ABSTRACT
Toning has been part of salted paper's practice since the 1840s for two very important reasons: toning expands the print's color possibilities and toning makes a print more archival. Gold toning is the number one choice for salted paper with platinum a distant second. Toning salted paper is critical. The silver particles of a salted paper print are so small that they provide a much greater surface area that becomes vulnerable to atmospheric degradation. With gold toning, there are two things to note: the amount of gold in the formula and the alkalinity of the formula, both of which relate to how fast and how well the formula tones. In the 1850s there was a popular toner called sel d' or which translates "salt of gold". It was a combined toning and fixing bath, made by adding gold chloride to sodium thiosulfate.
