Retouching B & W RC prints, and Blotter book drying of RC and FB prints

Retouching B & W RC prints, and Blotter book drying of FB prints

I’m back in the darkroom after a hiatus, and working off a large stock of RC paper.

I’m having a problem with spotting, which I had not noticed in my previous experience.

I’ve never done spot removal before, but it seems to be a necessity, and I’m exploring different methods.

Has anyone used the SpotPen retouching set?

It seems like a viable candidate because 1) it states that it works well with RC paper, and 2) there is a dye remover pen available to correct mistakes.

My only concern is that there are one or two comments in the reviews to the effect that darker colors are harder to match, and take several a[applications. Since my current photographs have black backgrounds, and this is where the dust spots seem most likely to show up, this could be a problem.

I am currently printing on Ilford multigrade paper.

Also, with both RC paper, and FB paper, what are peoples’ experiences with blotter books in terms of print drying? How long does that process usually take, and how often can the books be reused?

Is it a generally satisfactory process?

Some spotting is inevitable, but your best defense is still a dust-free negative. I use one of those anti-static brushes and get good results.

Spotting itself is an art. Whatever method you use, start small, tiny applications, gently, patiently, building up. I've used spottone and a fine-pointed brush, never heard of these pens but the option of a mistake remover sounds good.

SpotTone earned its reputation as an industry standard. I've also used a predecessor to Dead Link Removed with good results. A quality brush and SpotTone is a versatile system, although it takes practice. Read a few tutorials before trying it. My very limited experience with an earlier spotting pen was unsatisfactory. It was like using a spatula where a toothpick is needed.

One way to dry prints is putting them to bed between clean sheets. It works for fiber paper too, especially if a blanket is added to help flatten the prints.

Dear Jim,

For spotting, all I can recommend beyond keeping things clean is Edwal No-Scratch. I've used it for years and it's been a lifesaver.

You don't need to use a blotter book with RC paper. For fiber base paper I find that a good squeegee and then air drying the emulsion side for a short time helps. The emulsion goes toward the blotter paper and if the emulsion is still significantly wet it will stick to the paper. If you have the room, drying screens are a better solution.

Neal Wydra

I have the Tetenal spot-pen and rarely use them. They started off OK in use but over time they've developed a tendency to put more dye on than necessary and I find myself having to wipe the ends with a paper towel to control the flow. I did write to Tetenal about this but never received a reply. When I do use them it's usually in the dark areas of (RC) prints where sometimes spottone leaves a residue. Saying that, Spotone is my preferred method for retouching. As for blotters, they will eventually become contaminated with muck, chemicals or other crud. I peg my FB prints back to back and let 'em air dry. They do curl a midges but I cure this by pressing them between two formica sheets weighed down with a heavy weight

I've tried to use blotter book for FB glossy. Texture of the blotting paper transferred to the print surface and left permanent impression. Never used it with RC as it simply isn't necessary. Squeeze dry first and few minutes of hair dryer will do just fine in a hurry. Otherwise, I just lay them on towels face up overnight.

Spotting RC glossy is extremely difficult. Pearl surface is do-able. I just use regular spot-tone type dye with fine (but not too fine) of a brush. I found, very VERY fine tipped brush makes the process more difficult. Trick is try NOT to paint the spot to cover the whole white area. Sometimes, just a dot in middle of the dust mark will make it nearly invisible at distance. Spotting is not to make the spot disappear. It is to make the spot less obvious and difficult to "spot". Spotting FB paper is actually much much easier than doing the same on RC.

In both cases, if you make a mistake, just wash the print and start over again. It isn't permanent.

I agree with use of Edwal No Scratch. It does wonders for scratches. But it does nothing for dusts.... I sometimes use film cleaners but when dusts are embedded (landed during the drying process), it is nearly impossible to remove. Trying to remove it can cause more damage. So I just spot them later.

Learning to get the dust off the neg is a great skill and will really provide you satisfaction when printing (and when not spotting!)

