Spotting for Pt/Pd Prints

Hello

I have been seeking information about spotting Pt/Pd prints. One writer has suggested Winsor Newton watercolor pigment in two colors: Lamp Black and Sepia. Jeffrey Mathias suggests "conventional spotting materials" in his text. I think that must mean Spotone, and that's a non-starter.

What are you using successfully?

Neal

Tillman Crane suggests good quality water colors - lamp black and burnt umber.

I use a mixture of Marshall/Spotone colors. Use it sparingly as it soaks into the fibres much faster than with silver prints. Best to start much lighter and build. I have some pretty old prints done in this way and it has not failed with time.

B.

Thanks for the response. I picked up some watercolor pigment and a 000 brush. I think the learning curve is pretty steep. My first two attempts were not pretty.

Neal

Neal,

I have been printing P?P for 25 years and yes watercolors work very well. I use the dry cake kind and a small dish to mix my color/tone. Most good watercolors have a permanancy scale look for the longest lasting. Mix the color/tone you need and save it on the dish (just let it dry out) it will last you a life time.

Jan Pietrzak

spotting pt/pd

Actually Tillman reccomended a loaded ink pen that I bought in an art store in nyc. since I'm not home right now so I don't have the name or number but will update this. It works really well and I've even snuck it onto a few of my fiber prints....

Peter Schrager said:

Actually Tillman reccomended a loaded ink pen that I bought in an art store in nyc. since I'm not home right now so I don't have the name or number but will update this. It works really well and I've even snuck it onto a few of my fiber prints....

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Looking forward to this information. Thanks Peter.
N

wilsonneal said:

Thanks for the response. I picked up some watercolor pigment and a 000 brush. I think the learning curve is pretty steep. My first two attempts were not pretty.

Neal

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Neal,

That's what reject prints are for.

I use the watercolor approach because it permits mixing to match the image color very accurately.

Mix a little Burnt Umber and Ivory Black and test it on a reject until you have the right blend. Use it close to dry, and touch it in with the tip, just like spotting silver prints. Works like a charm with practice. I find it much easier than silver prints, in fact.

It's much easier to not have to retouch, so make special effort to keep the negative and work area clean, and you will avoid the problem in the first place. I rarely have to touch a dust mite. Here's a device that makes the cleanest neagtive I've ever seen. I use it on the negative (both sides) , and on the pt/pd paper before I lay the negative on top. I also use it on the vacuum frame and anywhere else that I need to eradicate dust. Works like a charm, and much better than most dust cloth products because it doesn't spread it around.

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It's expensive, which I rarely go for, but it works amazingly well.


---Michael

What size do you have Michael? Do you have the large one for 12x20 negatives?

How do you clean it?

Robert,

I use the 4" roller. It comes with a pad of adhesive sheets. You run the roller over whatever you want to clean, and it picks up the dust and whatever.

After a few passes, or when it seems loaded with dust, you run it over the adhesive sheet and it takes it all off and the roller is ready to go again.

I'm really careful with the adhesive, and put the cover sheet back on it after use, so the adhesive sheet lasts through many cleaning cycles before it's time to tear it off and start on another sheet. I've probably only used a dozen sheets in the past 5 years, so I figure I'll go for a long time before needing a new pad of adhesive sheets.

A larger roller would be nice and faster, but I don't think it is necessary at all for this type of work. It may be a bit more of a hassle, because it does stick pretty strongly to film, and it would be harder to get it to roll properly without lifting the film. With the smaller one, you can hold the film down to the side and pass the roller over a portion of the film at a time.

Don't use the roller on the buisness side of OHP printer film; it sticks like a real SOB.


---Michael

Thanks for the tip Michael, sounds most useful.

Now I just have to convice the accountants I need a $150 for a roller and a pad.

Robert Hall said:

Thanks for the tip Michael, sounds most useful.

Now I just have to convice the accountants I need a $150 for a roller and a pad.

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If you can not convince the accontant to go for the $150 roller, try a pack of Grab-It Dry Cloths that you can pick up at the grocery store. They pick up everything on a negative and can be used many times. And I don't think the accountant will mind the price.

As for re-touching Pt./Pd. prints I also use tube watercolors. All you need is umber and ivory black and you should be able to match any palladium or platinum print.

Sandy King

sanking said:

If you can not convince the accontant to go for the $150 roller, try a pack of Grab-It Dry Cloths that you can pick up at the grocery store. They pick up everything on a negative and can be used many times. And I don't think the accountant will mind the price.

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Sandy, whereabouts in the grocery store would you find these, i.e. where are they usually kept?

If the Grab-It cloths are anything like the wiping cloths that use 'static cling' to work, the roller simply pounds them into the sand.

I once did a comparison where I cleaned the vacuum frame with a wiping cloth (like the Grab-It, I suspect) and then ran the roller over it after it was clean. You would be amazed how much junk was picked up by the roller. Now, I don't waste my time with wiping cloths, and go straight to the roller.

Plus, you can't exactly use a wiping cloth on the coated pt/pd paper surface, but the roller works great there, and it will remove lint that was laid down while coating, as well.

Best $120 photo accessory I've ever purchased.


---Michael

Jeremy Moore said:

Sandy, whereabouts in the grocery store would you find these, i.e. where are they usually kept?

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The wiping cloths are usually found in the section of the store where cleaning supplies are kept, i.e. detergents, mops, etc.

Sandy