Spotting ink for FB matt print

[lauffray]

I'm looking for a good ink to spot prints made on matt FB paper, I've never spotted before so I'm not sure what to look for. One easily accessible option is Marshall's from B&H, the neutral black one, does anyone have any experience with it? I'm not sure I need the other tones as I don't tone, or is that irrelevant?

 

[M Carter]

About anything specifically made for spotting should work fine - you want something that can be washed off if you screw up. You need good brushes. And you'll need to mix tones to match your print. A print may be warmer or cooler than your spotting dyes, and it may show or may not. But I've found thinning the spotting dye can look a little funky and mess with the print surface, so some lighter tones can really help - may not be everyone's experience though, we'll see who chimes in.

I do mostly lith prints, which gave me two challenges - really, really deep blacks and all sorts of color tones (it's a b&w process but really brings intense tones). I use a retouching loupe so I don't just "spot", I paint the grain back in. So for a deep black, I got a tube of artist's watercolor black. Works just fine. For tones, I grabbed my wife's little water color set, the kind with little pods of dried paint. So in my experience, you can spot with plain old watercolor paints.

When spotting gloss, you need to get some gum arabic, and matching the gloss gets to be a pain - but if framed under glass, non-perfect gloss match tends to disappear. I'd always rather spot a matte print though.

One extra tip - a pair of cheap drugstore reading glasses are awesome for spotting if you don't have a loupe with a space for the brush to get in! If you wear glasses, you can wear them in front or behind your specs.

 

[mike c]

Do not use India ink, it will leave a glossy coating that sticks out like a sore thumb, spotting dyes for photographs are still available from Freestlye and other large photo supply house's.

 

[wiltw]

Peerless Dry Spot gets some good comments from users, but I have no direct experience...I still have my Spotone!

Edward Weston's formula (reproduced in the original edition of Adams "The Print"):

"use equal parts (by weight) of Chinese (stick) ink and gum arabic; dissolve in enough water to cover these ingredients, and mix. Let dry out and mold to suit. Moisten a brush in water (to which a wetting agent may be added), wipe on a piece of paper until the proper gray shows, then apply to the print. A dry brush works much better than a "wet" brush. The amount of gum arabic may be increased 2 or 3 times to increase the sheet of the spotted area of the print."

 

[RalphLambrecht]

I'm looking for a good ink to spot prints made on matt FB paper, I've never spotted before so I'm not sure what to look for. One easily accessible option is Marshall's from B&H, the neutral black one, does anyone have any experience with it? I'm not sure I need the other tones as I don't tone, or is that irrelevant?

Since Spottone is gone,Marshall is a good alternative.for matte papers, which soak uptake ink more easily, make sure to dilute with water a bit more and apply very little at a time, otherwise, to goes too dark too quick.

 

[Doremus Scudder]

Marshalls makes, or did make, B&W spotting dyes in various tones. They came in 3 and 5 bottle kits. I see Freestyle lists them as "no longer manufactured," but B&H and Adorama both have them listed as in stock. By mixing the various tones, you can achieve intermediate tones to match most B&W papers. If these are on the way out, I'd advise picking up a set asap. One kit will last years. I've got 30-year-old Spottone that I'm still using.

I second the use of a bit of gum Arabic for matching the gloss of your paper. I use glossy fiber-base papers and air dry them; I find I need very little gum Arabic to match the surface sheen.

Best,

Doremus

 

[AgX]

https://www.rohrer-klingner.de/?page_id=545&lang=en

 

[lauffray]

Thanks for all the good advice everyone, especially the bit about India ink as I happen to have a bottle, will make sure not to use that !

 

[nsurit]

You can still find Spotone on ebay. Get a very fine natural hair brush. Maybe a 000, 0000 or 00000. Get a divided porcelain dish or tray that might be used for water colors. Put maybe a drop of each color in a section of the dish. For example, three divided sections each holding one drop of a color. One section has some water in it. One or two of the cups use to mix colors in very small amounts moved there with your brush. A glass with water to rinse your brush. I usually use a discard print made with the same type of paper to test the color. As others have said, go slow, don't try to get rid of the spot all at once. Try just putting tiny dots of spotone until the spot goes away. It isn't rocket science. Be patient. Make some mistakes. The drops of spotone will dry . . . no problem. Next time you use it, just use a wet brush to snag a little color.

 

[Mainecoonmaniac]

I'm looking for a good ink to spot prints made on matt FB paper, I've never spotted before so I'm not sure what to look for. One easily accessible option is Marshall's from B&H, the neutral black one, does anyone have any experience with it? I'm not sure I need the other tones as I don't tone, or is that irrelevant?

I've been using Spottone for decades and it's my favorite. With any spotting ink, I would figure out if you're type of paper and developer combination makes your prints cool, neutral or warm.