Making retouch ink less glossy

[Ole Brodersen]

Hi all.

I‘ve recently started using the matte ilford fibre paper, and my spotting ink is a bit too glossy for it.

How can I make it less glossy / matter?

Best,
Ole

[Doremus Scudder]

I usually have the opposite problem and use gum Arabic for upping the gloss a bit :)

I've retouched with both India ink and Japanese ink blocks for calligraphy. Both these seem to be less glossy than the Spottone I use. You might try those, mixed with a little of whatever other watercolor you might need (even Spottone dyes) to get the right image tone.

Good luck,

Doremus

[koraks]

You might want to try mixing in a little cornstarch, talcum, calcium carbonate etc with your ink. Experimental, but it may work in a pinch.

[Drew Wiley]

I was doing some spotting this morning. It's a headache to decrease or increase gloss. I've got various bottles laying around of things like clear water-soluble acrylic sheen modifiers intended for acrylic artist's paints, gum arabic, which is also water soluble and compatible with Spot Tone or its Marshall's replacement. India ink is alcohol based, so could be modified by shellac; but it doesn't absorb like Spot Tone, so tend to sit on the surface. I try to avoid such incidents, because my own progress using sheen modifiers is going slowly. But it's a pretty rare predicament for me.

[Drew Wiley]

My question would be why you're even getting this problem. I don't use matte papers very often, but have never had that issue. Deeper densities should obviously be slowly built up, allowing the dye to sink in just a little at a time, rather than becoming a visibly opaque puddle. I also now try if possible to spot the print soon after it's dry, ideally within a day or so. Over time, gelatin tends to harden and resist the dye to some extent, tempting one to apply too much. If things go wrong, rewash the print and start over; the dyes will come out.