Toning machine processed RC B&W prints

Anyone out there doing it?

I'm talking about purely for archival reasons and not a colour change.

Seems to me there's 2 options, either after they've been through the processor or setting up a 4 or 5 bath machine to do it in one shot. 4 baths for Sistan and 5 baths for selenium.

At the moment I'm using selenium and 2 processors, the second just for toning but need to sort out a better routine. I process in a 4 bath processor so my next move is to plug the wash on the 4th bath and fill it with Sistan.

Haven't worked out the economics of using Sistan yet but so far selenium isn't too bad.

I've had some staining problems with selenium but have managed to cure them.

Clayton

Clayton,

"Haven't worked out the economics of using Sistan yet but so far selenium isn't too bad."

According to Agfa "use it until the solution is depleted", i.e. the tank is empty by carry-out. ;-)

Am I getting this right, you are using processors - one to develop, one to tone the prints? How do you do the needed wash? What type of processors - the Thermaphot-types I know squeegee the prints, which isn´t useful with Sistan.

rjr said:

Am I getting this right, you are using processors - one to develop, one to tone the prints? How do you do the needed wash? What type of processors - the Thermaphot-types I know squeegee the prints, which isn´t useful with Sistan.

Click to expand...

The first processor is a 4 bath machine, dev, fix, wash, wash. The second processor is a Durst Printo which is modular, you can use 1 or clip on as many extra tanks on as you want. So I use 2 baths, tone, wash.

At the moment I'm experimenting with different configurations. Next plan is to use the 4 bath and plug the last wash..........dev, fix, wash, sistan.

Now you mention squeegee the prints which is what a processor will do. Why wouldn't that work with Sistan? Is it not leaving enough behind?

I iunderstand Sistan leaves a protective film behind. How thick should that film be?


Clayton

hmm..not that I've done this but could be that if you had a processor with some soft rollers in a tank, that would work for sistan, if the hard rollers were too much? I dunno....I remember reading an article about a lab in an archive that used a colex, I think, that was modified for toning, but this was being used for sheet film processing. I'm fairly sure it was dip & dunk as well.

it could be that you could go straight from the fix into the selenium then do your wash. I guess it depends on whether you have enough carryover fix from the previous tank, to forgo any stains. If the exit rollers are doing a good job though, then I guess you do need to do a quick wash. Probably 30 seconds or so would do for b/w. I pretty much shut off the dryer on the 2150 I use at work, and take that damp print and selenium tone it outside in a sink. It only gets a 20 second wash if that, in the machine. if you could do it straight after the fix, then maybe you could swap out the hard rollers with some soft ones to leave enough residual fix on the print so the toner doesn't stain....

The Printo though--I use one of these as well--seems like you could just remove the top roller from the exit part of the rack and the prints would still come out, but the chemistry would be left on them....might work for the sistan if it needs to be sopping wet.