Kentmere FG Glossy & Selenium Toner

[Bruce Osgood]

Anyone experienced with the above combination that would like to share their procedure regarding dilution and time? I'm mainly interested in Dmax enhancement and not a color shift.

TIA,

 

[Ben 4]

Hi Bruce. Since no one else has chimed in, I'll go ahead and share my usual procedure. Kentmere Fineprint glossy (VC, fiber) is my normal fiber paper, and I usually tone in KRST 1:20 for 3-4 minutes. When I first began doing this I carried out some tests which did show enhanced dmax but minimal color shift at those times. I haven't dug my notes out, but I do remember that there is a subtle shift to purple blacks if you go much beyond that. If I can find my test prints and notes I'll update this post. I do recall that all the changes I saw (both in dmax and color) were subtle and might not even be noticed without side-by-side comparison prints. Hope this helps!

--Ben

 

[Bruce Osgood]

Ben, Thank you very much. This is just the answer I was looking for.

I would have started a test at 4 minutes and built up to 16. I would have missed just what I was looking for. You saved me a lot of time, paper and frustration. I'm working on a 16X20 for display and that is expensive paper to 'learn' on.

Thank you again.

 

[jeroldharter]

I use this combination and go for the increased Dmax rather than eggplant/red color shift also.

I mix KRST with a regular strength Permawash solution. I usually tone in batches so use the toner on a one-shot basis. I dilute KRST 1:15 in the Permawash solution for about 2:45. I say "about" because I always test the first print in the batch by itself first to make sure that I am not overdoing it. I try to leave it in the toner just long enough that it does not flip to purple. If you increase the strength of the toner to say 1:10, that is much harder to control and the toning times become very short. If you increase dilution beyond 1:20, the times get longer and the effect seems more subtle.

My dilution of 1:15 is not really exact in that I add 125 ml of KRST to 2000 ml of Permawash to keep the measurements simple. So I am truly using about 1:17.