Question: Washing sequence after selenium toning?

[Steve Goldstein]

Because my darkroom is really small and has no ventilation I don't/can't tone my fiber prints immediately after fixing. Instead I rinse, bathe in HCA (2% Sodium sulfite solution), thoroughly wash, and dry them. When it's time to tone I rewet them in distilled water, tone, rinse, bathe in HCA, wash, and dry.

Here's my question - For my specific working sequence, is the HCA bath following toning of any practical value?

Aside - I know that HCA typically contains Sodium bisulfite in addition to Sodium sulfite. I omit the bisulfite because I use my HCA one-shot so I'm not worried about the life of the bath. Sulfite is cheap and pretty benign stuff to dump.

 

[grain elevator]

Im far from being an expert. My understanding is that yes, HCA after toning is useful if your toner contains hypo which some do - do your research. If not it probably doesn't do anything. Rinsing before HCA needs to be thorough or it's quite pointless.
Otoh I'm not convinced you need to wash very thoroughly, let alone use HCA, before toning if you keep the prints in the dark and don't wait super long. I look forward to see my understanding corrected or confirmed by the local experts.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

+1 for the answers you've received so far.

I, too, divide my sessions into a printing session and a toning session. I incorporate a second fix into my toning session; fixing bath two goes before the toner and after the initial water soak. After toning, a water rinse for 3-5 minutes comes before the wash aid and the final wash.

Best,

Doremus