PDA

View Full Version : Storage of Sepia Bleach and Toner



brian steinberger
27-May-2006, 08:17
I just mixed up some Kodak sepia warm toner II and was wondering if and how long I can store the toner and the bleach. I thought that the bleach's life was very short once mixed up. Also, I thought the sepia warm toner II was the oderless kind, it stinks! and very potent!

Philippe Gauthier
27-May-2006, 21:14
I just mixed up some Kodak sepia warm toner II and was wondering if and how long I can store the toner and the bleach. I thought that the bleach's life was very short once mixed up. Also, I thought the sepia warm toner II was the oderless kind, it stinks! and very potent!

Actually, the bleach has a very long shelf life, but little capacity (30-40 8x10 sheets or so, after that it becomes very slow acting). It will keep for months, and even if algae grow in it, it's still good.

The toner has more capacity, but won't last as long, perhaps a month or two in tight bottle.

I now mix my own sepia toner, a hardy reciepe with lots of Potassium ferricyanide (the orange powder in the bleach) and some potassium bromide. With 80g of potassium ferricyanide, the brew can bleach maybe 200 or more 8x10 sheets and can keep for a year or two. For the bleach, I usually mix 5-10g of sodium sulfide in a liter or two of water. It rarely keeps for more than a few weeks, and I have to prepare a new batch.

Kodak sepia toner has only a few grams of active ingredients and exhausts fairly quickly, even though shelf life could be rather long.