The DARKROOM COOKBOOK, Third Edition

Multiple Toning
Toning Prints 117
It is possible to selectively tone areas of a print with different toners. The trick is to
cover areas not to be toned with either rubber cement or a frisket material, such as Photo
Maskoid® or Grumbacher Miskit Frisket, both available from art supply stores. If you use
rubber cement, dilute it 1:1 with rubber cement thinner. If you use Photo Maskoid, use the
red variety as it is easier to see the areas you have covered.
Using an appropriately-sized soft brush that forms a good point and does not lose its
bristles, apply two or three thin coats of the material to a dry print. Smooth out each coat
then coat another area or wait a few minutes before applying the next coat.
After you have applied the mask, soak the print in water: Fiber-based prints for 5 minutes;
RC papers for no more than two minutes. Then immerse the print in the toning solution. The
print might buckle or curl, but keep it immersed as much as possible. If the toner tends to
bleed under the mask you may have to skip the presoak.
After the print has been washed according to the toner’s instructions, you can remove
the mask. Remove Photo Maskoid by touching tape to one edge and pulling it off. Remove
rubber cement by carefully rubbing your fi ngers across the print surface while it is in the
fi nal stages of the wash. After the print is dry any previously toned area may be masked and
an entirely different area toned with a different color toner. There is no limit to the number
of colors that can be applied, or the areas that can be toned.