REDUCING OVER-PRINTED PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS.

Daily Telegraph (Napier), Issue 3152, 4 August 1881, Page 4

REDUCING OVER-PRINTED PHOTOGRAPHIC PRINTS.

A simple and certain method of reducing over-printed proofs has been one of the wants long felt by all photographers. It is well-known that in every photographic establishment even the most careful printers cannot always be sure of getting tbe exact depth of tone required, and proofs occasionally get over-printed. Of course prevention is better than cure; but, when a remedy is necessary, the method I am about to describe answers admirably. I tried a great many experiments before I succeeded to my satisfaction. I found that cyanide of potassium totally destroyed the print, even when used moderately strong. By using a weaker solution it was well under control, and the exact depth could be readily obtained; but during the washing to remove the cyanide the action of the latter continued, and spoiled every proof, I

then trind several methods to arrest the action of the cyanide, but without success. It then occurred to me to use the cyanide in such a weak state that bufc little should be held in the paper, only sufficient to reduce the print to the required depth; for this purpose I made a bath of only four drops of saturated solution of cyanide to a pint of water. The prints immersed at first showed no signs of getting lighter, but after about an hour the most perfect results had been obtained with prints considerably overprinted. With lighter pictures a less time is required. Proofs treated in this way lose nothing of their tone during the afterwashing, which should be thoroughly done, and, when dry, retain all the brilliancy of _n ordinary print.—W. England, in Journal of the Photographic Society.