I just tried yesterday some tonning using Berg's product (Coper tonning). I didn't really like it. It promises to give a chocolate brown tone, but I get either a very dark brown or a redish brown depending on how long the picture is exposed to the chemical. Besides it looks very artificial. I'd like to know what should I use to have nice brown vivid tons, not looing like old photography. Have anybody tried the Kodak product for toning in brown?

-- Herbet Camerino (hbrasileiro@cihi.ca), May 02, 2000

Answers

Response to Tonning

Toning in not an exact science. There are many factors that will affect the final print tone: paper type, developer type and dilution, toner type and dilution, and post-toning treatment and washing.

You will have to experiment with all of the above to find a combination that yeilds the tone you want.

I have produced a "brown" tone on Ilford MGWT FB, developed in Ethol LPD 1:8 for 2.5 minutes, fixed, washed, toned in Kodak Brown Toner 1:20 for 3 minutes, followed by Heico Permawash 1:24 for 1 minute, then washed for 30 minutes.

Your results WILL vary. ;)

-- Chris Ellinger (ellinger@umich.edu), May 02, 2000.

Response to Tonning

Greetings,

Chris is absolutely correct; the tone you get will depend on many variables. Your best approach is to use a warm tone paper then try varing the time and/or dilution and observe the different results. I've never used Berg's product, but I do use Kodak's Brown Toner. On Ilford's warm tone paper I've never tried to get a chocolate brown tone, but it does yield a nice reddish brown. Kodak's toner can be varied by changing time and/or dilution too. Good luck.

Regards,

-- Pete Caluori (pcaluori@hotmail.com), May 02, 2000.

Response to Tonning

I was looking at Kodak's site and depending on the paper (warm/cold tones), as you said, the result is different. I'm using multi- contrast paper, is that considered warm, cold or neutral?

-- Herbet Camerino (hbrasileiro@cihi.ca), May 02, 2000.

Response to Tonning

Actually multi-contrast paper is just that, a paper that can have varying contrasts; you vary the contrast from low to high by filtering your light source. The tone of the paper refers to the paper base which can be either cold, warm or neutral.

Regards,

-- Pete Caluori (pcaluori@hotmail.com), May 02, 2000.

Response to Tonning

Copper is not a very good toner and I do not suggest bothering with it.

Kodak's Brown Toner is a sulfide toner, which will yield very good, very repeatable results, as will Agfa Viradon (essentially the same thing). The brown is on the yellowish side. Watch out for the smell though! Hydrogen Sulfide. Toxic. Use with PLENTY of ventilation.

Selenium toner 1:3 will give a beautiful chocolate brown on Ilford Warmtone FB, a somewhat cooler brown on Agfa MC Classic 111 (my favorite warm tone paper).

Kodak's Polytoner is a basically combination of the above two toners, which will give a range of brown tones, depending on how it's diluted.

Sepia Toner is another fine toner, which gives yellowish browns on many different papers.

http://www.ravenvision.com/peterhughes.htm

-- Peter Hughes (leo948@yahoo.com), May 02, 2000.