Printing through a Scratch

[Kevin Kehler]

I took some engagement photos last weekend for friends, using some of my frozen TXP 220; I normally use the 120 and never had scratches but all 3 rolls of the 220 have a scratch at the same level including some of the better images; a long-horizontal scratch through some faces, just visible under their noses. It is very fine but still noticeable on the print at 8x10; not noticeable on 5x7 but they would like some 11x14's for parents. I probably have some dirt or plastic stuck in the back of my RZ 6x6 back, which I can use for 120 and 220 film.

How does one deal with this? They live in a different city so I can't reshoot, spotting a line seems impractical and can one really fill in a scratch without it being noticeable? I would love to give a nice handmade FB silver print instead of a scan/commercial print.

Thanks for advice.

 

[brucemuir]

wow that bites cuz that's a nice shot.
I know you can sometimes fill smaller scratches with "nose grease".

Really, you take your finger and rub side of your nose (keep you fingers clear of your nostrils )
and use the facial grease/skin cells to fill the scratch on the neg.
I swear this is an old trick I cannot take credit for.

 

[alanrockwood]

I took some engagement photos last weekend for friends, using some of my frozen TXP 220; I normally use the 120 and never had scratches but all 3 rolls of the 220 have a scratch at the same level including some of the better images; a long-horizontal scratch through some faces, just visible under their noses. It is very fine but still noticeable on the print at 8x10; not noticeable on 5x7 but they would like some 11x14's for parents. I probably have some dirt or plastic stuck in the back of my RZ 6x6 back, which I can use for 120 and 220 film.

How does one deal with this? They live in a different city so I can't reshoot, spotting a line seems impractical and can one really fill in a scratch without it being noticeable? I would love to give a nice handmade FB silver print instead of a scan/commercial print.

Thanks for advice.

One trick a knowledgeable person told me about but which I haven't tried is nose grease... taken from the outside of the nose with a finger and applied to the film.

Disclaimer: I don't know if it works.

 

[alanrockwood]

Bruce,

You beat me to the punch. (Not a punch in the nose of course.)

Alan

 

[MattKing]

Nose grease works on the non-emulsion side of the negative, and that's good, because of the fact that the scratch in your example shows on the print as a white or a lighter area.

If the scratch was on the emulsion side, it would most likely have printed dark.

 

[mjs]

You can spot out a scratch with care; it just takes a while.

Mike

 

[Kevin Kehler]

Thanks everyone for your replies; the nose-grease idea was my first thought but I was unsure if you can apply it so easily. As for spotting it out, will I not have the exact opposite problem, of a dark line across their faces? As well, do you use the same Marshall oils as print spotting or is there a different material?

Again, thanks.

 

[jeffreyg]

It looks to me that it is not a scratch. A scratch in the emulsion would cause a dark line. On my monitor it looks like a lighter line than the skin tone. I couldn't say what caused that but if that is the case and you don't want to do anything to the negative careful spotting of the print would fix it.

http://jeffreyglasser.com/

 

[Ian Grant]

I don't think anyone suggested spotting the negative, it would be near impossible. Oils shouldn't be used for any retouching as they don't absorb into the emulsion, but i thought Marshals made a retouching dyes.

Ian

 

[jeffreyg]

Spotting the print but not with oils. Spotone if still available is what I use to spot B&W prints. There is enough in each bottle to last for years.

Jeffrey

 

[Bill Burk]

As others have guessed, the scratch might be in the base.

Have you tried printing through an enlarger with a diffusion-source?

You might not have to touch the negative.

 

[jvo]

nose grease... edwal also makes a product called 'no-scratch' - like spotone, small bottle lasts forever.

 

[removed account4]

never from the nose,
always from just behind the ear ...

 

[Bob Carnie]

nose grease, works
but try it on a negative to the right or left of the hero image, If it solves your problem you win.

Rose Scheler in Toronto is an amazing print retoucher , she worked and still works on my prints if I get into a big problem with scratches . She can take out black marks on un toned prints like nowone I have ever seen before.
She also spotted all Ed Burtynskys prints before he moved to digital retouch.

Not sure if she is still taking on new clients as the need for print retouching has all but dried up , but she is a winner.

 

[brucemuir]

^ yep, I once read where most of the best retouchers are/were woman.
Anecdotal evidence seems to bear this out once again.
Smaller hands I quess? ? ?

 

[Bob Carnie]

Not sure about this, my first employer Slobodan Filipovich was an amazing retoucher, he worked on negs and used all sorts of methods to retouch, one being Red Coccine which was used heavily for holding back shadows and letting highlights print through.
Lillian Bassman was also amazing and she followed the old school of retouching which sady is no longer needed. Every shop I worked at would have spotters and retouchers on staff and I never saw a gender bias.

^ yep, I once read where most of the best retouchers are/were woman.
Anecdotal evidence seems to bear this out once again.
Smaller hands I quess? ? ?