Toning alt process prints

[tnp651]

I just posted a new YouTube survey of metallic toners and their cost.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6k2J24jaMXYo_-4EUZOtkA

Tom Nelson

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Thanks for the info. I commented. I subscribed. Feel free to reciprocate (hee hee)

 

[koraks]

Great, Tom! I'm going to watch that.
I ran across your Pictorico vs. Fixxons video a couple of months ago and found it very nicely done. It was very useful indeed.

 

[koraks]

Tom, I've taken the liberty to modify your post a bit to embed the actual video in it. I hope you don't mind!

I really enjoyed that video. One thing that stands out in particular is that I don't think I've ever seen such a nice illustration of the several stages a print goes through, combined with fairly thorough analysis of the actual colors/hues you've observed. Very nicely done indeed!

A few further considerations:
* I've never had much success with selenium toning alt. process prints either. I ran into the same issues you did. It seemed to sort of work by slightly acidifying the toner and using it at a weak dilution, but my testing of this was years ago and my memory might be hazy.
* One very effective and cheap form of 'toning' is actually heat toning. I've done that lots on alt. process prints, particularly Van Dykes and salted paper prints. Just take a heat press or a clothes iron on high heat and press the print. You'll find the tones shift to more neutral and dmax increases. The result is permanent - in the sense that it can be reverted by soaking the print, but as long as it remains dry, it seems stable enough.
* I don't think the mechanism behind print deterioration is oxidation of the silver. This wouldn't result in the print to fade, after all - if anything, oxidized silver will turn darker: think if grandma's silver cutlery and the time she spent polishing the blackness away! The main threats to silver-based alt. process prints are as far as I know residual iron salts (in kallitypes, Van Dykes etc.) that yellow and may result in fading as well as chemical attack of the silver by sulfur, resulting in silver sulfide (which actually is a form of very slow sepia toning).
* One more very cheap way of toning one could consider is indeed sepia toning. It works on alt. process prints, too, and will/should offer some form of protection particularly in iron-based prints. I've done it on occasion, but I think it's not very popular because toners like silver, platinum and palladium create more neutral tones, which apparently many printmakers find attractive (I certainly do).

 

[tnp651]

Tom, I've taken the liberty to modify your post a bit to embed the actual video in it. I hope you don't mind!

I really enjoyed that video. One thing that stands out in particular is that I don't think I've ever seen such a nice illustration of the several stages a print goes through, combined with fairly thorough analysis of the actual colors/hues you've observed. Very nicely done indeed!

A few further considerations:
* I've never had much success with selenium toning alt. process prints either. I ran into the same issues you did. It seemed to sort of work by slightly acidifying the toner and using it at a weak dilution, but my testing of this was years ago and my memory might be hazy.
* One very effective and cheap form of 'toning' is actually heat toning. I've done that lots on alt. process prints, particularly Van Dykes and salted paper prints. Just take a heat press or a clothes iron on high heat and press the print. You'll find the tones shift to more neutral and dmax increases. The result is permanent - in the sense that it can be reverted by soaking the print, but as long as it remains dry, it seems stable enough.
* I don't think the mechanism behind print deterioration is oxidation of the silver. This wouldn't result in the print to fade, after all - if anything, oxidized silver will turn darker: think if grandma's silver cutlery and the time she spent polishing the blackness away! The main threats to silver-based alt. process prints are as far as I know residual iron salts (in kallitypes, Van Dykes etc.) that yellow and may result in fading as well as chemical attack of the silver by sulfur, resulting in silver sulfide (which actually is a form of very slow sepia toning).
* One more very cheap way of toning one could consider is indeed sepia toning. It works on alt. process prints, too, and will/should offer some form of protection particularly in iron-based prints. I've done it on occasion, but I think it's not very popular because toners like silver, platinum and palladium create more neutral tones, which apparently many printmakers find attractive (I certainly do).

Thanks, Koraks, I had thought I'd already linked the video in my posting. Good catch on your part.
• I tried selenium in 1/2% citric and got a black precipitate that stuck to the print. I don't remember if I toned before or after fixing.
• I've flattened prints in my dry-mount press at 225° for 45 seconds and didn't see any change, so maybe kallitypes don't heat tone.
• Thanks for the clarification on the process of fading in untoned prints. I'm still not very clear on the chemistry of the whole process.
• I'll put sepia toning on my list to test. It's a balance between testing and making actual prints!