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  #1  
Old 12th January 2020, 09:16 PM
Nat Polton Nat Polton is offline
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Default Spotone and Adams Recipe for Spotting B&W

THE TITLE SHOULD BE SPOTONE AND ADAMS RECIPE FOR SPOTTING B&W
Unable to edit the title. Sorry. - Corrected Barry



I was in the loft this afternoon and found my old set of Spotone spotting dyes/inks.
I have five fullish bottles and one that has evaporated to about half full.
Can I top up the evaporated bottle with a bit of water?
I was thinking of using a drop of previously boiled then cooled water so that I would not add anything that would make the ink go mouldy.


Also.
Whilst looking for information on the subject, I found a reference on The Large Format Forum mentioning Adams book The Print.
It said that he used Gum Arabic and Indian Ink. Adding various amounts of Gum Arabic to alter the shine left by the ink.

In the UK we have a good source of artists materials in an old firm named Winsor and Newton, even if they have upped sticks and moved most of the manufacturing to France.
They supply Drawing Inks and Liquid Indian Ink.

The Drawing Ink has a colour "Black Indian Ink" based on a shellac solution and is waterproof when dry.

The "Liquid Indian Ink" is based on Chinese Ink Sticks, but is not waterproof.

Does anyone know which type of Indian ink Adams would have used.
As I would like to experiment with his mixture myself.

Cheers in advance folks.

Last edited by Barry; 12th January 2020 at 11:15 PM.
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  #2  
Old 12th January 2020, 09:59 PM
big paul big paul is offline
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hi when I use spotone ,I get a little saucer I take a little spotone on my brush and dab it on my saucer ,and I mix a little bit with water ,more water the lighter it gets ,and test a bit on a failed print ,make sure the brush is nearly dry before spotting print .when finished I leave to saucer with spotone to dry and put it away ,next time you need to do some spotting all you have to do is run a wet brush over the dry ink and use it again .
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  #3  
Old 13th January 2020, 07:23 AM
Collas Collas is offline
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Default

There are other suppliers of inks available, as the latest FirstCall catalogue shows.

https://www.firstcall-photographic.c...arch=marshalls

And Diamine Inks still supplies a large range of different types of inks from their base in Liverpool.

https://www.diamineinks.co.uk/listings.aspx?catid=76
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  #4  
Old 13th January 2020, 08:05 AM
John King John King is offline
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Default Spotting prints

Being the skinflint that I am I actually use inks/dyes from part used refills for an Epson P600 printer. With colours, blacks and shades of grey to cover all my needs I can blend and mix these to my hearts content. Any shade you would ever require just takes time. Especially useful if spotting sepia toned prints which are ,so I find the most difficult. I use a small sheet of white opaque acrylic and always distilled water.

Being the latest dyes for digital printing with an estimated life of over 50 years they will last me out (and then some).

Last edited by John King; 13th January 2020 at 08:10 AM.
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  #5  
Old 13th January 2020, 10:37 AM
MikeHeller MikeHeller is offline
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I use Johnson's Black Spotting Medium that I have had for years. Before that I used Martin's spotting medium that I inherited from my Dad.

I let a bit dry out on a watch glass and then use that with a wet fine paint brush, which is then partially dried on my finger. I have been using the same dried dye for a number of years now. The tone is altered by how wet the bush is when picking up the dye. Spotting of prints on RC Paper can be corrected by wiping the spotting off with a piece of loo paper as it is not absorbed like on fibre paper.
Mike
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  #6  
Old 13th January 2020, 01:58 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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I've tried various manufacturers inks over the years and still struggle to made the work invisible to my eye. But saying that, knowing where to look is half the reason of being able to see it again, for I'm sure others wouldn't notice it at all.

And I've tried different printer inks as well John, again with mixed success.

I do have more success with FB prints than I do with RC though, where the inks just seem to sit on the surface and make them more obvious.

I'll just have to keep on practicing, although not having spots to retouch in the first place is the best rule to follow.

Terry S
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Old 13th January 2020, 04:17 PM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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I gave up on the brush and spotting inks about 25 years ago after I purchased a set of spotting pens made by SpotPen.

I am not sure if they are still made but there was a set for B&W and another set for colour. They have a very fine point and each pen contains its own ink, the 10 pens in the B&W set are graded from a very light grey through to a good black. I have yet to find a spot they cannot easily banish on RC or FB papers.

I amazed they are still working perfectly after all these years.

Neil.
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Last edited by B&W Neil; 13th January 2020 at 04:23 PM.
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Old 13th January 2020, 05:07 PM
John King John King is offline
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Default Spotting

I have yet to satisfactorily spot out a black spot on the print. I know it has to be bleached out and re-toned with spotting medium, but I have yet to make a decent job of one - is there an EASY way?
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Old 13th January 2020, 05:57 PM
Terry S Terry S is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by B&W Neil View Post
I gave up on the brush and spotting inks about 25 years ago after I purchased a set of spotting pens made by SpotPen.

I am not sure if they are still made but there was a set for B&W and another set for colour. They have a very fine point and each pen contains its own ink, the 10 pens in the B&W set are graded from a very light grey through to a good black. I have yet to find a spot they cannot easily banish on RC or FB papers.

Neil.
Well, all I can say Neil, is that I too have a packet for both B/W and colour and find the B/W ones almost useless to spot with. I find the colours too warm and the nibs are not sharp enough and even using a tiny brush against them to get the colour, they don't seem to match the tone of any paper that I use...?! What paper and dev combination do you use?

I do use them in art work though, along side the colour ones, so they do have a use though.

Terry S
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Old 13th January 2020, 06:24 PM
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B&W Neil B&W Neil is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by John King View Post
I have yet to satisfactorily spot out a black spot on the print. I know it has to be bleached out and re-toned with spotting medium, but I have yet to make a decent job of one - is there an EASY way?

As mentioned here - SpotPens if you can find them. But the best way is to avoid spots altogether if you can.

Neil.
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