Spotting an RA-4 Color Print

[tgtaylor]

Hi all,

On the emulsion side of a 4x5 negative a "pin hole" size of the emulsion is missing - no hole just scrapped away either as a factory defect or due to my handling. It shows up as a tiny black dot in a - yep - white cloud. Step 3 feet away from a 16x20 print and it disappears. What is the best way to "spot" this out on:

a. The print (I printed 3- 16x20's).

b. The negative.

Also, is there a book or tutorial on spotting? I'm a complete novice in this and in the past ruined a B&W print or two trying to spot it. It seems that the art of spotting is much negected.

Thanks and Happy Holidays,

Thomas

[tgtaylor]

Since the cloud is white, I'm thinking liquid white-off - that stuff you used to correct typewriter (remember those?) errors.

Color photography is fun. For Tuesday nights printing session I forgot to make a tank solution after I made the replenisher (800ml replenisher + 175ml H2O and 25ml of starter = 1L of tank solution). What was the result? I had to stop down to f32 to get a 10 second print time; f16 with the tank solution.

Nobody else on this forum doing traditional color printing? That's a shame. To me it looks better than inkjet - certainly different.

[lenicolas]

in black and white, i would paint the dot black on the neg, then print, and maybe grey paint the white dot resulting on the print...

I've printed color photography in school for a year.
I don't like it.
Even though i was considered good at it, i think it's too much waste of time and paper to get a result that's not any better than a lambda or inkjet print...

(and the prints lifetime is short)

[Jim Michael]

On the neg apply an opaque material so you end up with white on your print (titaniium white watercolor in a tube would probably work and be washable). Using a Windsor & Newton No. 7 brush (size 00 works well) and Kodak retouching colors, blend colors on the back of a scrap print and carefully build up the white area to match.

Or, have the neg scannned, retouch in PS and have a lambda print made.

[pfigen]

If you're making silver prints, your best bet is use either Spotone or a lead retouching pencil on the neg to fill in the void. If you're good and very careful doing this, you might not need to touch the subsequent print at all. It's better to go overboard on the neg retouching and have to do some subtle spotting on the print.

The traditional way of removing dark spots on a silver print is to use an etching knife to carefully scrape away the offending bit of dark emulsion on the print. This can be very effective but also can change the surface reflection when viewed from an oblique angle.

If you've got a lot of identical prints to make, and three does not qualify, I might be inclined to drum scan the neg, retouch in Ps and output a new fresh black and white neg that is not only retouched but also tonally manipulated to have most of your dodging and burning done beforehand, making the matching of multiple prints that much easier.

I would not mess around with painting your print with watercolor, but that's me.

[pfigen]

It's a little unclear if the OP is referring to a color print or a black and white. If it's color then there's little reason not to drum scan, retouch and then output on your favorite color media, RA-4 or inkjet.

[RPNugent]

Ilford used to sell spotting material for color Cibachromes, but I doubt you can get them anymore. I found them very difficult to use and not have them show as the gloss of the print and the spotting material was different enough, but someone with more experience might do better than I did. If it's a small spot you can lightly scratch the print with an X-acto knife blade to get to the white base and when under glass it won't be obvious. If big that won't work. SOmething opaque on the neg may work but make sure it can be removed and use a tiny spotting brush to apply or it will show as a major blob plus it has to be color neutral which would be tough.

I agree that an RA-4 color print looks very different from inkjets though I have given in and bought a 3880 recently and my CP51 processor lays idle as it's easier to find a brief time with the computer than extended time to make it worth mixing the chemistry and using it before it goes bad. Lightjets are the only option if you want the look and can get the drum scan, which I did before the 3880.

[Jim Michael]

I would not mess around with painting your print with watercolor, but that's me.

The OP stated there was a pinhole in the neg. This would put a black spot on the print. You can't retouch that on the print, so you have to provide density on the negative. Titanium white applied to the negative would work for that - there might be another material that's preferable, but it's been so long since I've retouched a print I couldn't tell you (anyone?). Lastly the OP has an RA-4 print, for which I think the best retouching color is going to be the Kodak retouching colors.

[RPNugent]

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e71/e71.pdf

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/professional/support/techPubs/e70/e70.pdf

better advice than I can give

[Brian Ellis]

Since the cloud is white, I'm thinking liquid white-off - that stuff you used to correct typewriter (remember those?) errors.

Color photography is fun. For Tuesday nights printing session I forgot to make a tank solution after I made the replenisher (800ml replenisher + 175ml H2O and 25ml of starter = 1L of tank solution). What was the result? I had to stop down to f32 to get a 10 second print time; f16 with the tank solution.

Nobody else on this forum doing traditional color printing? That's a shame. To me it looks better than inkjet - certainly different.

Not necessarily different. It just depends on how the printer makes the print. Some people who make ink jet prints tend to over-sharpen, over-saturate (like Velvia film). Maybe that's the type of ink jet prints you've seen.

For those who still spot black and white prints made in a darkroom, the best system of spotting I found was a set of pens called SpotPen, P.O. Box 1559, Las Cruces, NM 88004 (505) 523-8820. I don't have a web address for them and I have no idea whether they're still in business but worth a check if you do any old-fashioned spotting. The set consists of 10 fine-tipped pens with shades from almost white to almost black and 8 shades of gray in between with the shade of each pen shown on the side of the pen so it's easy to match the right pen with the print.

The other tip, which everyone probably knows already, is with the first spot always err on the side of too light a shade. It's easy to go from too light darker but not so easy to go from too dark to lighter.

[Brian Ellis]

For those who still spot black and white prints made in a darkroom, the best system of spotting I found was a set of pens called SpotPen, P.O. Box 1559, Las Cruces, NM 88004 (505) 523-8820. I don't have a web address for them and I have no idea whether they're still in business but worth a check if you do any old-fashioned spotting. The set consists of 10 fine-tipped pens with shades from almost white to almost black and 8 shades of gray in between with the shade of each pen shown on the side of the pen so it's easy to match the right pen with the print. No water, no muss, no fuss, just apply the pen tip to the print.

The other tip, which everyone probably knows already but I'll mention anyhow, is with the first spot always err on the side of too light a shade. It's easy to go from too light darker but not so easy to go from too dark to lighter.

If there was no other reason to print digitally except the ease of spotting, that alone would make it worthwhile to me. But to each his or her own.