I've found black Sharpie pens leave a purplish hue that should be accounted for on important prints, no matter how small.
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Cheers,
Eli
I have all kinds of art pencils, and wouldn't dream of using them on a glossy print. It sits on the surface, whereas a real retouching dye sinks into the emulsion and doesn't betray itself with a mismatched sheen if properly mixed. And soft pencil might transfer to the back of another matted print stacked in a portfolio box.
Spot Tone easily washes out if you just put the print back into a tray of water or into the print washer for a little while.
Once in awhile I will touch up a tiny white spot requiring deep black with a very fine point Sharpie pen. That would be a sheen mismatch too if it weren't so small an area as to not attract attention.
I support what @cliveh says, at least for 35mm enlarged 10x to 15x10 inches. How to minimise white dots on my prints has been an obsession with me. I still have to do a little spotting, but chiefly when printing old negatives. Prints from recent negatives quite often need no spotting at all.Interesting, Cliveh. But don't be surprised if I'm highly skeptical of your claim, and I have a true cleanroom setup if needed.
Well, your odds are somewhat better when your negative is only one and a half square inches of dust collection surface to begin with. Compare that with the greatly increased surface area of 4x5 or 8x10 film. But at least with much bigger film, needing less enlargement, any spot will appear a lot smaller. Still, I remain highly skeptical that your prints are really all that free from detectable evidence of dust or lint.
People have different standards, it seems.
No wetting agent, no photoflow, just deionized water after wash and drying over 24 hours in ambient temperature. Try it and report back.
I have all kinds of art pencils, and wouldn't dream of using them on a glossy print. It sits on the surface, whereas a real retouching dye sinks into the emulsion and doesn't betray itself with a mismatched sheen if properly mixed. And soft pencil might transfer to the back of another matted print stacked in a portfolio box.
Spot Tone easily washes out if you just put the print back into a tray of water or into the print washer for a little while.
Once in awhile I will touch up a tiny white spot requiring deep black with a very fine point Sharpie pen. That would be a sheen mismatch too if it weren't so small an area as to not attract attention.
No wetting agent, no photoflow, just deionized water after wash and drying over 24 hours in ambient temperature. Try it and report back.
Interesting, Cliveh. But don't be surprised if I'm highly skeptical of your claim, and I have a true cleanroom setup if needed.
Mr bikerider - how do you contend with the how inks sit on the surface of the emulsion, rather than penetrating? There must be a sheen difference involved.
These days I use a combination of Peerless sheets melted in water and good ol' Spotone, both in a tray made for watercolors. I used them dry and add a wet brush.
I've never heard of a pencil for a glossy print so I got out my pencils. Used a 8b which is the softest I think I have, and it didn't do squat to ILMGWT. On a matt print it did sort of work, but the sheen was way different and obvious.
I've heard of people using gum arabic and india ink, but I think that is like really old school. I've never tried it.
One tip is to learn to use the biggest brush you can. A really good brush will have a super fine point no matter the size of it. The one I use the most is a #2 Winsor and Newton series 707 pure sable. Worth every penny. Saves tons of time.
Cliveh, I've tried all kinds of things. What you've described only relates to drying the film dust-free; but dust can land on a negative all kinds of other ways, including inside an enlarger. I always allow film to air dry by hanging, whether suspended from a line over the sink, or within a drying cabinet with filtered air. And I do use Photoflo or Ilfosol; the idea with that it that just want a few drops of it in your final distilled water rinse.
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