Toning salt prints

[buggy]

Was just wondering if toning a salt print with say pt or pd will achieve the same goal as toning a VDB. i.e. image permanence. Does the salt affect the process or is it not an issue?

Thanks.

 

[Jim Noel]

I don't believe the salt is an issue as it has combined with the silver nitrate to form silver chloride and the excess Cl radical is lost in the processing.

Personally, I don't want to tone slat prints with selenium because of the change in color. If anything, I lightly tone with gold.

I just saw some 150 year old salt prints by Gustave Le Gray. They are still vivid with good strong tonal scale. Most are not toned.

Jim

 

[Jim Noel]

Oops!

I mentioned toning with selenium, which some workers do.

I also do not tone salt prints with platinum or palladium although if I were going to choose a toner it would be palladium because it cause less change in salt print color.

Jim

 

[removed account4]

jim

you don't tone salt prints at all, and sometimes with gold?
i have always read that un-toned salt prints are very unstable,
and have to be toned with something or they will not last ...

thanks!
john

 

[John Bartley]

By "salt", I assume we're talking about albumen or other prints of that process? This thread interests me because I had wondered about toning albumen prints with selenium and hadn't found any in depth information about toning albumen with anything other than gold.

 

[removed account4]

hi john

i was guessing they were talking about salted-paper prints ( like calotypes ) .. maybe they are talking about albumen prints ?

confused ... :confused:

-john

 

[Ole]

Whether salted paper, salt/albumen, salt/gelatin, salt/collodion or whatever, they can be toned in a wide range of toners. Gold is most frequently used, with Pd/Pt being less popular (probably due to the price). Selenium can also be used, although the high content of ammonium thiosulfate in the one commercially available toner tends to bleach the image far too easily for my liking. (Hear that, Ilford?)

I've tried "Old Viradon" too, the sulfide/selenium conbination works great if you want an orange picture.

 

[John Bartley]

Whether salted paper, salt/albumen, salt/gelatin, salt/collodion or whatever, they can be toned in a wide range of toners.

Thank you Ole. That's a reassuring answer for me.

cheers