The reaction of the selenium on the silver halide (AgX) of the print hardens the adherence of the image to the paper, thereby improving its stability, permanence and archival properties
Ummm, what does this mean? Have the Harman folks discovered a new chemical mechanism, or is this just marketing fancy?
Thanks for the news Simon. On the subject of lith, would there be any mileage in trying to get Ilford IRP 110 produced again? I've never used it but I'm looking at some stunning lith prints in Gene Nocon's book "Photographic Printing" made with this paper.
I have used many Ilford products over the years and have been very happy with them. One product that I used sparingly is Ilford WT Fibre paper. It is a wonderful product and the Dmax is incredible. However, it has limited use in my darkroom because I had had trouble controlling the warmth during toning. It is usually far too intense.
So my 5 cents worth is that the new selenium toner should be capable of toning the WT Fibre with minimal effect on warmth; the untoned warmth is more than enough for my taste. To this end some testing should be done on the effect of dilution and other variables on colour change.