>Are the techniques described for toning pure platinum prints (gold
>chloride, uranium, etc.) equally effective for use on prints made with a
>combination of platinum and palladium?
>
>I conducted a less than rigorous experiment with gold chloride and
>glycerine on a test print of pt/pd with less than stellar results.
>Interested to hear others experiences/observations.
I did some extensive testing a few years ago and concluded that the Pd does
not tone as fast as Pt.
For gold toning I devised a method that is superior to the oft printed
Dolland method. I'm going on memory as my notes are not here. The amounts
are not critical and can be adjusted to suit individual needs. In a totally
self serving manner I call this the Sullivan method.
Sol A.
Sodium formate 2 gm
Water 500 ml
Sol B.
Gold chloride 5% 2 to 5 ml
Clearing bath
HC110 25 ml
Water 500 ml
or
Stock Dektol 500 ml
Make sure the print is fully cleared and washed. One or two baths in dilute
hydrochloric acid will help but is not neccessary.
Add the gold to the sdoium formate and water. The clock has now started. Put
in the print and observe toning. it will go faster under a bright light.
Toning may take as long as 10 minutes. Stop when the slight yellow color
dissappears or else staining *WILL* occur.
Quickly put the print in bath of 5 mls of concentrated out of the bottle
HC110 and 500 mls or water or straight stock Dektol. This will reduce out
the remaining gold in the print. This step is necessary or else the print
will dry nicely and look like it was printed on a brown paper bag in the
morning.
Wash thoroughly and dry.
The trick with this method is to stop before you get to the point you'd like
to get to with the toning. Even a very slight toning will pop the dmax very
nicely, but it is very hard to observe while it is happening. Staining is
the biggest problem and it will happen if you go too long. Quit while you're
ahead. The toner cannot be used again. The more formate the faster the
toning and the bigger risk of staining. Less or more gold also controls the
depth and amount of toning. The palladium in the print will tone in the
red-purple range and the gold in the blue purple range. I've gotten nice
rosey red pd prints and blue black pt ones.
This method will not stain the highlights as Dolland method always seems to
do. It also uses far less gold than the Dolland method.
Dick Sullivan
Bostick & Sullivan
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