Berg Rapid Sepia bleach

[mahler]

Hi everyone...
I was looking at the packaging for Berg Rapid Sepia toner, and it indicates that the bleach contains no ferricyanide.

Anyone know what the active ingredient in this bleach is? Berg doesn't seem to have a website up, and there doesn't seem to be an MSDS readily available either...

Anyone know for sure?

 

[Mike Wilde]

Copper Sulfate I think

I mixed an old partial bottle of this on Monday - the bleach still is active, but the dried out then re-dissolved sepia toner was kaput.

The bleach is blue, which to me is copper. I have a formula for an alternative c41/e6 bleach based around copper sulfate, which is also found in nurseries as a growth erradicant for around patios, as I recall.

I have not tried to mix my own copper bleach, untill my ferricyanide supply runs out; it works fine for me. I just turn it in at the HHW depot when I go there to hand over spent fixers. I do have copper, but just to do copper toning.

 

[Rich Ullsmith]

Most likely copper sulfate, NaCl and some sort of H+. I think the stuff I mix uses a few mils of sulfuric acid per liter stock.

Mike, your own is cheap to mix and it can provide a wide latitude of effects in redevelopment. I don't even use ferricyanide/KBr anymore except for light general bleaching, I love the other stuff so much.