Selenium tone - cool or warm? Pink???

[Harry Lime]

For many years I printed with AGFA MC110, developed in Agfa Multicontrast developer and then toned them in Agfa Selenium toner. This combination made gorgeous glossy prints that were mostly neutral in tone.

Recently I have come across someone who claims that selenium toned prints are warmish / pink.

I am a little perplexed by this, because I was under the impression that selenium toning did not impart a tone shift. I have only ever seen selenium toned prints that were mostly neutral in tone and appearance. If any tone was imparted it was because the paper was warm to begin with.

Have I been living on an island all these years and in truth it is my mostly neutral selenium prints that are the anomaly?

thx

 

[Brendan Quirk]

Strong selenium toning will give a purplish, almost eggplant, tone. Strong being perhaps, 1:3 Kodak Se (KRST) for 30s-1 min. First time I tried that, I was quite surprised at the tone change. The paper was Agfa Multigrade Classic MCC111 Double Weight Fiber Base in Dektol.

 

[pentaxuser]

Harry have a look at the Ilford video on Ilford Selenium toning. This was done at 1+4 and comes out a great pinkish colour that in my opinion really suits the subject in the photograph. It wasn't at all an egg plant colour for me or not as I understand what an egg plant colour is

This is it here:
Selenium Toning - ILFORD Photo Darkroom ... - YouTube


pentaxuser

 

[Ian Grant]

Harry, the choice of developer makes a difference to image colour/warmth with Agfa MCC paper, usually Multigrade/Multicontrast dvelopers are designed to give Neutral tones. I always used Aga Neutol WA or Ilford ID-78 with Agfa MCC and processed for extra warmth - short development times with a slight increase in exposure, when fixed washed and dried the paper had a slight geenish-olive tinge, Selenium toning turns this to a slight a reddish olive.

Ian

 

[sterioma]

With the paper that I use (Fomatone FB), developer (Moersch Eco) and Selenium Toner dilution (1:10) my prints take on a slight plum tint after 3-5 minutes. It's not immediately obvious, but it's easy to see if you have an untoned version to compare to (maybe a test print).

 

[Harry Lime]

Interesting. I guess that's what you get for sticking with one paper/developer/toner combination for many years.

In any case I'm looking forward to getting back into the darkroom, after many years of absence. In the meanwhile Agfa has gone to the big darkroom in the sky, but it looks like ADOX picked up where they left off.

thx

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Selenium is red; ever notice what color the toner spills are when they dry?

How much of that red gets onto your paper and what hue it ends up depends on the paper formulation and the developer you use. I've used papers that didn't change tone at all and one that turned a bright red after prolonged toning. Most papers get a bit purplish-brownish with selenium toning. The amount of time and toner dilution determine how much change happens. A lot of us tone for just a tiny bit of change in image tone plus a bit of added density in the shadows.

Best,

Doremus

 

[Harry Lime]

Agfa selenium toner was clear. Same for Kodak.

 

[MattKing]

Agfa selenium toner was clear. Same for Kodak.

Not after spilled drops dry

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Agfa selenium toner was clear. Same for Kodak.

Not after spilled drops dry

The toning solution is indeed clear. I meant to state that the tone imparted by selenium toner is reddish, and that the amount of actual toning and the actual hue of the toned print depends on the paper emulsion and the amount of toning.

And, the dry drops are, indeed, red, as Matt emphasizes.

Best,

Doremus