Seeking Large Format B&W Negative Repair Tips

[LFLarry]

Hi, I have a really nice 8x10 Large Format Foma 100 negative and I would like to make a contact print, however, there is a 1/4" long scratch about 1/8" from the border that unfortunately shows up as a dark line in a light area of the image. Basically it ruins what could be a really nice print.

What options do I have to try and repair this?

PS-
There is no way any amount of dodging will likely take care of this because that would be too noticable in the surrounding area.

Thank you

-Larry

[LFLarry]

I was looking for advice on "how" to retouch the negative.

First retouch the negative and then retouch the print. If you do not possess these skills you may want to consider cropping the image.

[Bill Burk]

Show a picture of how bad the damage is.

It is far easier to spot a print from white than to retouch a black mark. So I use opaque on the negative and leave what would be atrocious white marks on the print if you left them there. Then I spot down the best I can.

It would work best if there is texture in the scene. But if it's in plain skies you may have trouble.

[LFLarry]

That is very helpful, thank you.

I just went back and looked at the negative again and the scratch is on the emulsion side and the scratch shows up as a dark line on a light area of the sky, unfortunately.

I think I am going to try a couple things that don't involve the negative directly to see how close I can even get it before I even venture doing any direct work on the negative. I was thinking of getting some optical mylar and using a soft pencil to mirror the scratch and laying that clear mylar on top of the negative when contact printing. That may be a train wreck, but I guess I won't know until I at least try.

This is a harsh lesson because this negative was made 900 miles from home... I am thinking about leaving my negatives in a clear sleeve when contact printing in the future to avoid these types of things. We have all had these sorts of things happen and they are good reminders of how focused and careful we need to be when handling the film.

I will loop back after I have tried a few things to report any progress or failures.

Thanks

The complexity of this depends a lot on the variety of tones and image information involved in the damaged area. On a most basic level you need to build density in the negative to produce a tone just lighter than the surrounding areas of the print. Then using a proper medium for your chosen paper reproduce the information missing from the print (blend the light area to match) carefully matching tone after dry down and matching any grain structure. If it's detailed there will be a learning curve, you will need to practice. Have a matching print to test tone, color and grain structure before applying to final print.

Keep in mind, in the time of film photography people had careers as professional retouchers.

[Jim Jones]

Before doing anything to the negative, make a quality scan so you at least have that as backup. I use Bill Burk's technique as mentioned in post #5. A very fine tipped water color brush or spotting brush is the right tool for this. Build up the density in the scratch gradually until it is at least as dark or a little darker than the surrounding sky. The print will probably require some retouching, too.

[LFLarry]

Excellent point Jim. Thank you!

Before doing anything to the negative, make a quality scan so you at least have that as backup. I use Bill Burk's technique as mentioned in post #5. A very fine tipped water color brush or spotting brush is the right tool for this. Build up the density in the scratch gradually until it is at least as dark or a little darker than the surrounding sky. The print will probably require some retouching, too.

[esearing]

I have used a grey fine tip marker on the back side of the negative to fix pinholes and small scratches rather than doing it on emulsion side. It works surprisingly well. Practice on a waste film sheet with intentional scratches even if you use a retouching products.

[Bill Burk]

I use regular Kodak red opaque on the base... it washes off easily if you think it's worse, or if you want to try again.

[Vaughn]

Retouch the neg and print the sky white.

[Eric Woodbury]

Many choices and you need to find one that agrees with you and your tools / talents. Find a test negative to learn.

Crop if you can.

There was a product called "No Scratch" by Edwal products. It was some simple oil that is now $24/oz. Brush it on the emulsion side to fill the scratch. It works pretty well...sometimes. Always experiment on a dud first.

The rest of these are all base-side treatments. I've used red transparent dye. It's nice because it goes on slowly. You can put on a little and print, put on more, etc. If you go too far, you can back up. You can spot the negative with either inks or pencil. With inks, some folks make little mask to make hitting a dot a little easier. But surface tension is your enemy here. Sometimes the ink is wicked under the mask and makes a mess.

A black mark in a white sky might be removed from print with potassium ferricyanide (farmer's reducer or Dusard's "liquid light") applied with a cotton swab or paint brush. Keep the running water handy. Sneak up on this one.

My favorite for removing an unwanted black dot on a print is to take a very sharp needle and place in an easy-to-grip holder (the needle may be sharpened on emery paper or whet stone) and stipple the back of the dot on the base side of the neg. Do this on a light table under magnification. This probably doesn't work when printed on a condenser enlarger, but it works well on a diffusion enlarger. It sounds really scary, but the result can be very exact. This is my favorite for spots.

YMMV