Selenium toning

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In photography, selenium toning is a photographic print toning process that greatly enhances the chemical stability, and hence lifespan, of photographic prints. It is the most popular of the archival toning processes.

While selenium toning may not produce prints quite as stable as sepia toning or gold toning, most artists prefer its appearance to the former and its price to the latter. Selenium toning also increases the tonal range available in the paper.

Different printers use somewhat different methods of selenium toning, but most often a fixed (and perhaps rinsed) print is placed in selenium toner solution and then rinsed, treated with hypo clearing agent, washed, and hardened.