Time to purchase retouching dyes, seeking advice

Sean · May 31, 2004

There must be 10 brands out there, enough to make my head spin. I'll need to spot mainly azo and vc fiber papers. Also, possibly some light neg retouching if needed. Any suggestions? thanks!

David A. Goldfarb · May 31, 2004

Good ol' Spotone and Veronica Cass dyes are what I use. Spotone you can get at plenty of photo suppliers and Veronica Cass at www.veronicacass.com.

Sean · May 31, 2004

David A. Goldfarb said:
Good ol' Spotone and Veronica Cass dyes are what I use. Spotone you can get at plenty of photo suppliers and Veronica Cass at www.veronicacass.com.

sounds good, what kit do I get? they seem to be for color prints?

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David A. Goldfarb · May 31, 2004

For B&W from Veronica Cass start with this kit:

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For Azo/amidol/selenium, I find I can use the Mauve dye almost straight, maybe with a dab of Midnight blended in. One thing I like about these is that if you make a mistake, you can re-wash the print and they come out pretty cleanly.

If you get Spotone dyes, just get the three-dye kit. I've never needed more than that.

Are there really ten brands of retouching dyes? Spotone and VC seem to be hanging on by a thread. I've seen Kodak dyes, but I think they have stopped manufacturing them, and maybe Marshall's would be another possibility, but I've only used their photo oils.

blansky · May 31, 2004

I spent a week with Veronica Cass last year and she is a very small operation that sells mostly to large photo labs and professional retouchers. She has a classroom in her facility and teaches 10-15 people at a time. In my opinion her products are the best I've seen.

I use mauve for almost everything and occasionally use midnight. For selenium and sepia toned prints I use browntone. Just order the 5 oz bottles seperately and they'll last a long time.

On negatives I use only mauve.

I use the wet/dry brush method and use the dyes undiluted, one drop/one drop of distilled water and one drop/two drops of distilled water.

Hope this helps,

Michael McBlane

Flotsam · May 31, 2004

I thought that Spot Tone was gone and Marshall's took over production. Not sure where I got that impression.

As I said in a previous post, I prefer to use plain old Sumi Ink on prints. Works great and a $5.00 stick would probably handle the spotting needs of all the APUGers (and their kids). I've never tried it on negs.

Aggie · May 31, 2004

Kodak doesn't make that red stuff it had to spot negatives with anymore. About 6 months ago I won the bid on ebay for some Veronica Cass red. I now have two 8 oz. bottles of red spotting dye that are going to last even my grandchildren through their life time. Before that I used the paste form of red food coloring.

clay · May 31, 2004

FWIW, Kodak does still have the Crocein Scarlet negative retouching dye in their catalog. The local store here still carries the 1oz bottle of powder, roughly enough for three generations of photographers.

Clip>

RETOUCHING SUPPLIES
KODAK Crocein Scarlet
For use on negatives as retouching or dodging dye. Also for
masking pinholes and scratches, opaquing large areas,
lightening shadows, intensifying highlights, etc.
Red color identifies retouched areas
CAT No.
Size
Price
Per Unit
146 3751 1-ounce bottle $24.15

Aggie · May 31, 2004

clay said:
FWIW, Kodak does still have the Crocein Scarlet negative retouching dye in their catalog. The local store here still carries the 1oz bottle of powder, roughly enough for three generations of photographers.

This was straight from the head of USA sales for Kodak. I asked him directly about the red retouch product at the LF conf. It was deleted from their catolog in the last few months. I have his name and phone number if you want to query him direct.

removed account4 · May 31, 2004

does VC sell "the stick" of that stuff for pinholes?
i have no idea what it is called, kind of looks like a cross between a tootsie roll and a crayon.

i went to the VC site, and didn't see it

john

bmac · Jun 1, 2004

FWIW B&H has Crocein Scarlet listed as "in stock" on their website.

Time to purchase retouching dyes, seeking advice

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