Sulfide/hypo-alum

There are two types of toner that can be used to completely convert metallic silver. The first are sulfide/hypo alum toners which can be used to completely and uniformly convert the metallic silver to silver sulfide. The second are selenium toners such as Dassonville T-55. 

The sepia/sulfide/hypo alum toners are the most stable as the selenium toners will only protect the shadow areas, not the highlights, unless toning is taken to completion, in which case the entire print will take on a color/tone, which will depend on the paper used. 

With most sulfide/hypo-alum toners the color will be sepia to deep brown depending on the toner, paper, and developer used. However, polysulfide toner at dilutions of 1 100, has been found to protect most papers with little or no color shift. 

Sulfide/hypo-alum toners are reusable and often improve with age. They usually contain a milky-white deposit, the result of sulfurization, which should not be filtered but stirred well before use. 

The following are suggestions for sulfide/hypo-alum toning. 

Uses In fixing baths hypo-alum (sulfide) toning hardener for gelatin. 

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