Toning and Color Control

 
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"Within recent years, Kodak's superb line of photographic papers for the professional has been greatly expanded.  The brands supplied currently are available in a great variety of stock tints, textures, sheens, and contrasts. This completeness provides you an unexcelled opportunity to select the exact paper you need for any professional requirement.
    No matter for what purpose you deliver prints — as a portrait, commercial, news, police, or scientific photographer — among the many Kodak papers you will find those best suited to the subject and the intended purpose."

Kodak Photographic Papers, sample book, c. mid-1940's

 

Color control with handcrafted emulsion is not limited to toners.  We have a chance to experience the options and flexibility of the heyday of b&w paper.  The choices for surface texture are as long as the list of great watercolor papers suitable for coating.  If you are willing to mix up old developer recipes and play around with customizing, you can have just about any combination of paper color, paper texture, emulsion characteristics, and toning.  You can even do color.  Emulsion on Fabriano Artistico HP is a perfect surface for gum printing (here).

My work with toners as been primarily with the 'I♥' paper emulsion (here) developed in a version of 'Defender 55D' (here). Untoned, this combination results in the slightest green tinge, but is beautifully responsive to selenium and gold toning - anywhere from a faint blush of eggplant to split toning.


The subtlest of color shifts.

Processing steps, in order: Defender 55-Dwr, dilute acetic acid, two-bath (non-hardening) hypo, one minute wash, archival washing aid, one minute wash, 7.5 % selenium (one minute), water wash.


A classic selenium look.

Processing steps, in order: Defender 55-Dwr, dilute acetic acid, two-bath (non-hardening) hypo, 20% Kodalk, 10% selenium, water rinse, washing aid, water wash.


A distinct split.

Processing steps, in order: Defender 55-Dwr, dilute acetic acid, two-bath (non-hardening) hypo, 20% Kodalk, 10% selenium, 1% gold chloride, water rinse, washing aid, water wash.


Handcoloring:

Emulsion on Fabriano takes transparent photo dyes beautifully.


Color Control - Toners and Developers
In the same order as the frieze above:


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP.

'I ♥' / Defender 55Dwr developer.

No toning.


Fabriano Artistico Traditional White HP. 

'I ♥' / Bűrki and Jenny Cold-Tone developer. 

No toning.


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP. 

'I ♥' / Ansco 135 Warm-Tone developer. 

No toning.

NOTE:  There is no detectable warming from the developer, but the contrast and speed of the emulsion are noticeably lowered.


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP. 

'I ♥' / Defender 55Dwr developer. 

10% selenium-1 minute.


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP. 

'I ♥' / Defender 55Dwr developer. 

10% selenium-2 minutes, water rinse, Berg gold toner-5 minutes.


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP. 

'I ♥' / Defender 55Dwr developer. 

Berg gold-2 minutes, 10% selenium-2 minutes, Berg gold-1 minute.


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP. 

'I ♥' / Defender 55Dwr developer. 

Berg gold-10 minutes.


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP. 

'I ♥' / Defender 55Dwr developer. 

20% Kodalk-2 minutes, 10% selenium-2 minutes.


Fabriano Artistico Extra White HP. 

'I ♥' / Ansco 135 Warm-Tone developer. 

10% selenium until a split started (about 5 minutes).


Emulsion Color

 

Warm ♥' on Fabriano Extra White (untoned).

'I ♥' on Fabriano Extra White (selenium toned).

On the left: 'I ♥'. On the right: 'Warm ♥'.  Both on Fabriano Extra White.  Emulsion color adds yet another level of control.

 

Different emulsion formulations respond differently to toners.  'I ♥' is more responsive than 'Warm ♥'.

'Warm ♥' on Fabriano Traditional (off white).  After fixing, washing and drying, I cut this print in about half.  The left half is selenium toned; the right half is untoned.  The difference is barely perceptible.  The same toning on 'I ♥' would be much more pronounced.
Warm to Cool
Left: 'Warm ♥'/Ansco 135/ no toning.

Right:'Warm ♥'/ Ansco 135/ Nelson's Gold Toner

 'Warm ♥'/Defender 55Dwr developer:
Left: no toning.  Middle: Nelson's Gold.  Right: Selenium

'Warm ♥'/ Bűrki and Jenny Cold-Tone developer. 

Left: no toning
Right: Nelson's Gold

'I ♥'/ Defender 55Dwr developer.

Left: no toning
Right: Nelson's Gold

'I ♥'/Bűrki and Jenny Cold-Tone developer.

Left: no toning
Right: Nelson's Gold

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