Retouching Selenium Toned Prints

[skljocnulbumte]

Hello!
Let me know which dyes you use for retouching selenium toned prints.
My selenium toned prints have warm yellowish black tone. I tried to mix in several different ratio of neutral black and selenium brown (Marshall's dye) and couldn't get a correct tone. I always get or too brown or too blue or too purple tone. I couldn't get yellowish black tone.
Thanks

 

[TheMissingLink]

skljocnulbumte,

you should dilute the dye more.

Add layer over layer, let each new layer dry before you apply the next one. Only judge the dried color.

hth

horst

 

[Ian C]

Water-soluble spotting dyes are compatible with each other. Consequently, we can mix the dyes intended for color photos with those made for black-and-white spotting to obtain any color needed.

 

[jeffreyg]

I have Spotone dyes and put a drop of each color on a small white porcelain dish and blend as mentioned by Ian C. Then use a processed piece of the same paper held next to the spot to be corrected and work out the dilution to match. It is better to gradually build up to the correct tone than to try to hit it in one go.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Doremus Scudder]

To clarify the above: you may need some of the dyes specifically intended for retouching color prints (Marshall's makes them as well as others) to mix with your B&W spotting dyes to get the specific color you need. The color of a selenium-toned print depends on a bunch of things (developer used, paper, amount of toning, etc.) and can vary from print to print even. If you can't get what you need with the set of colors you have, go shopping for additional dyes.

FWIW, I've always had good results with the Spotone dyes (no longer made, but I've got a stash of them) and mixing black with selenium and maybe a touch of olive if needed. If your prints are really "yellowish" you may need some yellow...

Best,

Doremus

 

[Bill Burk]

I use 1 drop Selenium and 4 drops neutral 3 (Spotone). I can’t say that it’s right, just that’s what I wrote on my palette.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Depends on your paper and developer as well as toner. For most selenium toned prints, some ratio of brown and neutral black Marshall's (not blue-black) will work. But I alway keep on hand Olive Tone too - a tiny bit of it shifts things yellowish. It not only takes practice to get it right, especially in high key areas, but a good color eye. A good spotting brush is important. These are hard to find. Camera store versions are miserable. And you want a scrap print nearby, or use of an unexposed
print border to test the exact effect. You want to slowly build up density without a minimum of dye on the brush. Incidentally, Marshall and Spotone are the same thing; Marshall's bought Spotone, thank goodness. Do not get the colorants for color print retouching, but those specifically recommended for black and white. Otherwise, the long term results in terms of either fading or darkening might be unpredictable. Best to stick with something which has a proven track record. I happen to have
a very nice retouching station. It has a big black laminated surface tilted to about 30 degrees, with an adjustable desk lamp above, containing two CRI 98 5000K true color matching tubes (not the kind of thing you can find at a hardware store, but
equivalent to what Just Normlicht uses in their high-quality lightboxes), plus my ole black leather plushy office chair - itself certainly proven to be comfortable!

 

[M Carter]

I do mostly lith prints; much of my work gets gold toner for a cool and even blue look, others can be very warm or even fiery red/orange, ochres, yellows - lith + toning makes for a remarkable range of color.

I have a classic set of Marumi spotting dyes in cool and warm - but I rely most on a Grumbacher watercolor set, the kind with small pots in a plastic tray. Since they're professional colors I assume they're intended to create paintings framed for display, so shouldn't have issues with fading. I can match any color the print throws at me.