- Joined
- May 14, 2006
- Messages
- 16
- Format
- 4x5 Format
Paper: Kodak Polymax fiber.
Procedure: One tray of water with a pinch of Sodium Metaborate (this suggested in one of Ansel Adams books). One tray of 10% Kodak Selenium Toner in Ilford Wash Aid (various times, but about 3 to 6 minutes, constant agitation). One tray of Ilford Wash Aid, 10 minutes with constant agitation. Then Wash in an archival washer for 1 hour. All solutions are at 20C, never below, sometimes up to 22C.
Problem: I tone the prints enough so that there is a subtle change of colour. I always have an untoned wet print for comparison, and whilst I am toning, there is an obvious difference in tone between the untoned and the toned print. But after the 1-hour wash, I see almost no difference between the two, there has been an obvious loss of toning. I know that Polymax doesn't tone as quickly as other papers, but I have never encountered this loss with other papers. I have been using Polymax for quite a few years, and I always get this loss of toning (so it is not batch-related).
The other curious fact is that even if I prolong the treatment with selenium (have tried upto three times the "optimum" time), there seem to be a toning plateau reached, so that longer times don't increase the tone above what is a subtle toning (even before washing, the print does not reach the undesirable pink colour one can get with other papers).
It is not a big problem, but I would like to know if anyone else has noticed this. It is also a question about the chemical process. I know that selenium is best used in slightly alkaline environments, and I have not tested the pH of our water (although it doesn't seem to matter for other papers), but I understood that the toning was replacing silver with selenium. So how can it wash away, and leave most of the original silver behind? I know some chemistry, but not a lot about the chemistry of selenium toning. It looks as if selenium is just binding loosely.
Many thanks
Procedure: One tray of water with a pinch of Sodium Metaborate (this suggested in one of Ansel Adams books). One tray of 10% Kodak Selenium Toner in Ilford Wash Aid (various times, but about 3 to 6 minutes, constant agitation). One tray of Ilford Wash Aid, 10 minutes with constant agitation. Then Wash in an archival washer for 1 hour. All solutions are at 20C, never below, sometimes up to 22C.
Problem: I tone the prints enough so that there is a subtle change of colour. I always have an untoned wet print for comparison, and whilst I am toning, there is an obvious difference in tone between the untoned and the toned print. But after the 1-hour wash, I see almost no difference between the two, there has been an obvious loss of toning. I know that Polymax doesn't tone as quickly as other papers, but I have never encountered this loss with other papers. I have been using Polymax for quite a few years, and I always get this loss of toning (so it is not batch-related).
The other curious fact is that even if I prolong the treatment with selenium (have tried upto three times the "optimum" time), there seem to be a toning plateau reached, so that longer times don't increase the tone above what is a subtle toning (even before washing, the print does not reach the undesirable pink colour one can get with other papers).
It is not a big problem, but I would like to know if anyone else has noticed this. It is also a question about the chemical process. I know that selenium is best used in slightly alkaline environments, and I have not tested the pH of our water (although it doesn't seem to matter for other papers), but I understood that the toning was replacing silver with selenium. So how can it wash away, and leave most of the original silver behind? I know some chemistry, but not a lot about the chemistry of selenium toning. It looks as if selenium is just binding loosely.
Many thanks