Toning for beginners

[ymc226]

I was quickly reading over the threads regarding selinium and sepia toning and am a little overwhelmed regarding the amount of different chemicals but I do want to progress in my printing technique.

So far, I have printed in the darkroom for about 3 years, B&W, fiber initially 35mm but more recently 6x6, 6x7 and 6x9. The subject manner has been family, mostly my children but I believe toning will add a more interesting and different look to the prints which I enlarge conventionally to 8x10, 11x14 and 16x20.

The threads highly recommended Tim Rudmen's book on toning which I just ordered from Amazon.com but won't arrive for a week. However, looking at the Freestyle Photo site, their in house Legacy Pro brand offers products similar to the discontinued Kodak Sepia (I and II) and selinium toner.

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/746702-LegacyPro-Sepia-Toner-to-Make-1-Quart?cat_id=306

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/745702-LegacyPro-Sepia-Toner-II-to-Make-1-Quart?cat_id=306

http://www.freestylephoto.biz/10196-LegacyPro-Rapid-Selenium-Toner-1-Quart?cat_id=306

The threads lead me to belive that split toning with sepia and selinium can give a dramatic and different look, is this correct?

Would starting with these premixed products be a wise way in beginning to learn about toning? If so, which sepia (I or II) product and why?

On the more logistic side, can I develop and dry prints first and come back weeks later to tone or do I have to tone as soon as I print?

Also, is there a point where upon the toner exhausts, can you store working solutions or are they mostly used one shot?

 

[ymc226]

Forgot to mention that I have used Ilfords WT FB VC paper and did notice a "browner" tone to the print. Will toning accentuate this effect or is it also different.

Currently, I am using Ilford MGIV FB both glossy and matt as well as Adox MCC 110 FB VC glossy. Any thoughts as to these papers and toning?

 

[paulie]

try the sulphide toner and selenium

briefly selenium the print, for say a minute, quick wash then use the sulphide toner


this should give you a split

paul

 

[MattKing]

....

The threads lead me to belive that split toning with sepia and selinium can give a dramatic and different look, is this correct?

Would starting with these premixed products be a wise way in beginning to learn about toning? If so, which sepia (I or II) product and why?

On the more logistic side, can I develop and dry prints first and come back weeks later to tone or do I have to tone as soon as I print?

Also, is there a point where upon the toner exhausts, can you store working solutions or are they mostly used one shot?

Split toning is very flexible and I would definitely recommend experimenting with it. The results that you seek will most likely depend on your subjective preferences.

I would start with pre-mixed products. The Sepia II toner gives a warmer result with warm tone papers. Your choice - you may want to experiment with both.

I usually dry my prints and then go back later and tone. Usually, however, the toning process happens within a couple of days of original development, so I can't answer your question about a several week delay.

Toner does exhaust, but it is hard to predict. I do store and re-use working solutions.

One caution - Selenium toner is relatively toxic, so extra care in use is highly recommended

Tim Rudman's book is very informative!

 

[Pete H]

I have toned prints weeks later and it works fine. Make sure all fixer is removed before selenium toning, and if your prints are dry give them a thorough soak before toning to avoid uneven toning. I normally combine the two with an extra wash just before toning.

 

[Mark Fisher]

A light sepia tone (bleach until you just see a small change in the highlights) then selenium can be very nice. Look for some of Daniel Lin's photos in the gallery. I believe that he does this regularly and beautifully. The best advice is to just commit to wasting a lot of paper and trying it. Tim Rudman's book is pretty amazing for both its instruction and sample prints.

 

[mike c]

I believe Kodak Rapid Selenium toner has fixer in it as part of its make up.

 

[Marco B]

Toning difference

Hi ymc266,

Here is a nice example of what toning, and a double toning of sepia and selenium specifically, can do to enhance the print. Please note that the toned paper was Ilford MGIV FB (not Warmtone), which is one of the paper showing the most pronounced warm brown highlights / cool blue shadows split tone of any current paper. Split tone results on most other papers are less pronounced.

Also note that the sequence in which you apply the toners (sepia first, selenium second, or the other way around), can make a huge difference on the ability to obtain a true cool/warm split tone result. It depends on the paper which sequence works best, and some papers do not show any appreciable cool/warm split tone at all (but will show a beautiful color change when the second toner is applied).

Only a lot of testing (and probably reading Tims book, that I admittedly still need to get myself), can tell what results are obtainable with a specific paper. But don't worry to much, you'll learn a lot along the way by simply starting to tone the prints you make.

Marco