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  #1  
Old 3rd April 2017, 02:28 PM
SanMiguel SanMiguel is offline
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Default Spotting RC prints

I've a couple of small spots on an RC print I made recently - not that noticeable perhaps, but like anything when you know they are there you can't help but see them every time you look at it.

Is is possible to 'spot' them out as with FB prints? I've had a go on a test print with a small brush and some Spotone but the ink just seems to sit on the surface of the print.

Any suggestions?
Michael
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Old 3rd April 2017, 03:13 PM
EdmundH EdmundH is offline
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I recently had the same problem, so decided it was time for a first attempt at spotting. I used extremely dilute India Ink stippled on quite dryly. I was able to disguise the faults, and there was no obvious sign of my handiwork. I haven't tried proprietory spotting inks, but I'd guess that if it is sitting on the surface, you may need to use it more sparingly.
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Old 3rd April 2017, 03:30 PM
Richard Gould Richard Gould is offline
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I always found RC prints to be very hard to spot, with the regular spotting inks they do just seem to sit on the surface, I found that for Lustre/silk type paper surface then an old spotting set, made by Kaiser, and with what looks to me like water color type paint, works well, I just lick the end of the brush, and almost dry the brush with the tone on it on kitchen roll, then just stipple it on, I won't work for glossy paper as it drys matt and will show, Same system works for glossy FB paper, with inks maybe do the same and get the brush almost dry before spotting will work I must say I do my best to avoiding spotting, the only part of BW photography I hate
Richard
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Old 3rd April 2017, 03:41 PM
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photomi7ch photomi7ch is offline
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I have used a very soft leaded pencil to take the edge off the spot. I dampen the lead and then dab it on.
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Old 3rd April 2017, 04:49 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Spotting prints

Whenever I have to spot prints - thankfully not often, I use the ink from a black printer cartrige that I bought exactly for that purpose. I have never had a problem with getting the ink to be absorbed into the emulsion.

I also use inks from a 5 colour inkjet cartrige and they work just as well. Plus they are a lot cheaper than designated colour re-touching dyes, that is if you can find them. I have had no problem with fading either
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Old 3rd April 2017, 05:08 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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I use Daler Rowney Kandahar black Indian ink for spotting. Available at Art shops for less than £5 a bottle, which will last for years. It soaks into RC glossy paper very nicely. I put plenty on the brush, then soak most of it off by stroking the brush on a paper towel. This works a lot better than just dipping the end of the brush in the ink. I use an old white plate as a palette, and dilute the ink with saliva.

Alan
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Old 3rd April 2017, 06:39 PM
Tony Marlow Tony Marlow is offline
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With rc in particular you do want an almost dry brush, I wipe the wet brush accros a kitchen paper towel until it is almost dry then just dab it on the print with the brush vertical. It might be worth soaking the print first then squeegy it off and then spot the damp print.

Tony
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Old 3rd April 2017, 07:06 PM
SanMiguel SanMiguel is offline
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Thanks everyone for chipping in - much appreciated.

There are plenty of ideas here for me to try out.

Michael
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Old 4th April 2017, 11:04 AM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Like Richard, I hate doing any print spotting work - it's really the only bit of photography that I don't enjoy. The main reason why this is so, is because I find it hard (even with actual spotting inks) to match the tone of the ink with the photographs.

I've read that FB is easier to spot than RC but using the above inks, I have found that the obvious / sitting onto of the surface of RC does disappear if left for about 24 hours. BUT, as said, the colour never seems to match and once you know where it is, you can't but help notice it very easily. Whether others do as well I can, I don't know.

Any tips about colour matching?

And it's interesting that a couple of people have mentioned using Indian Ink and printer ink in black. Again I would have thought that it wouldn't quite match the various tones that RC paper has when developed in different developers, as not many prints have pure shades of black throughout. In my case, even when mixed as per instructions, my spotting inks dry with a blueish hue.

Like most, I prefer not to spot unless absolutely necessary, hoping that really small white specks and spots aren't very noticeable. If they are really bad, then generally the negative won't get printed at all! :/

Terry S
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Old 4th April 2017, 06:33 PM
Alan Clark Alan Clark is offline
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Terry, intuition would suggest that it would be harder to spot RC glossy than fibre based glossy. But I have found them to be about the same.
I may have been lucky but I have found Daler Rowney Kandahar Indian ink to be a very good colour match, in terms of being a neutral grey, for Ilford Mgd 4 , and close enough to the Ilford Warmtone to work very well.

Apart from actually hitting the spot in a neat and tidy fashion, there are actually two distinct problems in spotting. One is mixing the correct colour; i.e. warmish, coolish or neutral grey.
The other is mixing the correct matching tone; i.e. very pale, pale, mid tone, etc. I think it makes sense to separate these problems out, and solve them one at a time. So if you have a batch of very warmtone prints, I would suggest mixing a very small amount of Sepia coloured drawing ink with some black Indian ink, in an artist's watercolour palette. If you use eye droppers you can be quite precise about the ratio, for later repeatable results. Test the results by painting the margins of an unwanted print, but don't make a judgement until the ink has been dried with a hair dryer.

Once you have the right colour, you then have the second problem; matching the tone. I find a white plate useful here, as you can work up little puddles of tones, from very light to dark, all over the plate.
Regard it as a challenge, not a chore, and keep practicing on unwanted prints, and I am sure you will get there!
You will soon be blowing dust on your wet negatives, just to give yourself the enjoyable satisfaction of being able to get a bit of spotting in when you have made the prints.

Alan
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