I've found couple of articles on the subject, but they are far from definite: how long do sepia toner and ferri bleach keep stored? "As long as they work" doesn't suit me, as too much in the process of toning depends on an eye. "Safe" selenium bottle has this wonderful explanation "as long as it stinks". Nice. How about sepia and ferri? Thank you.

-- Oleg Boldyrev (oleg@boldyrev.demon.co.uk), November 15, 1999

Answers

How quickly ferri solution deteriorates depends on whether you store it in a dark bottle or in a light one, and on the impurities that occur in the water used for preparing the solution. So I guess one can't give a simple answer to that. I keeps well as long as it is stored dry, cool and dark.

As far as I know, sepia toner is fairly stable. At least, I've never read an expiry date. If you want to make sure that the results are reproducible, you should stick to the manufacturer's recommendation given in terms of square metres of prints toned (which might mean throwing away toner that might still be good).

-- Thomas Wollstein (thomas_wollstein@web.de), November 16, 1999.

Oleg, can you lead me to the articles? I just made several prints for local bleaching and would like to read as much as possible first (dilutions, masking, application techniques etc). Thanks...t

-- tom meyer (twm@mindspring.com), November 17, 1999.

There is a fair amount of information on the use of ferri and other bleaches in Tim Rudman's The Photographer's Master Printing Course.

-- Thomas Wollstein (thomas_wollstein@web.de), November 17, 1999.