I'm doing my graduation gallery in December. I've got my prints printed, but I need to do some spotting. My question is what dyes should I get? The prints I printed myself are all untoned black and white prints, so I'm guessing the Marshall's Neutral Black and maybe Blue/Black should be sufficient. They're sold in a three-pack with Selenium Brown for $15, and they're like $9 a piece seperatly. Should I go ahead and grab the three pack or could I get away with maybe just the Neutral Black?
Question About Spotting Dyes
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Might as well grab the three pack. These dyes can be mixed and matched to very closely match the tone of the paper. Adorama has a kit with 6 different colors, currently out of stock, which is the one I got. Sells for $19.
Actually I was wrong. The 3 pack is actually $9.99
( http://www.freestylephoto.biz/18333...Dye-3-Tone-Kit-1-2-oz.-each-color?cat_id=2504) .
There's a 5 pack for $14.99 ( http://www.freestylephoto.biz/13132...Dye-5-Tone-Kit-1-2-oz.-each-color?cat_id=2504 ) .
I dont know what the hell I was smoking when I wrote the post
I think I will go with the three pack. That seems to cover everything I need for now
You've answered your own question.
Actually, spotting dyes are very inexpensive. I bought a five-pack of Spottone more than 30 years ago that is still going strong. The key is in how you use them. If you work with wet dye, it will go quickly (and spotting will be more erratic). But if you work with dried dye, it will last forever and you will have far better control over the spotting process.
The trick that I was taught (by David Vestal) is to use a palette. Vestal used a china saucer that I picked up at a garage sale - I opted for a cheap white plastic makeup kit. Place a couple of drops of the dye on the palette and allow it to dry thoroughly. Then, moisten a brush with distilled water that has a drop of PhotoFlo added to break down surface tension. Smear a bit of the dried dye across the palette to create a range of shades of the dye. Rinse out the brush.
After selecting a spot to work on, using a damp brush, pick up a bit of dye of a shade slightly lighter than the area surrounding the spot. Apply the dye to the print as a series of dots - don't try to paint the dye on the print. Carefully and slowly fill in the spot with dots of dye. Keep in mind that the objective should be to reduce the local contrast to the point where the spot no longer stands out against the background. If you use a shade of dye that is slightly lighter in color than the area surrounding the spot, and you find that the spot is still visible, you can always add more dye. But if you use a shade of dye that is darker that the surround, you take the risk that the spotted area will be darker than the surround, and removing excess dye is very difficult.
Take your time, work under bright light, and use a magnifier of some sort. I use drugstore reading glasses in a strength that is a couple of diopters stronger than my reading prescription.
It helps if the light is directional. In that case, the light will cause a shadow of the brush to fall on the surface of the print. If you carefully bring together the tip of the brush, the tip of the shadow of the brush, and the spot, you will get the brush exactly where you want it to be on the print. If you don't have that shadow, you will have to rely on the depth perception of your eyes to get the brush to the right spot and that's more difficult.
After you are done, put aside the palette with the dried dye for the next time.
Actually, spotting dyes are very inexpensive. I bought a five-pack of Spottone more than 30 years ago that is still going strong. The key is in how you use them. If you work with wet dye, it will go quickly (and spotting will be more erratic). But if you work with dried dye, it will last forever and you will have far better control over the spotting process.
The trick that I was taught (by David Vestal) is to use a palette. Vestal used a china saucer that I picked up at a garage sale - I opted for a cheap white plastic makeup kit. Place a couple of drops of the dye on the palette and allow it to dry thoroughly. Then, moisten a brush with distilled water that has a drop of PhotoFlo added to break down surface tension. Smear a bit of the dried dye across the palette to create a range of shades of the dye. Rinse out the brush.
After selecting a spot to work on, using a damp brush, pick up a bit of dye of a shade slightly lighter than the area surrounding the spot. Apply the dye to the print as a series of dots - don't try to paint the dye on the print. Carefully and slowly fill in the spot with dots of dye. Keep in mind that the objective should be to reduce the local contrast to the point where the spot no longer stands out against the background. If you use a shade of dye that is slightly lighter in color than the area surrounding the spot, and you find that the spot is still visible, you can always add more dye. But if you use a shade of dye that is darker that the surround, you take the risk that the spotted area will be darker than the surround, and removing excess dye is very difficult.
Take your time, work under bright light, and use a magnifier of some sort. I use drugstore reading glasses in a strength that is a couple of diopters stronger than my reading prescription.
It helps if the light is directional. In that case, the light will cause a shadow of the brush to fall on the surface of the print. If you carefully bring together the tip of the brush, the tip of the shadow of the brush, and the spot, you will get the brush exactly where you want it to be on the print. If you don't have that shadow, you will have to rely on the depth perception of your eyes to get the brush to the right spot and that's more difficult.
After you are done, put aside the palette with the dried dye for the next time.
I use the same technique as Louie and would just add to cover the palette with Saran wrap or such when storing it between uses to keep dust from collecting also you ca use a processed paper of the same type you are going to spot to check the shade or to "thin out" what you have picked up on the brush.
Jeff
Jeff
Thanks for the advice. I have a few sheets to test on before I do some spotting on the actual prints (I've been keeping my "bad" prints just to practice my spotting skills )
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Spotting is without a doubt the most frustrating thing about photography for me. I just can never seem to get it right. Often my brush is too wet and I get the donut look on my prints. On the other extreme I get a dry brush into the dried ink and then can't figure out why nothing is happening to the spot I'm trying to fill in. There's a middle ground somewhere but I just cannot seem to find it. I've even considered taking my important fiber prints to a re-toucher someplace to see what the charge would be.
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