Spotone Substitutes

[neil poulsen]

Are people experiementing with Spotone substitutes? Opened bottles are going for about $10 on ebay. I could have picked up tons of the stuff for $1 a bottle and helped prepare for retirement.

How about the Marshal spotting options? Are they any good? It doesn't seem like it would be rocket science to put together a spotting solution. Of course, there's the whole arcival thing and how well the spotting holds up over time.

[Brandon Draper]

Wow. Why don't they make it anymore? You know I think I threw some of that away last month when I was cleaning. Bummer.

[David A. Goldfarb]

I still have a supply, but when I'm done, I'm planning on trying Weston's method, which was a mixture of India ink and gum arabic, and he would vary the concentration of gum to match the gloss of the paper. It appears in Adams' _The Print_, and is quoted in a similar thread over on APUG--

http://www.apug.org/forums/forum46/28533-spotone-replacement.html#post314053

[N Dhananjay]

I don't know exactly what kind of dye Spotone used.

There are a variety of things you can use very well. Try sumi ink, which you typically grind yourself (you will need a stick and a grinding stone), or watercolors mixed with a small amount of gum arabic. All easily available in any decent art store.

Cheers, DJ

[Gene McCluney]

I believe Marshalls offers some Spotone type retouching products. Freestyle shows some choices. Spotone was never the only choice for liquid dye retouching. Spotone is not more or less archival than other products that work the same way.

[Kevin Crisp]

I've been very happy with Marshall's "basic black." The "spot pens" are also very handy if they are still available. Last I heard they were.

[Eric Woodbury]

I hear that Spotone dyes fade in time. Bummer.

Looks like Freestyle carries Marshall and Peerless.

[Dan Schmidt]

peerless dry spotting sheets:

midway down this page:

http://www.peerlesscolor.com/products.htm

I find the sheet is easier to work with than a bottle.

[cobalt]

black water color. Diluted India ink. works well on fb paper.

[Gene McCluney]

So, any of these products that are dye based (and this is most of them) will not be as archival as the properly developed fixed and washed b/w fibre print, but in general, the tiny specks normally "spotted out" with dyes are so small that fading is inconsequential. I have prints I made almost 30 years ago, and spotted with Marshalls and Spotone, and these prints are framed and on display and they show no fading of the retouching.

[Jerry Bodine]

My prints also show no fading whatsoever of the Spotone dyes, and they were made in the early 70's. I've not used Marshall's, so no experience there. I still have a supply of Spotone left, but it's good to know others' experience with Marshall's is similar.

[D. Bryant]

So, any of these products that are dye based (and this is most of them) will not be as archival as the properly developed fixed and washed b/w fibre print, but in general, the tiny specks normally "spotted out" with dyes are so small that fading is inconsequential. I have prints I made almost 30 years ago, and spotted with Marshalls and Spotone, and these prints are framed and on display and they show no fading of the retouching.

That's my experience as well.

Don Bryant

[Merg Ross]

My prints also show no fading whatsoever of the Spotone dyes, and they were made in the early 70's. I've not used Marshall's, so no experience there. I still have a supply of Spotone left, but it's good to know others' experience with Marshall's is similar.

My only experience is with Spotone, which I have been using exclusively from the late 1950's. I was looking at some of those prints today, in preparation for sending them to auction. There is no evidence of fading or deterioration. I would not be overly concerned with archival issues related to gelatin silver prints and the use of Spotone. Perhaps more of an archival concern, are the accelerated aging tests of ink prints. However, that is not the subject of this thread.

Spotting is an art in itself. My technique has been to prepare the mixture (with distilled water) for a particular paper, pour it onto a saucer, and let it dry. Then, use a 000 brush, or finer, for application. A saucer lasts me for quite a number of years. I have a good supply of Spotone, but would not hesitate making a purchase at the current market price.

mergross.com

[pkphotog]

Spotting is an art in itself. My technique has been to prepare the mixture (with distilled water) for a particular paper, pour it onto a saucer, and let it dry. Then, use a 000 brush, or finer, for application. A saucer lasts me for quite a number of years. I have a good supply of Spotone, but would not hesitate making a purchase at the current market price.

I do exactly what Merg does. I have been using the same dried Spotone on a saucer for the last three years.
Buy a good brush. I've been using the same one that I paid $12 eighteen years ago, a size 000 Winsor and Newton series 7 Kolinsky water color brush. A lot of money for a small brush, but it's the best money can buy. It'll keep a point like no other and will make spotting a breeze. Any good art supply store should carry it.

[Gene McCluney]

One teeny-tiny bottle of spotone will last for many years, because if it drys out, you just add water, and it is as good as new. Perhaps this is why Spotone went out of business. People bought a bottle and it became a lifetime supply, so no repeat sales.

[Ralph Barker]

As I understand, Spotone was a family business venture, and stopped when the original owner passed away and the heir(s?) decided not to continue the business.

My technique is similar to Merg's, too, but I use a small (5x7-ish) sheet of glass with the various tones smeared on and dried. A piece of white matt board taped to the back helps seeing the tonal variations. A drop or two of each tone, smeared about with a Q-Tip lasts me a few years. Thus, my current 4-bottle set will outlast me.

Send me a small sheet of glass, Neil, and I'll share a few drops.

[Tony Lakin]

Hi
I tried the Weston India ink/gum arabic formula and find an excellent spotting medium for FB print spotting and will use it when my supplies of Spotone eventually run out.

[Mark Sampson]

I'd heard, perhaps on this forum, that the Spotone company lost the lease on their building, and the owner decided to shut down rather than relocate. If true, not surprising, as the profits from such a business must have been small and declining too. The conservators I know don't care for it, they regard it as non-reversible. But I still use it, and have enough to last many years if I print carefully.

[Turner Reich]

My technique is similar to Merg's, too, but I use a small (5x7-ish) sheet of glass with the various tones smeared on and dried. A piece of white matt board taped to the back helps seeing the tonal variations. A drop or two of each tone, smeared about with a Q-Tip lasts me a few years. Thus, my current 4-bottle set will outlast me.

I've always used a drop from the lid picked up with a brush then put on an small artists cup. If you let yours dry do you dip the brush in water then on the dryed Spotone on the glass?

[Gene McCluney]

I've always used a drop from the lid picked up with a brush then put on an small artists cup. If you let yours dry do you dip the brush in water then on the dryed Spotone on the glass?

I keep a coffee cup with fresh water, and I dip my brush in the water and then moisten the dried spotone on my saucer. I prefer the more concentrated solution I get from rewetting the dried spotone, rather than using it straight from the bottle. You can also blend the various tints this way on the saucer.

Some people prefer to lick the brush then moisten the spotone with saliva. I never got into that.

[Ralph Barker]

I've always used a drop from the lid picked up with a brush then put on an small artists cup. If you let yours dry do you dip the brush in water then on the dryed Spotone on the glass?

Not a "dip", really, I just barely moisten the brush, and then pick up just a touch of color, the amount corresponding to the tone surrounding the dust spot.

[D. Bryant]

.

Some people prefer to lick the brush then moisten the spotone with saliva. I never got into that.

That's the way I learned to do it years ago but no longer use saliva (not for years). I've seen Michael A. Smith spot prints like that too.

Now I use a ceramic artist watercolor palette and let the dyes dry once I have the colors mixed the way I need. I wet my quad ought W&N sable hair brush with distilled water and build denssity slowly. I also spot to reduce sporious hot spots that distract the eye.

It's all very tedious but that's what it takes to make a finished print. When working on large prints spotting can take a while and I work on several at a time.

Don Bryant