sepia toners:which ones to use with MG IV fibre paper

spoolman · Sep 6, 2009

A job I'm doing requires the prints to be sepia toned.I'll be printing on Ilford MG IV double weight fibre base paper.Are there any alternatives to the pungent odour of regular Kodak sepia toner and what processing and exposure compensations are needed?.

Doug

Guillaume Zuili · Sep 6, 2009

Thiourea toner (Fotospeed ST20 or Moersch MT3) they are odorless vario toner. You can change the tone by adding more or less additive.
You need to bleach before toning. The more you bleach the more you tone. Sepia goes into the bleached areas.
1) Better to have a little denser print when you bleach.
2) Wash well before bleaching.
3) Try... It's easy and fun !
G.

bill spears · Sep 6, 2009

The branded sepia toning kits are good but you can make your own from the raw chemicals very easily. You'll need a small set of digital jewellers type scales for weighing the powders.
I guess if you're just starting out with toning it's easier to use a kit and get familiar with the process. I'd definitely recommend looking into making it yourself though, especially if you invisage doing alot, as the cost savings are enormous

Anon Ymous · Sep 6, 2009

Doug, in case you didn't know it, there's no need to do the toning under a safelight. Proper ventilation is not an option for many of us and I always do it outdoors. This almost eliminates the foul smell. It's also far easier to control the bleaching step, as you can easily judge how much it has progressed.

Pete H · Sep 6, 2009

Yes, I use Tetenal Triponal because it is easier to obtain here, but it is another thiourea toner like the ones Guillaume mentioned. No smell and you can do it in daylight. Print your highlights 1/4 to 1/2 stops denser than normal, and dilute the bleach more than it says on the packet. That way it is easier to control the bleaching - I usually prefer bleaching the highlights and midtones but leaving the blacks so the final toned print keeps deeper shadows than a full bleach would give.

If you experiment you'll soon find something that works for you. Have fun!

spoolman · Sep 6, 2009

Thanks all for the info.I just found out today that I didn't need to do this under a safelight.Has anyone an opinion on JKodak Sepia II toner or the Berg version of sepia toner?.

Doug

jovo · Sep 6, 2009

I recommend Berg's Rapid RC Toning solution as a good kit to start with. It's odorless, and is of the variable color type which means that you can adjust the toning from a yellowish tan to a rich chocolate brown by the amount of controller you mix with the toner.

If you like the results of your experiments with the kit, you can then buy the raw chemicals from Photographer's Formulary and make your own much less expensively. My most recent blog post discusses this a bit as I've been working on getting the color I want, and have finally hit on a process that I'm happy with at least for the moment.

brian steinberger · Sep 6, 2009

Thiourea toners are the way to go. I believe the Kodak II sepia kit is still the stinky (sulfide) type toner even though its advertised odorless. Mixing thiourea toners is so simple and easy and as mentioned above, cheap! All you need is potassium ferricyanide, potassium bromide, thiocarbamide, and sodium hydroxide. It is worth looking into if you're going to do sepia toning more than once. If not, then buy a kit to use for this one job.

sepia toners:which ones to use with MG IV fibre paper

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