Spotting fiber-based papers in 2023?

[BMbikerider]

It is along tome since I had to spot a print - I think I am just lucky. There again I use resin coated paper up to 12x16. A previous reply suggested trying Schminke Diaphoto Dyes. I have used Schminke dyes in the distant past, at least as far back as the mid 90's
but I now cannot find sauce of supply in UK. The drawback was they did however have a to fade over time. What I do now for B&W is to use a the remaining contents of a set of cartridges that came out of my Canon Pro 300 printer when I changed the cartridges over. They will eventually dry up but the pigments when dry are slightly water soluble and more importantly being a pigment and not a dye, they do not fade.

Years ago I tried using a pen to spot the offending area but for light grey shades it was just too obvious so I reverted to a grade '000' Camel Hair brush which cost me the proverbial arm and a leg, but that was 30 odd years ago, so it owes me nothing. Another benefit of using the spent cartridge residue is Canon inks are not glossy - but not matt either - somewhere in between. And if done properly they are difficult to detect.

Print spotting is a dieing art and the tint application needs a fine almost dry brush with the colour or shade applied little and often. One hint I was given was to use distilled water to which was added a drop - no more - of Kodak wetting agent I always used the Kodak one but I suppose any other manufacturer's product will work just as well. Don't ever use domestic liquid detergent because it contains an incredible proportion of salt and over time this can damage a monochrome print.

 

[DREW WILEY]

First, spotting does need decent brushes of the art store rather than camera store variety. And it is hardly a dying art. Everyone seriously making prints needs to do it. You're presuming those inkjet "pigments" won't fade or shift color - there isn't all that much track record yet on them compared to more traditional options. But it's an interesting concept, and I hope it works for you.

 

[Mal Paso]

Does anyone use something other than carbon for black ink?

The study of the lightfastness of pigments is a lot older than inkjet. I am confident the archival qualities of modern pigment inks are mostly true.

 

[Pieter12]

Print spotting is a dieing art

Pun? Otherwise, anyone who makes a projection print in the darkroom will have to deal with spotting, pretty much no matter what.

 

[Mal Paso]

Pun? Otherwise, anyone who makes a projection print in the darkroom will have to deal with spotting, pretty much no matter what.

Ya but a diffusion light source really helps.

That and those sticky wands. I open the negative stage of my 45MCRX with the light source on and the dust on the back of the negative really stands out and I grab it with the wand.

 

[MTGseattle]

Has Spottone gone the way of the Dodo? I still have a couple bottles. That and a #000 brush is how I was taught.

 

[Pieter12]

Has Spottone gone the way of the Dodo? I still have a couple bottles. That and a #000 brush is how I was taught.

Peerless seems to be readily available in both liquid and dry forms.

 

[MTGseattle]

Good to know.

 

[Mal Paso]

Has Spottone gone the way of the Dodo? I still have a couple bottles. That and a #000 brush is how I was taught.

Yep! It was mostly a solo operation and nobody took it over. I found the story while looking for the product on the web. One bottle could be a lifetime supply and they come up often enough on ebay.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Somebody did take it over. Marshall's bought out Spottone, and sold it parallel to their own line of products for maybe a decade until their stockpile of it ran out.

Mal - what kind of alleged black pigments are you talking about? Do you really know what goes in them? I dealt with industrial pigments for decades; it's not as simple a question as you think. Straight carbon "lampblack" trends purplish. Other things have to go in there to make it more neutral. Besides, are ALL the tones in your print needing retouching precisely the same hue of gray or black? No. That's why sources like Spottone, Marshalls, and Peerless offer a selection of retouching liquids, and the ability to blend them. I often need a slightly different blend in one portion of the same print than another.

 

[Molli]

I use a plate with dried splotches of Spotone. This is a decade old, or thereabouts, now.

Granted, I don't get to do much spotting despite having a carpeted darkroom. It's a shame, because I find it really relaxing and would happily do it for others if I had any confidence in my abilities.

My little water jar has a drop of Photo-flo in it (one of those "I read somewhere that it helps the dye absorb into the paper" sort of things).

The key thing for me was to learn to use an almost dry brush and to dot/stipple the dye - don't paint it on.

 

[DREW WILEY]

Practice makes perfect. You also need a good well balanced light source. My retouching station is equipped with very high quality color matching bulbs.

 

[logan2z]

Iff they are not available locally, Peerless retouching watercolor sheets would be pretty inexpensive to ship: https://peerlesscolorlabs.com/products/peerless-watercolors-dry-spot-set-of-5-spotting-colors-blacks

@Pieter12 , @Patrick Robert James have you tried using the Peerless sheets on Ilford MG Classic Fiber Glossy paper? I just spotted a print with them as an alternative to Marshall's Spot All (now discontinued) but the retouched areas were obvious when I held the print at an angle - they were glossier than the paper surface and didn't seem to absorb into the paper like the Marshall's product. Wondering if people have had success with the Peerless dyes on this type of paper.

 

[Pieter12]

@Pieter12 , @Patrick Robert James have you tried using the Peerless sheets on Ilford MG Classic Fiber Glossy paper? I just spotted a print with them as an alternative to Marshall's Spot All (now discontinued) but the retouched areas were obvious when I held the print at an angle - they were glossier than the paper surface and didn't seem to absorb into the paper like the Marshall's product. Wondering if people have had success with the Peerless dyes on this type of paper.

I have yet to find any retouching materials that were complete invisible on MGFB glossy. They all seem to be somewhat noticeable when held at an angle under bright light. Once matted and framed, that becomes difficult to do and the spotting does not show.

 

[jeffreyg]

I don’t know if this will work on an “over” spotted silver print but I was printing from my printer on cotton paper and the printer put some Epson pigment ink on a white border. For some unknown reason I tried to lift it using old typewriter correction tape and it worked leaving no trace. It might work if you are spotting before the ink sets in and avoid rewashing or some other way to remove it.
Just thought it was worth mentioning.

 

[logan2z]

I have yet to find any retouching materials that were complete invisible on MGFB glossy. They all seem to be somewhat noticeable when held at an angle under bright light. Once matted and framed, that becomes difficult to do and the spotting does not show.

Maybe I'm expecting too much from the Peerless stuff, but the Marshall's dyes are completely invisible to my eye, even when a print is held at an angle under bright light. The Peerless stuff is very obvious.

 

[Mal Paso]

After the fire I found a complete set of Spottone on ebay for $25. The surest way to recover a lost item is to buy another. Sure enough I found my original Spottone among the things I rescued from the fire...... 7 years later. lol

 

[logan2z]

I reached out to Ilford and asked if they had a recommendation for a spotting product that worked well with their fiber gloss paper and they quickly replied. Although they haven't done any of their own tests with it so can't formally recommend it, they suggested that I try the Fotospeed DY10 spotting kit as several of their customers have had good luck with it. Based on what I've read, the Fotospeed dyes absorb into the paper and do not leave a visible mark. The product only seems to be available direct from Fotospeed in the UK or UK dealers like The Imaging Wearhouse and Firstcall Photographic. I ordered from Fotospeed since shipping to the US was only $10 (the shipping quote from Firstcall was $90!). I'll give it a try when it gets here and post a follow-up.