kallitype - gold toning glitch?

[rippo]

i've been toning my kallitypes with gold. it was cheaper than pl/pd, which is why i went that way. however i'm not fond of the purple tone it gives.

a few weeks ago i accidentally put a print right into the fixer after clear and a wash, rather than the gold toning solution. i caught my mistake within a couple of seconds, pulled the print, washed it, and then toned it. toning was much slower, but the result was a wonderful black shade, rather than annoying purple.

so i experimented a little with some further prints. first i tried toning with the gold toner and about 20 ml of the mixer solution added. it barely toned at all. very brown. so i went back to the fixer dunk, wash and tone, and got a similar black shade. i really like this color!

but, and it's a big but....am i actually protecting my prints archivally this way? there's definitely a color shift throughout the entire print, so there's toning of some sort going on. anyone have any info on this?

 

[rippo]

not sure how to subscribe to my own post after the fact, so i'm replying and subscribing. in other words, ignore my reply, but not the original post.

 

[Lukas Werth]

Though I have never toned my kallitypes after fixing, I have done this with salt prints.

Principally, toning after fixing is possible. One disadvantage should be that the print bleaches in the fixer, which is does not when already toned.

If you are concerned with permanence, there is one test you may do: immerse a (refuse) print in a bleach bath, like 3% potassium ferricyanide. It it bleaches more than just a little (a kallitype fully toned before fixing does in my experience not bleach at all), then protection also should be at least imperfect.

 

[rippo]

hi lukas, and thanks for your response. you and i have exchanged emails once, btw. i didn't know you visited this forum but i guess it's no surprise...i only check it out occasionally.

that's a good point...kallitypes can be toned after fixing. so a short three-second dip in the fixer ought not to negate the archival permanence of subsequent toning. at least in theory!

i do happen to have potassium ferricyanide laying around, for cyanotypes. i'll give it a try next time i print some kallitypes. perhaps a three-way test: untoned vs toned-then-fixed vs my hybrid approach.

thanks!

-matt haines