To spot or not to spot (Print and Postcard Exchange prints)

[tezzasmall]

I'm getting ready some prints for the next monthly Print Exchange and they are (almost) ready.

When I initially took these pictures, (it must have been about 20 years ago), I did not have a professional filter for my water and rarely a neg got by with out with at least one or two spots on them, becoming white blemishes on the prints. Most recently my negatives are a lot better after purchase of a good water filter.

So, my problem? I want to know what others think and do, when they have a prints / postcards to send out, that have the odd (mostly) white spot or three? Over the years, I have received a mixture of prints, with some being spotted so well, I couldn't find the artists work, whilst others have been sent with out any effort of covering them up.

Even at the David Bailey exhibition that I visited at London's Portrait gallery just a few years ago now, all the darkroom prints were done by Mr B and as far as I could tell, he DIDN'T bother to try spotting at all, even on the larger six foot plus prints, where now, the defects really stood out.

So to finish, I have tried just about everything there is to use to spot ones prints, including various inks and watercolours. The well known brand 'Spotone' that I have a six colour set of, soak into the print best, but when diluted the so called black inks becomes shades of dark blue and to my eyes stand out like a sore thumb on a black and white print!

So any suggestions will be welcomed, including being told to just leave the spots alone...

Terry S

 

[MattKing]

I do everything reasonably possible to minimize the need to spot my postcards, but I spot when necessary.
Just as I usually aim for negatives that print in a reasonably straightforward manner - who wants to do complex burning and dodging on 30+ small prints!
I could be wrong, but I don't think you are necessarily supposed to dilute Spotone inks.

 

[Pieter12]

I always spot my final prints--either by myself or I have it done.

As an aside, I recently saw a print of the well-known Horst photo of the model wearing a corset. Looking closely, the spotting work on the print was obvious (not really well-done) and there was a lot of it. I can only guess this was a print for reproduction and the less-than-good spotting would not show.

 

[Ozxplorer]

Yes... I always spot my prints - any and all. I consider not doing so is a poor reflection of my workmanship as well as being disrespectful toward the viewer of my prints. As Matt suggests, I too do everything reasonably possible to eliminate the need for spotting! All things considered, spotting your prints is just what you need to do before showing them... the photographer’s “stock in trade”!

 

[spijker]

I always spot the final prints. I also spend a few minutes inspecting the negative in the glass negative holder on a light pad for dust. It's way better to prevent the spots then to cover them up afterwards. But despite that, there's often some small specs manage to get on the print. I get good results with the Spotpen Retouching pens. I have the neutral set but the midtone pens are a bit on the brownish side. The lighter and dark pens work well on neutral tone BW paper. I bought these pens many years ago on ebay and I don't know if they're still available. Before the pens, I tried the Marshall's Spot-all Neutral Black ink but I find it quite blueish and far from neutral.

 

[Brendan Quirk]

I always spot before mounting or showing prints to others - though I am not always as successful as I would like.

Spotone will always need to be diluted, as otherwise you will over spot most blemishes, and it is nearly impossible to remove. I make up four successive 1:1 dilutions, and choose the best for the spot under consideration. Too dark on a spot in a light area, and you will have an instant dark spot. Too light of a solution, and you will never fill in a spot in a dark area.

If the Spotone dries out on your palette, you can redissolve it easily with water. I will reuse the Spotone over several sessions.

For extremely dark, or black, areas, I will pick up a little dried Spotone from the palette on the tip of the wet brush. It can be impossible to fill in these spots otherwise.

You need to mix the colors of Spotone to match the shade of black on your particular paper, under your processing and toning. The original Spotone kits came with a mixing guide, but this is no longer too helpful, as most of the papers are now gone, and new ones are not listed. In addition, the guide was wasteful, as it had mixes with dozens of drops used, and as Spotone is no longer made, this is too wasteful. Try to make your own blend, using a scrap print to test on. For me, using Ilford MG classic in Dektol with 1:20 selenium, I take two drops of neutral black, and add just a touch of the reddish color with a toothpick. (I can check on the bottle numbers when I get home later). I then add two drops of water, mix, withdraw two drops and add to another mixing well, add two drops of water, etc. until I have all the dilutions I need. I use a porcelain dish with twelve dimples or wells for this.

When the spots on the print are small, or in light areas, exact color match is not absolutely necessary, but as the spot grows or is in darker areas, color mismatches become more obvious.

 

[M Carter]

I always spot - I want the print itself as "perfect" as can be; I think dust spots are distracting.

But (though I try to be humble in most things) - I've come to realize I'm one baaad motha when it comes to spotting prints. I use an Edmunds magnifier and have a particular rock-star #000 brush. I've spotted/retouched prints I was about to trash due to bad fibers/hairs/etc. I just paint the dang grain back in; had a lith print with a blof of uneven development - "painted" in the grain to even it out, and after that I couldn't tell which one was the problem print from the edition. I do mostly lith prints, so I use Marumi spotting dyes and Grumbacher watercolors when I need "color" to match a lith or toned print. If this were 20-30 years ago, I'd probably take in spotting work. It's my zen time, and I really enjoy the challenge and the before/after feel, that the print is truly "finished" now, and ready to present. To me it's almost as magic as printing itself.

My process - after toning (but before selenium or gold), I'll ferri-bleach any border staining (an issue with lith prints mainly), final wash and test with HCA;

When the print is dry, I often start with iodine (dry) bleach and a toothpick shaved down to one fiber, and bleach any black spots back (dust/scratches on the neg or spotting from lith developer). Weaker iodine bleach I might use for more retouch, like if there's a small element that's distracting and needs to be toned down. Spot-fix those spots, wash and dry.

Then on to final spotting; if it's gloss paper, I mix some gum arabic with the color. I've tried steaming gloss prints to hide the spotting, no real luck for me there. But once framed under glass or placed in a poly bag, the spots disappear anyway. I really love matte prints for how easily the spotting merges with the emulsion. I'm kind of a freak for spotting...

 

[mcfitz]

I always clean up the spots on my prints, always. I was taught to do so by my printing mentor, an exacting Scot. One of the things he emphasised was even a poorly spotted print was better than an untouched one.

It can be a pain but the results are worth it. Good light and patience are needed. I was given a head loupe magnifier which I now consider to be essential.