Need help to uneven selenium toner

czygeorge

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Need help
I did my contact sheets for my customer and after all 9 prints done I toned them in selenium toner(adox one，28degrees).And some of them appeared this kind of marks(In the middle you can see it can't be darken by the toner)

I thought maybe is because when i put them all in the water some of paper areas may have dried since they were floating and some area touched the air. so I reprint one and toned it after fixing and washing and it appears again

Then of course I reprinted and no toned to make trouble for myself but just very ignorant of this phenomenon and don know how to resolve it
 

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Don_ih

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Maybe your contact printing frame is the problem. But it looks like uneven development. I'm not sure why you're selenium toning contact sheets but you should expose your paper, develop for around 2 minutes (until it's done), stop, fix fully, wash, then tone with continuous agitation, wash again.

As in, it should be impossible for the paper to float in the toner.
 

snusmumriken

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I use selenium toner 1+19 because I only want a slight tone shift. Even so, I’ve had uneven toning in the past. So now it’s the one process step where I insert each print face-down, flipping it over after a few seconds, and agitating continuously thereafter. If you are using a stronger working solution, that might be your issue.

Having said that, my money would be on uneven processing earlier on in the chain, as Don has already suggested.
 

koraks

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czygeorge said:
I thought maybe is because when i put them all in the water some of paper areas may have dried since they were floating and some area touched the air.
Click to expand...

Did you try and tone all the prints at the same time in the same tray? Because that's indeed inviting uneven toning, especially if you use the toner at high dilutions and/or high temperatures, with a high toning speed. The prints will stick to each other at least part of the time, which means the emulsion gets into contact with fresh toner very unevenly. For consistent results, it's a better idea to tone prints one by one, and with constant agitation.

I'm sorry your prints came out this way, but I'm afraid there's no way to fix them. I'd suggest making a new set and toning them one by one.
 
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czygeorge

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Really grateful to you all!Thanks a lot for helping
It's TRUE that I really really regret to put i them in toner!!Else it's bought a lesson for me
I think you are right i do it in about 1+9 and uneven mark shows almost as soon as when I put it in the tray and agitated,Because I like the color shift it gave me .I'll dilute it to 1:15
And underdevelopment and fix would be the problem since i only developed and fixed for about just one minute...And i did the the operation korak saidGot to say what a bad bw printer I am
 
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czygeorge

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koraks said:
We all are if we only look at our failures

The important thing is, you know several ways to improve the next attempt!

Btw, I like that series of photos insofar as I can see it. Really nice. Worthwhile to re-print those.
Click to expand...

Thanks a lot koraks
 

Don_ih

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czygeorge said:
uneven mark shows almost as soon as when I put it in the tray ... developed and fixed for about just one minute
Click to expand...

You will not have any odd blotches showing up at 1:9 if you develop and fix fully. Depending on the make-up of your selenium toner, you may need to fully wash the print before toning. Check the instructions.

As for being a "bad" printer - you're only bad if you're not looking for a way to get better.
 

MattKing

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And now you have discovered an excellent way to test how well you are processing your prints - particularly the fixing and washing steps. If there is a problem there, trying to tone the results helps reveal it!
 

john_s

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MattKing said:
And now you have discovered an excellent way to test how well you are processing your prints - particularly the fixing and washing steps. If there is a problem there, trying to tone the results helps reveal it!
Click to expand...

Yes, toning brings out irregularities. I use a Nova vertical slot processor. The walls have a texture to prevent the print from gripping the sides. I did a Tim Rudman toning course years ago and he saw straight away that there was slight pattern in the print after bleach sepia toning processing. I hadn't noticed it until then. Now I agitate more.
 
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czygeorge

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Thanks to you all for guiding and sharing!! By this time I find out the issue in my processing chain.(And also my attitude),I reset my jobo print processing program to at least two minutes of fixing,I used TF-5 and apparently i over estimate it's fixing velocity and replenish rate.And the washing too(That's why I almost never use FB since it needs very long time to wash)!
 
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