Sel. Toning required?

[marcelwu]

As I read some literature stated that tone the negative can prolong its life.
Does its necessary to tone the negative?

 

[Doug Bennett]

No, it is not necessary. The only times that I've toned negatives with selenium was when I had a thin neg and was trying to wring out a bit more contrast.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

In general no. Selenium toning will increase contrast by about one zone, so it's a handy technique for a flat neg.

Microfilm is sometimes selenium toned for archival purposes, but it's a high contrast medium to begin with, so adding additional contrast is not a problem.

 

[skahde]

Toning negs is not neccessary until you consider to inherit your negs to your grandchildren.
If you do so, Selenium toning is archival if carried to completion but will also increase contrast which is not desired most of the time. A viable alternative are Polysulfide Toners like Kodak Brown Toner (not formula T8, if you consider Richard Knoppows comments on this issue).
A good reference is Tim Rudmans Master Photographers Book of Toning.

Best

Stefan