I am trying to print in a way which takes into account all the wierd things which happen between the newly exposed, and the dry print. This is what I believe/have seen/been told: 1) selenium=darkens values 2) dry down=darkens values; 3) fog=darkens values. I think you get what worries me. Am I missing anything which I should pay attention to, such that I am not sadly surprised in the morning (which I often am), as regards the mid-high values especially, i.e., I dislike it when they appear darker in the morning...? Does the degree of exhaustion or development time affect this? Wash time and temp.? I use Ilford MG FB WT, and usually develop in Dektol @ 1:5 for 2-3 minutes, depending on how warm I want the selenium-effect (Occasionally, I use Edwal Platinum II, for very warm prints). Thanks all. Shawn

-- shawn gibson (shawn.gibson@utoronto.ca), July 08, 1999

Answers

Dry down is a reality even if some people want to say it doesn't exist. It is hard to demonstrate althought wet-up is easy to show. Take a work print that has almost completely dried and drip water through the highlights, the areas that absorb the water will lighten. I personally use a microwave oven to predict dry down, about 1 1/2 minutes for an 8x10. The color will change but the highlights will show their dried density. Toner will darken the darker areas so you will have to consider this also.

-- Jeff White (zonie@computer-concepts.com), July 08, 1999.

Selenium darkens the shadows most, and the mid-tones a little, but does not affect the high values. Ansel even reported that sometimes it can lighten the high values (the Kodak product contains hypo). There is always a dry-down factor, which varies slightly for each paper. Zone VI makes an enlarger power supply with a dial that enables you to select the percentage of dry-down for the paper you are using, so that the power supply automatically reduces the exposure by that amount--I have it on my enlarger, but have never used it. I simply evaluate my tests and give slightly less exposure (usually not quite a quarter-stop less) than my best test strip. In my experience, the state of the developer and the time of the development don't affect dry-down as much as the brand of paper and the type of surface it has.

-- Ed Buffaloe (edbuffaloe@earthlink.net), July 08, 1999.

-->Selenium darkens the shadows most, and the mid-tones a little, but does not affect the high values. Hi Ed. I keep hearing that, but my paper seems to stain quite often (MG FB WT) in the higher registers when I tone. I have been assuming it is the selenium, but could I be wrong. By staining I mean the highlights take on a chromatic character--not "white" as in my untoned prints on the same paper--though "white" is obviously not the right word with WT. Any suggestions? A quick bath in Farmer's Reducer? Or even less (1/2 stop instead of 1/4?) exposure than required?--at which point, I would be worried the information on the print would start getting very...artificial.

-- shawn gibson (shawn.gibson@utoronto.ca), July 08, 1999.

Another problem is the difference in lighting between the "evaluation" area and the "viewing" environment. If the light over your darkroom sink, or wherever you evaluate a print, is too bright you will tend to print heavily. Conversely, if it's too dim, you will print too light.

You should evaluate your dry print underm lighting conditions similar to those in which the print will be displayed.

-- James D. Steele (jdsteele@erols.com), July 09, 1999.

You can figure this out with some careful observations. I view my wet print under a fairly intense light. I've found that with Ilford MG FB paper, I need to reduce the final exposure by 5 % for dry down and another 3-4% for toning. So, I get the exposure right under my inspection light and them reduce the final exposure 8-10 percent and the prints come out right nearly all of the time after everything is done.

This might not hold true for other papers or different lighting conditions. I tried microwave drying, but I found it more trouble than it was worth, after I made the above observations.

-- Gene Crumpler (nikonguy@worldnet.att.net), July 12, 1999.

-->So, I get the exposure right under my inspection light and them reduce the final exposure 8-10 percent and the prints come out right nearly all of the time after everything is done. THIS seems by far the greatest way at getting it really close, if not perfect, the first time. Less winging it, because you must experiment in the first place, instead of looking at the tests and arbitrarily knocking off, say 2 seconds from a 16 second exposure. Thanks all. I'll start with Gene's times for WT, and take it from there...Shawn

-- shawn gibson (shawn.gibson@utoronto.ca), July 13, 1999.