I am hoping someone could help me with advice on Negative Intensification; for underdeveloped negs and underexposed negs. I've read that Selenium Toners will add density. Suggested formulae include mixing Se toner with Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent at a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio for 5 minutes followed by working strength Hypo clear and washing.(Ansel)

Any advice on the Se toner type as both a rapid and 2 bath Se toner are available.

Any other formulae/ideas and advice on intensification appreciated-can underexposed as well as underdeveloped negs be intensified?

-- Mark Kratochvil (mkphto@pnc.com.au), May 19, 1999

Answers

>>Any advice on the Se toner type as both a rapid and 2 bath Se toner are available<<

Ansel is refering to Kodak Rapid Selenium Toner although others will also work.

>>Suggested formulae include mixing Se toner with Kodak Hypo Clearing Agent at a 1:2 or 1:3 ratio for 5 minutes followed by working strength Hypo clear and washing. (Ansel)<<

I use 1:2, soak the negative for 3 minutes in water and then refix in plain hypo (this step is not necessary if you are sure that you gave your negatives a thorough fixing but if you didn't fix properly the selenium toner can damage your negative) then I place the neg in the Hypo Clear and Selenium Toner for 10 minutes and then Hypo Clear for 3 minutes and wash. It is important that the wash be cooler than the Selenium toner.

>>can underexposed as well as underdeveloped negs be intensified?<<

Yes both underexposed and underdeveloped negatives can be intensified. Selenium works the same on film as it does on paper, increasing density where there is a lot of silver and less of an increase where there is little silver. Only about a 1 stop or zone increase is possible.

-- Jeff White (zonie@computer-concepts.com), May 20, 1999.

Response to negative intensification

>>I use 1:2, soak the negative for 3 minutes in water and then refix in plain hypo<<

By plain hypo, do you mean hypo without hardening agent? Like Kodak Rapid Fixer?

>>then I place the neg in the Hypo Clear and Selenium Toner for 10 minutes and then Hypo Clear for 3 minutes and wash.<<

Do you have to use Kodak Hypo Clear, or will Heico Perma Wash work just as well?

-- Ken Young (knyoung@nwlink.com), June 22, 1999.

Selenium toning won`t work well on underexposed negs and will give you plus one result. If you need more than selenium does, there are other ways.

Sepia Toning. You should see the dnesity in the highlights increase by one or more stops and this will work with underexposed and under underdeveloped negs. First soak your negs Then bleach out your negs in solution A and wash. After washing and clearing all bleach out of negs, put the negs into solution B until desired intensification has accrued. Solution A Water 500 ml Potassium Ferricynide 35 grams Sodium Carbonate monohydrated 15 grams Potassium Bromide 15 grams Water to make 1 ltr

Solution B Packet B from Kodak Sepia Toner Package add packet to 1 ltr. of water (don`t use the Bleach in this packet.)

-- Justin Lee (juneylee@hotmail.com), June 02, 1999.

Using plain hypo is a fixer withought hardener. The idea is to make sure that the fixing is complete and also eliminate acid as much as possible. This is also the reason for the Hypo Clear being mixed with the selenium toner, to act as a buffering agent. I would think that Perma Wash would be ok.

-- Jeff White (zonie@computer-concepts.com), June 24, 1999.