Toning a Black & White Print to simulate Selenium

[Robert Kalman]

I have a black and white image that I would like to render with selenium tones. I'm using an Epson SureColor P600 and printing with the ABW driver and printing on Museo Silver Rag.

Can anyone suggest a good starting point on the color wheel (horizontal & vertical) to get to selenium? I know I'll have to experiment and tweak the numbers, but it would be helpful to know where to start.

Thanks!

[The Joker]

selenium gives varying tones from just deepening blacks to very red or aubergene depending on how you use it and the paper it being used.
Use curves to add tones but I couldn't give you any explicit advice on values because only you know what you're starting with and what actual tone you want to finish with.

And normally you adjust tone in image editing tool and not your printer control panel.

Which image editing software are you using

[Robert Kalman]

selenium gives varying tones from just deepening blacks to very red or aubergene depending on how you use it and the paper it being used.
Use curves to add tones but I couldn't give you any explicit advice on values because only you know what you're starting with and what actual tone you want to finish with.

And normally you adjust tone in image editing tool and not your printer control panel.

Which image editing software are you using

Thanks, Joker.
I want to keep the image in Grayscale, that's why I want to add the tone in the printing rather than making the file RGB and toning it in Photoshop.

[koraks]

selenium gives varying tones from just deepening blacks to very red or aubergene depending on how you use it and the paper it being used.

This alone is sufficient basis for not being able to give a conclusive answer to the original question.

Robert, why not just apply the tone that you want, instead of 'toning' according to a non-existent standard?

[Robert Kalman]

This alone is sufficient basis for not being able to give a conclusive answer to the original question.

Robert, why not just apply the tone that you want, instead of 'toning' according to a non-existent standard?

When I was a "wet" printer, I would dilute selenium with permawash in order to achieve deeper blacks with a slight purplish tone through the mid-tones and highlights. I want to achieve this rendering using the printer's color wheel. The "cool" setting is a bit too blue...I want to tweak the setting in order to obtain purple. (And, again, I want to keep the file in grayscale rather than RGB...that's why I want to experiment using the printer's settings. I'm simply asking for a recommended starting point. Thanks!)

[koraks]

When I was a "wet" printer, I would dilute selenium with permawash in order to achieve deeper blacks with a slight purplish tone through the mid-tones and highlights. I want to achieve this rendering using the printer's color wheel. The "cool" setting is a bit too blue...I want to tweak the setting in order to obtain purple. (And, again, I want to keep the file in grayscale rather than RGB...that's why I want to experiment using the printer's settings. I'm simply asking for a recommended starting point. Thanks!)

Given what you're trying to do, I think the several approaches towards split toning are more likely to yield the results that you're looking for than trying to coax ABW into something it just isn't very capable of. I personally use a gradient map layer on top of a black and white image layer. The tone/color can be adjusted in just about any imaginable way, distinguishing between only shadows and highlights or running through a great number of steps and variations. The toning can be adjusted to taste using the opacity slider on the entire layer, or even/also through selective masking.
I'm not sure what your concern is in not wanting to convert to a color version; if it worries you, consider saving an original file as well as an edited version for printing. I usually do this as well; I store the tiff as it has been scanned and never alter it in any way, so I can always go back to the 'original'.

[Ken Lee]

You can avoid the need for ABW and tone your image however you like: see this article.

This method has the further advantage of support on any printer since it's done to the image file itself, as a non-destructive adjustment layer. You can keep your original grayscale image as an "orginal".

[Robert Kalman]

You can avoid the need for ABW and tone your image however you like: see this article.

This method has the further advantage of support on any printer since it's done to the image file itself, as a non-destructive adjustment layer. You can keep your original grayscale image as an "orginal".

Ahh...perfect! Thanks, Ken!!

[bob carnie]

You want to do it on the print driver.. can you isolate the shadow area only??
In RGB when I want to simulate on inkjet a selenium tone I will go into colour balance and shadow only, add a bit of colour.

[Ken Lee]

You want to do it on the print driver.. can you isolate the shadow area only??
In RGB when I want to simulate on inkjet a selenium tone I will go into colour balance and shadow only, add a bit of colour.

Although Bob stated it briefly, it's an important point worth repeating !

In Photoshop we can specify which part of the tonal scale we want to change with each adjustment. We can make the dark values cooler, the middle high values more golden, the whites pure white, etc. We can tailor a specific toning treatment for every different image, according to taste.

Now if those darned OEM inks didn't fade and shift over time, we'd really be in business