esearing
4-Jul-2018, 16:39
In case you were wondering what happens when you add Selenium to LPD Paper developer....
I had some LPD with some age on it and decided to use it up but on a whim added 25-30mls of selenium to the the 500mls of LPD 1:2 working strength then topped up to make a liter. I ran the print through normal LPD 1:2 for 2 minutes for most of the development, then I dunked the print into the Selenium mixture , then stop bath, fix, rinse, hypo clear, and wash as usual. I gave these extra wash time.
At 30 seconds in the selenium mixture the paper shifted to a creamy fogged color where it was previously white while dark silver tones took on a cold bluish cast. Darktones deepened dramatically.
Repeated with second image at 10 seconds and the fogging still occurred but was not as extreme. Blacks still turned toward blue.
Even 5 seconds gave a fogged look to the highlights but the blue-black is not as extreme.
Paper was Ilford MGFB Classic Glossy
The developer-selenium mixture was a dark gray after 5 or six prints through the solution and the stop and fix became contaminated but still worked for my few remaining prints.
If anyone wants to repeat my experiment I would recommend starting with even less selenium maybe only 10mls per liter. I would be interesting to hear of results with different developers and papers.
It might even make for an interesting second pass developer after bleaching and may not be as extreme due to less silver in the processed paper.
I had some LPD with some age on it and decided to use it up but on a whim added 25-30mls of selenium to the the 500mls of LPD 1:2 working strength then topped up to make a liter. I ran the print through normal LPD 1:2 for 2 minutes for most of the development, then I dunked the print into the Selenium mixture , then stop bath, fix, rinse, hypo clear, and wash as usual. I gave these extra wash time.
At 30 seconds in the selenium mixture the paper shifted to a creamy fogged color where it was previously white while dark silver tones took on a cold bluish cast. Darktones deepened dramatically.
Repeated with second image at 10 seconds and the fogging still occurred but was not as extreme. Blacks still turned toward blue.
Even 5 seconds gave a fogged look to the highlights but the blue-black is not as extreme.
Paper was Ilford MGFB Classic Glossy
The developer-selenium mixture was a dark gray after 5 or six prints through the solution and the stop and fix became contaminated but still worked for my few remaining prints.
If anyone wants to repeat my experiment I would recommend starting with even less selenium maybe only 10mls per liter. I would be interesting to hear of results with different developers and papers.
It might even make for an interesting second pass developer after bleaching and may not be as extreme due to less silver in the processed paper.