[pure-silver] Re: Prints fixed to long in first bath
- From: "Richard Knoppow" <dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 16 Jan 2011 18:16:35 -0800
----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Nelson" <emanmb@xxxxxxxxx>
To: <pure-silver@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Sunday, January 16, 2011 4:19 PM
Subject: [pure-silver] Re: Prints fixed to long in first
bath
Thanks guys.
My worry too has been as you and Gerald have pointed out.
If I had no chance to
re-print then I'd be tempted to chance it or try HE-1 but
I have no formalin for
the last step and instructions also mention HE-1 is to be
used after toning so
it would just be better all 'round to reprint while the
enlarger is still set up
for these negs. Dang fiber has gotten so expensive!
I think too that Ken's point of no evident change to
prints in many years under
similar treatment has value. But given the responsibility
I have to produce as
archival a print as I can for this HABS/HAER job, I think
his method bears note
and validity, but not for this particular situation.
Eric
If the prints did not discolor in the trash they were
probably fixed OK. The second fixing bath would have removed
any residual complexes. You can test for residual silver
using either a sodium sulfide test or a 1:9 dilution of
Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner. The toner test requires the
prints of film its used on be well washed or it can give a
false negative. Any stain at all from either test is an
indication of unfixed silver halide in the emulsion. If
there is no stain its OK. The material must be washed after
the test to remove the toner or it will cause a stain with
time.
I would not use HE-1, it does not remove some partially
soluble complexes. The best treatment is a sulfite wash aid
like Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent. I think the current Ilford
wash aid is probably identical. This will remove both hypo
and partially solublized reaction products that will not
otherwise wash out. Use according to the Kodak instructions.
For archival life the print should be toned. KRST will
work if its used in a strong enough dilution but the old
recommendation of 1:19 will not tone some highlight silver
enough to protect it from oxidation. At 1:9 and used for a
minimum of 3 minutes it will provide full protection but
will cause some change in image color or density or both.
Gold-thiocyanate toner such as Kodak Gold Protective
Solution, works very well but is expensive. The gold toner
will cause a slight intensification of the print and tend to
cause a shift towards blue in some emulsions, particularly
warm tone ones.
Polysulfide toners, like Kodak Brown Toner, tone all
densities uniformly and will provide good protection with
partial toning. Toning far enough to cause a detectable
change in image color will provide full protection. Note
that KBT may cause _film_ emulsions to shift toward blue
rather than sepia.
Prints must be washed after any toning. Since KRST does
not contain acid the use of sulfite wash aid is probably not
necessary but can be used if desired. There is no hypo in
the other toners so they should be washed as instructed.
KBT and other polysulfide toners have a tendency to
continue toning in the wash. In fact, they have the peculiar
property of toning faster as they are diluted or exhausted.
So toned prints should be treated in a solution of sodium
sulfite to stop the toning. While the recommendation is for
a 10% solution I've found in practice that a working
solution of KHCA (about 2% sulfite) works fine. The sulfite
bath will also clear the orange stain almost instantly.
In general metallic substitution toners like Iron-Blue
toner and Copper toner procuce images which are _more_
vulnerable to atmospheric attack than the original silver
image.
Bleach and redevelop sepia toners also produce permanent
images where the image color is desired or can be
tollerated. In fact, any sulfiding toner, when used to
completion, will be archival. Note that some, particularly
Nelson's Gold Toner require fixing after toning because they
generate some halide. If not fixed and washed after toning
the prints will NOT be permanent but if properly treated
they will be.
--
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles
WB6KBL
dickburk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
=============================================================================================================
To unsubscribe from this list, go to www.freelists.org and logon to your
account (the same e-mail address and password you set-up when you subscribed,)
and unsubscribe from there.
Other related posts:
