spotting

trudee · Apr 16, 2014

Hi,

Didn't know where to post this question. Haven't spotted in a loooong time, have any pointers?

Thank you,

Trudee

Xmas · Apr 16, 2014

use old electric kettle in dark room before getting negative out of file.

jeffreyg · Apr 16, 2014

Plus 1 re: Michael R and adding - have a piece of unexposed but processed paper of the same type or a border of a print to hold near the spot and test to get the right tone before applying the dye to the actual print.

http://www.jeffreyglasser.com/

fran · Apr 16, 2014

where is everyone getting inks now? Spotone are long gone....

Rafal Lukawiecki · Apr 18, 2014

Hoarding Spotone off ebay works, or get new Diaphoto, from Nova in UK and others. Marshall is also an option.

cliveh · Apr 18, 2014

Xmas said:
use old electric kettle in dark room before getting negative out of file.

Is this to make a cup of tea?

Doremus Scudder · Apr 19, 2014

cliveh said:
Is this to make a cup of tea?

No, to knock down dust in the darkroom before printing the negative. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." A clean printing environment is really a time saver when it comes to spotting.

I'll add that it is easier to clean a negative than to spot. I examine my test prints for dust that would need spotting. If I see something, I'll remove the negative from the carrier and clean again (and again, as needed) till the dust is gone. I'll even trash a good print with a dust spot if I can clean then neg and make another. It's almost always a time saver.

That said, no matter how we try, it seems there are always spots that need spotting, especially if the defect is on the negative itself. So spotting sessions are a necessary part of the workflow.

@ the OP: Spottone is no longer made, but often available on the used market (eBay, etc.). Marshalls still makes spotting colors. You can also make your own from India ink and gum Arabic and a bit of water. Ink blocks for calligraphy work too.

Oh, to get better at spotting fast: practice, practice, practice on scrap prints. You'll figure it out quickly.

Best,

Doremus

Xmas · Apr 19, 2014

Doremus Scudder said:
No, to knock down dust in the darkroom before printing the negative. "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." A clean printing environment is really a time saver when it comes to spotting.

I'll add that it is easier to clean a negative than to spot. I examine my test prints for dust that would need spotting. If I see something, I'll remove the negative from the carrier and clean again (and again, as needed) till the dust is gone. I'll even trash a good print with a dust spot if I can clean then neg and make another. It's almost always a time saver.

That said, no matter how we try, it seems there are always spots that need spotting, especially if the defect is on the negative itself. So spotting sessions are a necessary part of the workflow.

@ the OP: Spottone is no longer made, but often available on the used marked (eBay, etc.). Marshalls still makes spotting colors. You can also make your own from India ink and gum Arabic and a bit of water. Ink blocks for calligraphy work too.

Oh, to get better at spotting fast: practice, practice, practice on scrap prints. You'll figure it out quickly.

Best,

Doremus

All the above but additionally it reduces static build up which attracts dust to negatives. This is more critical if the climate is hot and dry. Pulling the negative from file envelope, a kV...

Wearing synthetics not good either the flash in the darkroom is the witness that all the dust just got stirred up.

You could Dyson the dry room.

I use an ion gun and carbon fibre brush on the neg strip but still need to spot. I scan keepers for filing and test strip purposes and they seem to be less prone to dust!

Bob Carnie · Apr 19, 2014

Charging your brush with ink , make sure you are using the finest brushes you can afford, I use a #3 windsor newton with a very good point.

Once the brush is charged with ink, kind of like a ink well within the thicker part of the brush you then lightly tap the point into the area you want to spot and let the ink drop down from the well of ink above.
You slowly build up with a bunch of taps and move the tip within the area you want to spot.

You can use a variety of shades to build this up, basically you are camouflaging the area to blend in with the surrounding area.

In colour work you can take a strong loupe and look at corresponding areas to be spotted and see what clumps of colours are making up that area and use those colours.

Many workers suggest a very fine brush and I have never found this to be useful.

my 2cents

PS - keeping the neg clean and lots of humidity in the darkroom will save you hours post printing.

Rafal Lukawiecki · Apr 19, 2014

As Bob says, the key word is "camouflage".

Jim Jones · Apr 19, 2014

Long ago I used Dr. Ph. Martin's inks as a substitute and supplement for Spotone. In their present expanded list of products, Dead Link Removed seems like the best for photo prints. Pigmented inks tend to remain on the surface of prints, while properly applied dyes sink into the emulsion and become invisible.
I put a drop of the dye near the edge of a white saucer and a puddle of distilled water in the center of the saucer. If the dye dries, that is fine. With a damp fine-pointed brush, pick up a bit of the dye and test its concentration on a clean part of the saucer. If it looks right, build up the density on the print by stippling. Don't let dye bead up on the surface of the print.

Bob Carnie · Apr 19, 2014

Once you have finished spotting, you can steam your prints and the dye will sink into the print and become invisible.

For this reason as well , I do not mount my prints before spotting which would go against the grain for some folks. But if you heat mount your
prints the emulsion will harden and be less receptive to the dyes.

Mount after spotting, another benifit of this is if you screw up your spotting you can rewash your print and start all over again.

spotting

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