Toning

There are a variety of toners which can be used to change the color, contrast, and in some cases, the stability of the print. Among them are selenium, sepia, brown, blue, copper, gold, polytoner and halochrome silver toner. Toners are not supplied by the lab except for demonstration purposes in class. They can be purchased locally or by mail-order.

The working solution of most toners can be bottled after use and reused until exhausted, so toning is usually not an expensive process. Follow the directions that come with the toner for mixing and use. It is recommended that you mix the toners with distilled water from the supermarket to avoid contamination by any of the impurities that may be present in tap water. Working solutions should be stored in clearly marked plastic bottles.

A word on safety with toners: Skin contact should be avoided with all toners, so use tongs, or better yet, rubber gloves when mixing and using the solutions. These chemicals are toxic and can be absorbed through the skin. Many toners, especially sulfide toners such as sepia and Kodak Polytoner, give off noxious fumes. Toning should be done in the toning sink in the main are of the lab with the exhaust fan turned on (the switch over the large rocking print washer). Keep fumes from spreading through the lab by covering the toning tray with another tray. When toning in the private labs, keep the toning tray located at the end of the sink nearest the exhaust ventilation duct. If you get any toners on your skin, rinse it off right away. Avoid prolonged inhalation of any toning bath.

Selenium Toning:

This is an extremely popular toner among black and white photographers. It has three main effects on the print:

• it slightly boosts the contrast by intensifying the blacks.
• it imparts a slight color shift that varies with the type of paper used, usually towards a cooler cast.
• it increases the stability of the print by coating the silver with the more stable selenium metal.

The following chart shows the setup and processing sequence for selenium toning that is recommended in this lab. Use fresh hypo-clear (a working solution from the hypo-clear tank) for both the hypo-clear steps preceding and following the toning bath. Dilute the selenium toner 1:12 or 1:16 to make a working solution. This dilution will achieve a subtle effect as opposed to a radical change in color.

Toning Sequence

(left to right......)

The prints may be toned just after they have come out of the holding bath in the group darkroom, or they can be toned at any time in the future. (Just re-wet dry prints by placing them in the first hypo-clear solution.)

Certain brands of warmtone photo paper will split-tone in selenium: the dark areas turn reddish-brown and the light areas remain cold in tone. This effect is best achieved with Agfa Portriga-Rapid or Agfa Insignia papers.

Since the toning process is carried out in room light, you simply leave the print in the toner until the desired effect is achieved. Most papers will tone adequately in 3-5 minutes in fresh toner, longer as the toner wears out. When it takes 7-10 minutes to tone a print, or when you find a sooty precipitate in the solution, it is exhausted and should be discarded.

Other toners:

Use the same general toning sequence as with selenium, preceding the toner and following the toner with hypo-clear baths. (This will avoid the possibility of staining due to residues of fixer that may be present in the print and which may react with the toner.)

You may want to experiment with the following toners:

Kodak Polytoner: provides a range of color depending upon how much the concentrate is diluted. A 1:15 dilution will give the print a cool purple tone similar to selenium. Greater dilutions, up to 1:50, will tone the print warm brown.

• Berg Blue, Copper, Yellow: Metallic toners which can be used to achieve unusual effects, especially if the print is partially "redeveloped" according to instructions supplied with the kits.

• Kodak or Berg Sepia Toner: Two-step toners which produce rich sepia tones. The first step bleaches the print away and the second step redevelops it in sepia. (The Berg version of this has the advantage of being odorless whereas the Kodak version has a potent sulfide smell.)

• Rockland Halo-Chrome: Reduces the silver in the print to metallic silver. Follow directions supplied with the toner to produce either white-on-silver or black-on-silver results.

Washing after toning:

Toned prints should be followed by a fresh hypo-clear bath as indicated in the chart, and then a thorough wash in a separate tray of water. Do not placed toned prints back into the rocking washer if it is full of other students' prints - staining may occur.