Kallitype toning question

padraigm · Jun 28, 2013

Hi All,

i have been doing some some Kallitype prints lately and everything looks fine until the bleaching in the fixer pretty much ruins it for me. I have tried printing darker etc, but the whites just bleach out to a point I don't find appealing. Rather than give up I was wanting to try some toning first before fixing. From the B&S instruction sheet, to 1 ltr of citric I add 5ml of gold or pd/pt. I have palladium and my questions is how long does the toner last? 5ml is a lot to blow in one go.

Thanks for your time.

nworth · Jun 28, 2013

I've been doing some Van Dyke brown recently, which is similar in many respects to Kallitype. Bleach back in the fixer can be a problem with either process. Be sure to use a dilute fixer. I use a 5 percent sodium thiosulfate solution, but many recommend 3 percent. Do not use ammonium thiosulfate. For VDB, where the silver sensitizer washes out in the developer, fixing is limited to one minute in the diluted fixer. Read up on the process a bit to see what is recommended for what you are using. I have been toning in GP-1 before fixing for my latest batch. It works decently well, with only a slight change in image tone toward pink. Unlike untoned VDB, there is practically no change in color when the image is fixed. My guess is that extended fixing would still bleach the image.

Klainmeister · Jun 28, 2013

Are you asking how long the toner remains active or how long until it's depleted? 5ml of PD should do quite a few 8x10s and 11x14s

Loris Medici · Jun 28, 2013

Use this formula; the stock solution has a very good shelf life (at least 3-4 months) and it works wonderfully with any of the iron-silver processes.

Regards,
Loris.

Gadfly_71 · Jun 28, 2013

Just to echo what others have said, make sure that you're not using a "rapid" fix. For VanDykes (which are similar to Kallitypes) I use 1 heaping tablespoon of hypo crystals to 1ltr/1qt distilled water.

For toning, I use an ammonium thiocyanate/gold choride toner before fixing. It keeps well and lasts quite a while in its stock form.

Also, if you're getting a lot of bleaching during the fix you may want to overprint a bit (in addition to using a more dilute fix).

Alan Davenport · Jun 29, 2013

Padraigm,

Try this link to Sandy King's article at the Unblinking eye:
http://unblinkingeye.com/Articles/Kallitype/kallitype.html

Kallitypes should be toned before fixing. Pd toner lasts a long time time. Use only about 50 ml for an 8x10 print and use a flat bottomed tray.

Alan

Tom Taylor · Jun 29, 2013

Christopher James recommends adding 5mL of household strength ammonia per Liter of fix to prevent bleach back and to fix for not more that 2 minutes in a 5% solution.

padraigm · Jul 1, 2013

Thank you guys for all the suggestions. Alan are you saying just use 50ml per print and discard?

Thanks

Loris Medici · Jul 2, 2013

Padraigm, I use only 20ml gold-thiourea per 8x10 print following this procedure: I prepare a 150ml initial batch, then I discard 20ml from the batch and add 20ml fresh stock solution before toning for subsequent prints. You'll only need an occasional (about one each month) filtering afterwards...

Hope this helps,
Loris.

Alan Davenport · Jul 3, 2013

padraigm said:
Alan are you saying just use 50ml per print and discard?

Thanks

I use the toner only once so I wasn't aware of Loris' method. If used one shot, use as little as you can to just cover the print you are toning.

Alan

cliveh · Jul 3, 2013

I can't speak for Kallitypes, but as said this is similar to VB. I use a 2% sodium thiosuphate solution with about 10ml of ammonia (8 molar) in 5 litres of solution. This seems to work fine with 2 minutes fixation.

Mark Fisher · Jul 3, 2013

Loris Medici said:
Use this formula; the stock solution has a very good shelf life (at least 3-4 months) and it works wonderfully with any of the iron-silver processes.

Regards,
Loris.

I use the same toner formula for lith and standard prints. I make up 200ml at a time and use just enough in a flat bottom tray to cover the print (surprisingly little). I then save the used toner in a separate bottle. It has a pretty good capacity. When it stops working (a few prints), I discard it and start with new.

Loris Medici · Jul 5, 2013

Hi all,

BTW, if probable, avoid large margins with brush marks around the image, you'll save toner; I use a mask to put ~3mm (1/8") wide regular borders around the image if it's going to be toned... Masking some coated parts also lets you check for good clearing / processing. The whites should be perfect in the coated but masked parts of the print, if not, your processing is flawed and/or the paper isn't suitable to the process - with or w/o any other pretreatment...

Regards,
Loris.

padraigm · Jul 10, 2013

This is all great info. thanks guys. Loris, what do you use to mask?

Thanks

Loris Medici · Jul 11, 2013

Hi padraigm, I use 1 - 1.5" wide ribbons cut from scrap pieces of fully exposed offset (lith) film (log 4.0 - 5.0 density) or I put a mask around the image in case of digital negatives.

Regards,
Loris.

Kallitype toning question

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