Résinotype : la finition vitrifiée du tirage pigmentaire, sans bichromate
Resinotype is a pigment process apart: it seals the pigment in a resin that, as it hardens, forms a translucent layer. The print becomes a vitrified object — mineral depth, microreliefs visible in raking light, halfway between photograph and enamel. It is one of the most singular looks in alternative printing. In its historical form, however, it rested on two pitfalls: dichromate and solvents requiring good ventilation.
An Italian process of the 1920s
Resinotype is the work of Rodolfo Namias, a chemist and figure of Italian photography. Patented in 1922 as Resinopigmentipia, shortened to Resinotipia in 1923, it was spread through Il Progresso Fotografico; a national contest was even devoted to it in Chieti in 1926. Compared with the "dusting-on" process it derived from, it gave less muddy, more vigorous images while keeping that velvety aspect and a great freedom of hand intervention. Like gum and carbon, it belongs to the family of dichromate processes.
The truth: dichromate and solvents
Two things made old resinotype tricky. First the potassium bichromate (dichromate) that sensitized the gelatin — hexavalent chromium, a proven carcinogen and mutagen (CMR). Then the volatile solvents used with the resin, which demanded serious ventilation. Two reasons not to take it lightly at home.
Vision Picturale resinotype: mineral velvet, without bichromate or solvent
The Vision Picturale formula combines N°05 gelatin, powder pigments and a process-specific resin — no bichromate, no volatile solvent. The chemistry becomes compatible with a kitchen practice again. And the look stays the one that makes the process unique: the resin, hardened on drying, seals the pigment in a velvety varnished layer, with no external varnish. The only kit in the catalog to produce this vitrified effect.
Photographic enamel, without the poison
The most singular finish in the catalog — a vitrified print, halfway between photo and enamel — without dichromate or volatile solvent.
- Gelatin
- VP N°05
- Sensitizer
- VP N°03 — dichromate-free
- Finish
- Velvety varnished resin, no external varnish
- Safety
- No CMR · no volatile solvent
The matter, in pictures
Vision Picturale resinotype in a few prints — the varnished layer and its microreliefs read best in raking light.
FAQ
What makes resinotype unique?
The hardened resin seals the pigment in a translucent varnished layer: the print becomes a vitrified object, halfway between photograph and enamel — a look no other pigment process gives.
Is VP resinotype really non-toxic?
Yes: no bichromate (N°03 sensitizer) and no volatile solvent, unlike old resinotypes that required ventilation.
How does it differ from carbon or bromoil?
Where carbon seeks maximum density and bromoil imitates oil painting, resinotype plays the vitrified-object card, varnished without any external varnish.
For the full panorama of non-toxic processes, see our guide to alternative processes or the glossary.
