how to bleach a print, please..

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Hi,i am intrested in b&w fine art photography.My question is: Sometime i want to bleach only a part of the print.Farmer reducer is hard to controled and expensive.Can i use kodak sepia toner only the part A(bleach)?What's happend if i fixit the print after, whith out using part B?Are the print unchaged after 10 years? If this medod is not ok, how can i achieve that whitheness in some part's of the prints then?Which bleach metod is best? Thak you all for your answers.It is a pleasure the find you.A friend.

-- stelian ivan (stel_ivan@swipnet.se), October 07, 2000

Answers

Hello Stelian, it is easy to bleach a print with Farmer's Reducer. You need to dilute the reducer so you have more control over how much it bleaches. The key is not to hurry. Go slow and wash it off with water often. James

-- james (james_mickelson@hotmail.com), October 07, 2000.

Stelian, I mix farmers reducer in a four ounce mix instead of 16 oz. Using 4 oz of water and the full mix of A nd the some with B to make a stock. I then mix equal parts of A and B at the time of bleaching. I use maybe 2 ml of A and 2 ml of B and then add maybe 15 ml of water and mix well. Then on a test print I will start to bleach and what I want is a nice and slow bleaching process. When the bleaching is just about right I will rinse with water. If the bleaching happens too fast then I will dilute more with water. You kind of have to work fast because the bleach is only good for 10 - 20 minutes after mixing the A and B together. With a little practice this becomes very easy.

-- Jeff White (zonie@computer-concepts.com), October 07, 2000.

I just received an e-mail from Ivan. He is asking about the Kodak bleach because where he lives, Farmer's Reducer is too expensive - so..........

Thanks - chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), October 08, 2000.


As to cost, mix it yourself. Farmer's Reducer is pretty simple.

Part A

Potassium Ferricyanide 64.0 grams

Potassium Bromide 30.0 grams

Water to make 250.0 ml

Part B

Hypo 120.0 grams

Water to make 500.0 ml

For overall reduction 7.5 ml Part A, 180.0 ml Part B, water to make 1.5L. For local reduction , same or more Part A to speed things up. For Spot reduction 1 part Part A adn 2 parts Part B.

Part A should last 6 months, once mixed it is only good for a few minutes to 1/2 hour. It will turn green upon when exhausted. The higher the dilution, the longer it will work.

Sepia Toner Part A is similar to Famrer's Reducer Part A, but normally mixed to a MUCH weaker level. You could probably try mixing Sepia Toner Part A in 1/4 the water as the package, and make your own Part B from Fixer, however you want non-hardening fixer (straight Hypo).

-- Terry Carraway (TCarraway@compuserve.com), October 08, 2000.


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