Variable sepia toning: Density loss, yellow results

Hi all,

I'm currently having major trouble with variable sepia toning. Two months ago, I bought by first sepia toning kit (Amaloco T40, a variable sepia toner) and managed to produce a wonderful deep brown color. I kept careful notes in order to reproduce it later on.

Today and yesterday I tried to reproduce the results, and failed. When I tried the exact same amount of additive that created the desired result, I got a pale yellow color. The print also lost density in the areas that were bleached away (I use partial bleaching using dilute bleach).

My first guess was that my wash-aid solution might have gone bad, causing some of the bleach action to become permanent. I replaced it and tried again. The result looked slightly better, but it was nowhere near the original result.

My second guess was that the stock solution of additive might have gotten weaker during the two-month storage period. So, I doubled the amount of additive and tried again. This time, the color was a lot more brownish, more like the color I was looking for. The density loss was still there though. The toned image still looks weak, unsaturated, it does not have the punch that the original print had.

I can hardly believe the stock solution of toner or additive has gone bad. I opened the bottles two months ago, while the manufacturer says it should keep for at least 4 months.

Does this story ring a bell to anyone? Are these typical signs of a sepia toner gone bad? Or could it be possible that my bleach has been contaminated by traces of fixer from some not-very-well-washed prints?

Lots of thanks for any hints!

I am not familiar with your kit, but as they are all basically the same, a rehalogenating bleach, thiocarbamide and NaOH, it is most likely contamination from fixer. If the halide is removed in the presence of fixer, there's nothing you can do to replace it (that I am aware of).

Yes, oxidized wash-aid could be part of the problem. Mixing 1 tablespoon of sodium sulfite per liter of H20 and only using for one session, this is very cost effective and efficient.

Beyond that, you can expect to lose a little density with sepia toning, but nothing even near what you describe.