The interest in split-toning B&W prints shows no sign of slowing down. In this article,
I offer a few ideas which can be practiced using the standard kits available.

SPLIT TONING

Notes by Terrick Meakin

Reproduced from the Newsletters of the Western Counties Photographic Federation

Split-toning involves two toners consecutively, and and a variety of results can be obtained. Let the most common combination, using sepia & blue. For this, I normally mix both my sepia bleach and the blue toner at half strength. They take longer to work but are much more controllable. Sepia toner is normally mixed at the strength recommended by the manufacturer.

You begin by bleaching away only the print highlights using your half strength bleach: don't forget it will continue to work for a while even while it is being washed so take it out of the bleach a little early. Then after a good wash, sepia tone it as you normally do. Follow this by another wash, then place the print in the blue toner. What should happen, provided you have not bleached your print back too far, is that the unbleached silver that is left in the dark areas will take up the blue tone. Intermediate areas can, and often do, show shades of green where the sepia has partially toned but there is still enough silver left to take up the blue.

A similar method can be used with a combination of sepia and selenium; try them both. I always use the odourless thiocarbamide sepia, and by varying the amount of additive to the basic toner the split tone colours can be altered. Thiocarbamide toner is generally made up of 2 baths: part A is the toner and part B is the additive. Varying the amounts of each will give variations of tone; simple really.

One of my favourite combinations involves the use of selenium toner and sepia bleach. For this I normally mix my selenium at 1 + 10 but use the sepia bleach as recommended by the manufacturer (not the half-strength used in the sepia/blue technique). Try this one first using some scrap prints if you have any - I have heard people claim they don't! Anyway, take your scrap print and cut it into at least four, so much the better, but do leave them big enough to be able to see the effect. Mark them so they can be identified sequentially and, if dry, pre-soak them for about 2 minutes in clean water before putting them into the selenium. Begin removing the pieces after 2 minutes at regular intervals, say 30 seconds apart, and in your known marked sequence. As they are removed from the selenium, put them into a running water wash. After a good wash, put the lot into the sepia bleach (mixed at standard strength) for about 2 minutes, then wash them again. Reassemble your bits to form the original print and you should be able to see the variations of tone in each of them, from cold to warm. Select the tone you like best and repeat the process for the particular piece with your good print. You should
get similar results.

Be very careful when using chemicals, particularly selenium toner. Selenium is a poison. It is very toxic and absorbs into the skin. Repeated applications to the skin are cumulative - it does not wash off. It should only be used in an area where ventilation is good, and always use rubber gloves and/or print tongs.

Trying these techniques should keep you busy for a while. Toners are available by mail order from Fotospeed.

RAYCO "GLASS DROPLETS"

By Bill Reid C.R.C. Editor

I received a package from Rayco by way of a sample of their latest line for excluding air from bottles of ready mixed developing chemicals. They are immediately recognisable as similar to the glass droplets used to colour water candle displays. This system replaces the need for the 'gas' style air dispensers or squeezing and distorting the bottles. You simply add the required amount of droplets until the chemicals rise to the top of the bottle then screw the lid on tightly. Ideal for concentrate chemicals where the remainder are stored for further use. They are supplied in red, green and blue making them easy to identify in different chemicals.

They:

Exclude air from the bottles and containers. Environmentally friendly - no gases to replace. Reusable - wash and use again and again. Coloured glass - keep one colour for each solution. Each 250g pack contains approximately 80 droplets, displacing around 100ml of solution.

Glass Droplets are available at £2.95 per pack, inc. V.A.T. Carriage and handling charged at Rayco rates as per catalogue. See Rayco advert on page 16 for address.