Mixing Toners

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I have a question with mixing toners. The toners I mix together are Brown Toner-Kodak) and Selenium. The dilutions are 1 3/4 oz of BT and 4 oz. of Selenium. After fixing and washing and then bleaching and then washing I then tone the print is this mixed toners. The color is beatiful but the toner then runs into the white borders and then I get a sediment buildup on the print. Bascically its ruined. Any suggestions, should I hypo after I fix.??? Any help would be greatly helpful.

-- Karl (andypho@mindspring.com), March 26, 2002

Answers

I suggest that the problem is that Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner contains a large proportion of ammonium thiosulfate, which is essentially incompatible with brown toner. All instructions for brown toner state that the print must be thoroughly washed of hypo before toning, and my experience has been that if I don't do that I get all kinds of stains on my prints.

You have a couple of choices, I suppose: (1) don't mix the toners, but use them one after the other. I've always done selenium first, then brown, but you may prefer it the other way. (2) mix your own selenium toner without thiosulfate (warning: the chemicals are highly toxic) and then combine it with brown toner.

If you go to the Alternative Process forum and look at the post entitled Selenium Toner Formula, you will find several formulas for making selenium toner, as well as a safety warning.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edb@unblinkingeye.com), March 26, 2002.


What about trying Kodak's Polytoner. It is a combination of selenium and brown toners that you mix at varying proportions with water to effect the tone.

-- r (ricardospanks1@yahoo.com), March 26, 2002.

Ed is right on the money. Prints have to be thoroughly washed before using Kodak Brown Toner or they will stain. I ruined some really nice prints finding this out. You may want to try Kodak Polytoner, which may give you the look you seem to want.

-- Jim Rock (jameswrock@aol.com), March 26, 2002.

I think Kodak is discontinuing PolyToner, if they haven't already.

-- Ted Kaufman (writercrmp@aol.com), March 28, 2002.

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