Spotting a Fine line on Ilford Warmtone Paper

[Shaggysk8]

Hello please excuse my ignorance as always I have a neg I really like I have printed it and because I was having issues with my camera back I have a faint white line on the print, now is it possible to spot this out, I use ilford warmtone dev and paper so are there special inks I should buy I have a book on the way about spotting.

I just feel it would be a shame to give up on this print.

Paul

 

[bill schwab]

Paul, With a good magnifying glass and a steady hand, you'll be able to make that white line disappear. A fine brush and a good color match will be a must. Marshall's makes a good starter kit that you can mix and match colors from. Use a white border area of the print to do your matching. Unfortunately lines take a lot of practice though, so don't expect wonders on your first try. Good luck!

 

[Shaggysk8]

Ok cool, does it matter my print has a warmer tone to it?

 

[bill schwab]

Not as long as you match the color and tone. Practice on any throwaways you have to get the feel for how the emulsion takes the tone.

 

[Nicholas Lindan]

You can use the Spot-tone retouching colors - I think they are now made by Marshal. There is a 3-bottle kit that will let you match common paper/developer/toning tints. A 6 bottle kit expands the range, but the 3 bottle set is good enough for most prints. There is also a Kodak kit of dry pigment colors that you pick up with a damp brush - on the down side the Kodak method makes the retouch visible in glancing light.

The Spot-tone kit comes with a mixing guide, but I find matching color by eye works better. The Kodak colors are a mix-it-yourself proposition, much like mixing tempra or watercolors.

To spot out a line don't try to apply the color along the length of the line - it won't work: you will just make the line more prominent as it is impossible to apply the color only to the inside of the line.

The correct way is to apply cross-bars of color along the line, turning the line into a zipper. Sometimes small dots inside the line work better, you will have to experiment a bit. To get the hang of it scratch up some discard negatives, apply a bit of vacuum cleaner dust and make a set of prints you can practice on. Spot-tone can be removed but it is a PITA so it is best to be able to do it right the first time. The Kodak colors come right off and you can try again to your heart's content.

Use a 0000 brush and a 10x magnifier. The coolest thing to use for retouching is a large stereo inspection microscope - the type that is mounted at the end of a boom arm - it really lets you see what you are doing and makes getting a perfect retouch almost effortless.

At viewing distance the dots or bars should disappear.

 

[fschifano]

Yes, it does; and that's why you should get the kit of several colors of Spot-All dyes. As Paul wrote, you can mix and match to your hearts desire and almost perfectly match the tone of the print this way. Place a single drop of each color on a ceramic dish and let them dry. Then with a damp brush, pick up tiny bits of dye and mix them together, the same way a painter mixes color on a palette. Thin it down with water until it is lighter than the surrounding area. A drop of Photoflo in the water helps prevent the dye from beading up, especially important when trying to spot RC papers. The idea is to decrease the local contrast rather than hide the line completely. By doing so, the eye is not drawn to the defect. It's camouflage, not eradication that you're after.

 

[PHOTOTONE]

If it is a very very fine line, it really almost doesn't matter to match the color, more important is to match the density. Just get close on the color, and the line will disappear.

 

[Anscojohn]

Hello please excuse my ignorance as always I have a neg I really like I have printed it and because I was having issues with my camera back I have a faint white line on the print, now is it possible to spot this out, I use ilford warmtone dev and paper so are there special inks I should buy I have a book on the way about spotting.

I just feel it would be a shame to give up on this print.

Paul

******
I had a darkroom mate who could do wonders in just such cases with Spotone and a sable retouching bruch. As others have said, matching the color is important. He had a gift.

 

[Shaggysk8]

Well lets hope my painting skills come in handy and my patience

 

[Jon Shiu]

I find it useful to use a somewhat dryish brush, ie pick up some of the liquid mixture with the tip and touch the brush to a scrap of photo paper until it is almost dry. Then you can make very small dots to camouflage the line and the color does not spread and sink in like a drop would.

Jon

 

[Bob Carnie]

Spotting hairs is fun!!!!!

Ok so I lie, its a pain in the ass.

Use a good sable brush *Windsor Newton #3 is what I use*
I do not like nose hair brushes # 1 or smaller, that a lot of people use , The spot tone should be brought into the brush and then dropped onto the print with an amazing point , only a # 2 or # 3 can give you that kind of fine point and the ability to drop the ink on paper. If you do not understand this , think of a holding tank of ink that is connected to a very sharp point that you then use to drop drops of ink to selected light areas of a print.
As Bill says practice before you go to the live print.
Remember that you need to * charge* your brush with spot tone that matches the tone that surrounds the line... It needs to be spotted , not dragged, into the line. I like Nicholas idea of breaking it up . The idea in spotting is camofllage and you are not trying to hide the line in one single sweep but a series of light spots that join together and eventually ****visually ***** hides the line.
I have spotted thousands of prints and I trust very few people to spot for me , it takes patience and skill that only can come from practice.
Building up the tones is the trick and you will find after awhile it very easy to do.

have fun

 

[Shaggysk8]

(there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Here is the image SPOT the line

 

[canuhead]

That shouldn't be too difficult since the line runs through various tones and any minor spotting flaws might well be lost. would be trickier if it was through something like blank sky.

Have you tried reprinting with a scratch remover or nose grease ?

 

[Shaggysk8]

I have no idea what those things are? please explain?

 

[canuhead]

It's a liquid http://www.calumetphoto.com/item/BR1100/?t=GB01&a=CA01&CAWELAID=36795410 that basically fills in the scratch that prints up as a white line. nose grease, well it's just oil from your skin, usually from the bridge of the nose. was very useful in newspaper darkrooms on deadline back in the day.

I wouldn't use either if it's an emulsion scratch, ymmv.

 

[yardkat]

Yeah, I was just going to say that I've not used the Edwal No Scratch myself, but I volunteer at a college student darkroom. A student had a scratch running across the bottom of his neg, followed the directions on the bottle, and voila, it was gone. I was impressed, I have to say. I think his only problem on one neg was using too much of the liquid, so if you do try it be careful not to over do it.

 

[mjs]

Well lets hope my painting skills come in handy and my patience

No, no, not painting! As Jon said, dot the line out, don't try to paint it out, that won't work very well. Just spot it out with little dots. Take a break whenever you need to and relax; it'll work out with a bit of practice.

 

[fschifano]

If you overdo it, all is not lost. The spotting dyes are water soluble, and soaking the print in clean water for a while will remove the excess. Then you need to dry the print again and start over. Yes, it's a pain, and there is some risk involved; but it's worth a shot.

 

[Shaggysk8]

There is not much risk I can just make another print its only 80p a sheet.