In 'The Print' by Ansel Adams, he transfers prints directly from the plain hypo (Fix)directly to the selenium bath. No hypo clearing bath before toning. Instructions for Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner recommend a hypo clearing bath before toning. Some recommend using hypo clearing agent in the selenium bath and others just plain water (distilled water necessary here?) And finally a hypo clearing bath after toning. Some do it, some don't. Does one method produce better prints than the other? I am selenium toning for the first time so any clarification, advise etc. is greatly appreciated. Thank to all.

-- Mei Leng Lau (bohl-lau@erols.com), February 12, 1999

Answers

I keep telling myself I should get that book! But I am very surprised to hear that AA's prints went from the hypo to the selenium bath without a wash cycle. What I have been taught is that prints don't tone evenly unless they are thoroughly washed. I wonder if the info in the book is out of date. I have also heard of using hypo clearing agent in the selenium bath, but I have never done this. Also, I have heard there are at least two kinds of agents that will clear the fixer from a print; some are mixable w/toner and others not.

-- Tony Rowlett (rowlett@alaska.net), February 12, 1999.

Unfortunately, there is literature all over the place on this topic. I have, at one time or another, followed most of it. There are those who argue that mixing toner with hypo clear is wrong because selenium toner actually contains fixer. But mixing the two seemed to work okay for me. However, the best argument I have seen against mixing the two is that hypo clear apparently does not have nearly the storage life that working strength toner has, and you end up disposing of toner that is still viable along with the hypo clear. At present, I fix fiber based prints for 1 minute in Ilford rapid fixer, then accumulate printed paper in a basin of water. At the end of the printing session (which is usually late at night because of my work schedule and my less than light-tight darkroom - a.k.a. utility room), I wash the prints for 5 minutes in running water, place them in a working strength solution of Heico Wash Aid, then wash them for another 5 minutes in running water. I bottle the Heico, and tone the following day in 1:32 selinium mixed with tap water. I rebottle and reuse the selinium as long as it still tones, then run the prints through 5 minutes in the Heico from the previous night. I then dump the Heico and wash in a basin of still water, changing the water every ten minutes (per Bruce Barnbaum's description in his book). This allows quick washing at a time when I'm usually anxious to get to bed. But it seems that everyone has their own method. Good luck.

-- Jeff Damron (damronj@webtv.net), February 12, 1999.

HYPO CLEARING w/ Selenium Toner

Adams reasons for going directly from Hypo to Selenium was an effort to discourage uneven toning. The point being that if the print were washed or cleared improperly it would leave a print with unevenly distributed residue hypo and result in the toner reacting differently to these areas of the print. In fact some manufactors still recommend this method of toning. ( AGFA being one of them. )When using this method ,the theory is that the hypo is evenly distributed through out the emulsion and will therefore tone or react evenly with out staining. But ---it also means that the print MUST be throughly fixed before going into the toner. The differences you will experience with mixing the toner with clearing agent or using it by itself or washing the print first,etc,etc,etc, will be noticed in the color you get rather than the archival quality of the final result.

-- jim megargee (mvjim@interport.net), February 15, 1999.

I follow the method Horenstein recommends. Fix for recommended time. Then prints go and hold in a tray of fresh water until the end of the session. Then five minute rinse. Then five minutes in Heico perma wash. Prints go back into a clean tray of water just long enough to add the toner into the tray of Heico I just used. Prints go back to the heico/toner solution for whatever time I think I want for toning. Pull prints and rinse for 60 minutes. I toss the batch of heico/toner solution at the end of each session. I'm just trying to keep things simple with as few steps as possible.

-- Peter Thoshinsky (camerabug1@msn.com), February 18, 1999.

Adams holds that hypo clearing in selenium solution adds to the effect of the toning. Kodak once said that "this may not be true". Selenium toning is *very* dependent on temperature so be rigid if you're testing. I have skipped the hypo clearing before toning because I had the impression that toning was more dramatic without it. And I also do not mix hypo clearing in the selenium solution. I rinse 5-10 minutes after fixing before toning. I seldom met uneven toning or split toning. However, you can deliberately provoke it by using a hair dryer during toning - the warm spots are going faster. Results vary heavily with papers. Portriga Rapid and then Record Rapid are excellent in their reactions to Selenium. Classic less. My best results with Portriga are printing on Grade 2. Make the print a good deal too light even after drying down (testprint) and then 4-5 minutes in 20Celsius in 1+9 Selenium.

-- Lot (lotw@wxs.nl), March 10, 1999.

I think Adam's approach is best because it reduces washing time and because the emulsion is uniform in chemical content. He fixes for three minutes, and holds the print in a water holding bath until he is ready for the final fixing. I forget how long his final fix lasts, but it is apparantly long enough to complete the fixing process. In view of his success, how can one argue against his technique? But then, again, it is all in visualization and personal taste, and there are many techniques to achieve a happy result.

-- Eilert Anders (eilert@dav.com), May 11, 1999.