Photographic Print Toning

First developed in the mid-1800s, toner remains a popular artistic tool for darkroom photographic printing. In fact, many digital photographers emulate the stylistic appearance of toner by using tone controls and filters in developing software like Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop.

Using Photo Developing Toner

Toner is a chemical additive that binds to the black and gray areas in photographic prints during the printing process. Toned photographs remain monochromatic, but they take on a colored tint and feature an increased gradient. While sepia is the most well-known toner, there are many other styles to choose from.

Remember that introducing toner into your process will often create strong odors, so it’s important to have a well-ventilated darkroom.

Common Toner Effects

In the days before color film, photographers liked to use toner as a way of increasing the warmth of a print, but toner also provides protection against UV degradation. Most toners bring out depth and gradient in images without any marked contrast reduction, too.

When shopping for toner, it’s smart to double-check if the fixer is included or if you’ll need to supply your own. 

Sepia

Sepia was the first type of toner developed. The formula has changed over the years, but sepia remains the most popular toner today. You can use sepia toner with most varieties of photographic paper, including paper with a resin coating.

Metallics

Metallic toners like gold, silver, and copper work beautifully on their own. However, if you use them after sepia toner or another formula, you can achieve unique coloration and more intense color depth.

Processing prints with multiple toner formulas is a common way to introduce one color in the highlights and another color in the shadows. Keep in mind that some metallic toners, like iron and copper, can actually make your print less stable against environmental conditions and UV light.

Selenium

Selenium toner is helpful for stabilizing darkroom prints. You can also mix selenium toner in different strengths to achieve different looks. Fiber-based papers often have the most noticeable results with selenium.

Professional-Grade Photographic Toners

You should always invest in high-quality photographic toner if you want to achieve a predictable appearance on a range of photographic papers. Brands like Photographers’ Formulary, Kodak, Ilford, Berg, and Rockland Colloid are among the most well-known in the film photography industry. Selecting toners from these and other leading companies instills confidence that your photographs will retain clarity and color depth over time.