Polysulphide Pre-wash?

[clayne]

Ralph, Wolfgang, or someone else with PS toner experience: How much pre-washing is typically necessary before going into the toner? I've been sticking to fully washed but one of the things I like about Selenium, for instance, is that it doesn't need a full wash before toning can begin. It would be convenient if it were possible to rinse/HCA -> PS -> rinse/HCA -> Se -> rinse/HCA -> wash. I guess it's always possible to just go the other way around and pay close attention to how much Se is allowed to tone, but find I usually have less untoned silver for the sulphide toner to work with. Pragmatically, how bad is fixer in PS? Asking for trouble?

Knowing Polytoner and Viradon used to be combined SePS toners (with some kind of buffer I presume), did they contain any hypo?

 

[dancqu]

My Guess

The sulfide of silver is extremely insoluble so with
partial washing the sulfur will combine with the
residual silver and cause stains. Not the case
with selenium which is possibly not so
insoluble in combination with silver.

In short, the silver selenide will fix out. Perhaps
some little bleaching of the image occurs. Dan

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

For Polysulfide : HCA then at least 30 minutes wash. I know. It's a pain.
I do 50 minutes. Dry prints and tone them the day after.
G.

 

[clayne]

For Polysulfide : HCA then at least 30 minutes wash. I know. It's a pain.
I do 50 minutes. Dry prints and tone them the day after.
G.

Sucks. Looks like I'll be doing Se->PS if I want to do them the same night. Just have to be cognizant of how much I Selenium tone.

 

[GeorgK]

First, use fresh fixer for short fixing times (around 60sec with constant agitation) to avoid excessive accumulation of fixer in the paper base; then quickly move into the washing tray and rinse/agitate intensly for the first 1-2 minutes to get rid of most of the fixer immediately. Continue washing with washing aid and 2-3 changes of water.
Together with washing aid, 10 min should easily be sufficient before polysulfide toning. Anyway: try it out for yourself. If you wash not enough, you will see the stains. 30 min would be a pure waste of time.
These "60-min wash precedures" are a never-ending internet myth. Just keep your fixing times reasonable.

Regards
Georg

 

[Guillaume Zuili]

Whatever myth or not. Don't give up on polysulfide. It's beautiful.