I use an Edmond loupe (always thought is was called a "retoucher's loupe") which has an opening to get a brush in. My process:

Hang negs to dry in a dust-free and high-humidity place (small bathroom where I ran a hot shower for a couple minutes);

Sleeve negs when dry wearing white gloves;

Before printing, clean negs with anti-static brush and blow with compressed air - tape neg holder closed;

When my print exposure is dialed in, I check for dust spots on the print and note them. Then I place the loupe on the neg holder, adjust loupe focus to the film plane, and check the neg near a bright light. Most dust by now is almost invisible (especially on the emulsion side), but with the print as a guide, you can spot it by reflection in the loupe. I gently loosen the dust with a #0 good quality artist brush, and blow off with compressed air.

This way I can get the neg really clean and reduce spotting time. There are plenty of threads about spotting to search here - main thing is, get like a quality #000 brush, and "dab" vs paint. If you jack it up you can use a wet finger to wipe away and start again. It's very different than painting, sort of a new media you have to get used to. I use my retouch loupe to spot grainy prints or lith prints, where you have to actually paint in individual bits of film grain.

My loupe - it's focusable and you can get a brush in there:

Jim Benson said:

Retouching B & W RC prints, and Blotter book drying of FB prints

I’m back in the darkroom after a hiatus, and working off a large stock of RC paper.

I’m having a problem with spotting, which I had not noticed in my previous experience.

Click to expand...

You need to treat the cause, not the effect.

I forgot to address few points OP has made.

No, I haven't used pens. But bottles of dyes have advantages - that is having an ability to get infinite gradation of shade. Also, brush will give you fine control over how much to apply. I find darker area easier to spot. Put equal or less density there and it'll basically disappear. On lighter area, put something little too dark and it's very noticeable.

When spotting, lets say you have a bright white dust spot in dark shady area. The idea is NOT to remove this white dot. The idea is to make it less obvious so it doesn't stand out and scream "LOOK AT ME!" If you have a local museum with B&W photographs, I recommend you'd look at it. First, stand back and look. Then get really close and scan the entire surface. Now, you'll notice how dust spots are spotted. I've done this with Clyde Butchers work and Edward Weston's work. They often put a dot in middle of the white spot, and the spot suddenly stop screaming. It's amazing.

No matter how careful you are, you cannot avoid not getting dust spots all the time. Sometimes spots are dried into the film. Sometimes they land while you are printing. So learning how to spot is pretty important. My suggestion to you is to learn the traditional method. There's a reason why it's still done that way - it works.

At the risk of going against the grain, I'm going to advocate for the use of SpotPens. It's not that I think they are better than the bottled dyes, because I'm not in a position to compare. I don't have a lot of experience with bottled dyes even though I own both. I find the pens very convenient and effective to use with RC paper and b&w prints. There is a warmtone version for warmtone papers. The key is to be patient, start with a tone lighter than the target tone, don't apply too much at one time, and build up layers. I use a manifying glass/light to accurately apply the dye. The job looks better if you allow lots of time between layers for drying. I haven't had the same success with fibre paper. Plus, I tone a lot of my prints and the spot pens don't have the needed range. I will have to learn to use my Spotone dyes.

Hmmm ... Interesting that someone else discovered that Edmund loupe. They're great when you need to get fussy. Retouching RC prints is really no different than fiber-based ones. Get some high-quality spotting brushes at a real art store. Photo store equivalents are usually miserable. Traditional Spotone-style dyes are by far the easiest to use in my opinion, though nowadays they're marketed under the Marshall name.

Pens vs. spot tone - could get another argument going! it's truly one of those "what feels best to you" choices.

I have a holy-grail-ish Marabu set - dry watercolor-style pots, 6 warms and 6 cools including almost-whites, should last approximately forever.

I know people say you don't need a full-on black, but I really hate seeing specks of almost-black spotting in a black field. I keep a tube of grumbacher mars black watercolor handy, makes me much happier and the spotting disappears.

Keep in mind you'll often see spotting in the right light, since most dyes are very flat and dull. tends to disappear under framing glass though.

If you need a shiny dye in your spotting brush, mix in a little gum from the back of a piece of gummed-paper tape. It won't be exact, but it looks less obvious than a matt dot especially if the mark was linear before spotting (they look more obvious than dots, if the viewing light is in an unlucky direction).

MartinP said:

If you need a shiny dye in your spotting brush, mix in a little gum from the back of a piece of gummed-paper tape. It won't be exact, but it looks less obvious than a matt dot especially if the mark was linear before spotting (they look more obvious than dots, if the viewing light is in an unlucky direction).

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Nice! Great tip.