Spotting problem - spotted spots changed color!

[Steve Goldstein]

A couple of weeks ago I spotted a few prints made on Adox MCC110, developed in Ansco 130 and lightly toned in KRST 1+19 (3-4 minutes at 70F). The prints were dry-mounted prior to spotting. I used SpotPens for spotting, the standard ones, not the warm-tone. After spotting I stored the mounted prints in Clearbags to await framing, giving them a few hours to dry thoroughly before bagging, and then leaving the bags unsealed.

Yesterday I went to finish the framing. In looking at one of the prints I noticed that the color of the spotted regions had changed significantly, going from a very good match to the print tone to looking almost like rust on the print surface. Another print, toned and final-washed at the same time, and spotted at the same time too, doesn't seem to have this problem upon quick inspection, but I had to get moving towards my day job so couldn't examine it as carefully as I'd wished.

Has anyone ever encountered this? Is there a fix that will allow me to save the print? More importantly, does anyone know what might have gone wrong so I don't do it again?

 

[gone]

I wonder if your if your clear bags that you put the prints in had gotten in contact w/ the spotted areas while it was still tacky? Or was this the first print that you experienced the problems with? Perhaps the pen is having some difficulties that resolved itself by the time you got to the second print? As Tebow said, that's all I got. I like the stuff in the bottles a lot more. You can shake them up and see if s OK before using it, decide on how much to load the brush with, etc.

 

[Steve Goldstein]

No, I'm pretty sure the spotted areas were completely dry by the time they came near the bags, I let the prints sit several hours in a cool dark room. I had done two prints prior to this one in the same session, the other two looked fine on quick examination, I'll have to look more carefully but the next few days are really busy and it has to wait.

Fortunately I have several lifetime's supply of Spotone in bottles, I may forsake the convenience of the pens and go back.

 

[Thomas Bertilsson]

I don't know what the spot pens actually contain, but have trusted the simple dyes in the Spotone for a long time, and with remarkable consistency they have never failed me.

 

[K-G]

When you write that the spots look like rust, then it seems like the type of selenium staining that you can get when toning a print that isn't properly fixed and washed. As Thomas wrote, I also use Spotone and have never seen the results that you have encountered. Perhaps the SpotPen contains something that reacts with the selenium. Why the other print didn't show any stains is a mystery but my guess is that you may have fixed the stained print later and that the fixer may have become exhausted. That happened to me many years ago and nowadays I allways separate the prints that go for selenium toning and give them a short extra fix in fresh fixer and afterwards a thorough wash. If it is selenium stain I don't think there is anything to do with the print. Just keep it as a reminder of what can happen. Good luck with your other prints.

Karl-Gustaf

 

[Steve Goldstein]

Exhausted fixer is an interesting idea as the prints were initially processed at different times. However, I do use a 2-bath approach, which should be more resistant to this. But if it's selenium staining, I don't understand why it would only appear at the spotted areas and not anywhere else on the print.

The mystery remains. I've sent a letter to OmegaBrandess, the distributor, but don't expect anything useful from them.

 

[K-G]

Exhausted fixer is an interesting idea as the prints were initially processed at different times. However, I do use a 2-bath approach, which should be more resistant to this. But if it's selenium staining, I don't understand why it would only appear at the spotted areas and not anywhere else on the print.

The mystery remains. I've sent a letter to OmegaBrandess, the distributor, but don't expect anything useful from them.

If you have some teststrips left over, you can take two of them ( fixed in the same way ) and tone one of them. When they are both dry you can spot both of them with the SpotPen and see if they behave differently. If so, then the problem is certainly the SpotPen, if not . . . . . . :confused::confused::confused::eek:

Karl-Gustaf