Unsalty salt print query

[pdeeh]

I imagine I'm not the first nor will i be the last to do this ...

but this morning I sensitised a sheet of paper, dried it, clipped it into a frame with a negative and stuck it out in the back yard to expose ... only for it to dawn on me after half an hour that I'd done so without first salting the paper. D'Oh.

Resisting the urge to tear it out and fling it in the bin without further ado, I checked the print and found it was apparently printing out perfectly happily, if a little slowly.

Now my understanding thus far has been that AgNO3 in itself is only very weakly light-sensitive and requires either very strong or very long exposure to trigger the reduction reaction.

If that is correct then I could draw the conclusion that my AgNO3 solution is contaminated with some halogens (despite my making it up with DI water and being scrupulous about cleanliness), or that the paper contains halogens (it's a heavy Arches aquarelle on this occasion)

Or have I misunderstood the extent to which AgNO3 will react to light without the presence of halogens?

I'll try washing and fixing it later on just to see what I get anyway

 

[desertrat]

Please let us know how it turns out!

 

[Barry S]

Silver nitrate can form light sensitive compounds in the presence of many organic materials. For instance, the earliest experiment with silver-sensitized albumen paper didn't include any salt, yet was able to form an image. In the presence of albumen, silver nitrate forms light-sensitive silver albumenate. It's much less sensitive than silver salts. Your silver nitrate is probably reacting with the organic materials in your paper sizing.

 

[pdeeh]

Ah now, that's interesting, thank you.

Silly of me to assume that only halogens will form sensitive compounds with Silver nitrate.

 

[pdeeh]

Please let us know how it turns out!

Brick red and contrasty when it came out of the frame, and a sort of baby-poop yellow-brown and a bit fuzzy now its in the wash after fixing.

Probably should have dunked it in some Se toner before fixing.

Which prompts another question - why is it recommended to tone before fixing with salt prints, when Silver gelatin prints are usually toned after fixing ?

anyhoo, I'll scan the finished product when it's dry and post it here.

 

[adelorenzo]

AFAIK with selenium you tone after fixing, otherwise your print will bleach too much.

I find even after fixing mine bleach too much in selenium toner, I've never successfully used it with salt or kallitypes. I stick to using gold toner before fixing.

 

[pdeeh]

Please let us know how it turns out!

Here we go: On the left, as it came from the frame, on the right after wash, fix, wash ...