed as needed to generate your digital negative. Your work remains yours.

Digital Negative Lab works in modern browsers including Chrome, Safari, Edge, and Firefox.