Spotting RC papaer

"John Walton" wrote in message ...
It can be done -- but you have to be more careful than with fiber papers --
the first little dab of very light ink will soften up the gelatin.

Frankly, I found that the time it took to clean the negatives was less than
the time it to spot a print. Try PEC and PEC wipes -- they should be
available in Italy. Having a bit of humidity in the darkroom also helps
keep dust down. If you clean your darkroom wait a few days for the dust to
settle back before printing.

"piterengel" wrote in message
om...
Hi, I need to spotting some b/w photos printed on RC paper. I've never
done this before, so any help is welcome.

Thanks all

piterengel

Sorry for my ignorance but... what are PEC and PEC wipes? Thanks

Piterengel--

Suggest you get yourself a package of "SpotPens." (That's their branded
name.) They come in a graded series of ten shades of increasing density,
from an almost-white gray to nearly black. They have very sharp points, so
you can make REALLY small dots, building the density as Darkroommike
suggests. You don't have to mix-and-match, as with using SpotTone or some
similar dye. You simply choose the shade most closely matching the
background and go to it. In 50 years of darkroom work, I've never found
anything easier and more effective to use in spotting prints. (I second the
notion about clean negatives, though. Prevention vs. cure idea.)

Cheers,

Dick Behan



"piterengel" wrote in message
om...
Hi, I need to spotting some b/w photos printed on RC paper. I've never
done this before, so any help is welcome.

Thanks all

piterengel

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message ...
Piterengel--

Suggest you get yourself a package of "SpotPens." (That's their branded
name.) They come in a graded series of ten shades of increasing density,
from an almost-white gray to nearly black. They have very sharp points, so
you can make REALLY small dots, building the density as Darkroommike
suggests. You don't have to mix-and-match, as with using SpotTone or some
similar dye. You simply choose the shade most closely matching the
background and go to it. In 50 years of darkroom work, I've never found
anything easier and more effective to use in spotting prints. (I second the
notion about clean negatives, though. Prevention vs. cure idea.)

Cheers,

Dick Behan



"piterengel" wrote in message
om...
Hi, I need to spotting some b/w photos printed on RC paper. I've never
done this before, so any help is welcome.

Thanks all

piterengel
I think to follow the last indication. In Italy a complete set of pens
costs 45 euros (40 dollars) so they are not expensive.

Cleaning more carefully the negative cuold be an idea, I'm a chemistry
so I've no problems to purchase some very pure isopropyl alcohol
(PEC-12, isn't it?). But in my opinion this is not the solution in my
particular case. In fact you must consider these points:

- I've enlarged 12x a 24x36 negative, so any very little dot in it is
obviously magnificated on print.
- Most of these dots are generated, in my opinion, by the fact that
I've developed the film (Ilford FP4+) in XTOL: this film was the third
treated with the same solution, increasing developmnet time. This is
an error I really don't repeat anymore!

So I presume that a further wash take no great effects.

Thanks all

piterengel

"R.W. Behan" wrote in message ...
Piterengel--

Suggest you get yourself a package of "SpotPens." (That's their branded
name.) They come in a graded series of ten shades of increasing density,
from an almost-white gray to nearly black. They have very sharp points, so
you can make REALLY small dots, building the density as Darkroommike
suggests. You don't have to mix-and-match, as with using SpotTone or some
similar dye. You simply choose the shade most closely matching the
background and go to it. In 50 years of darkroom work, I've never found
anything easier and more effective to use in spotting prints. (I second the
notion about clean negatives, though. Prevention vs. cure idea.)

Cheers,

Dick Behan



"piterengel" wrote in message
om...
Hi, I need to spotting some b/w photos printed on RC paper. I've never
done this before, so any help is welcome.

Thanks all

piterengel
I think to follow the last indication. In Italy a complete set of pens
costs 45 euros (40 dollars) so they are not expensive.

Cleaning more carefully the negative cuold be an idea, I'm a chemistry
so I've no problems to purchase some very pure isopropyl alcohol
(PEC-12, isn't it?). But in my opinion this is not the solution in my
particular case. In fact you must consider these points:

- I've enlarged 12x a 24x36 negative, so any very little dot in it is
obviously magnificated on print.
- Most of these dots are generated, in my opinion, by the fact that
I've developed the film (Ilford FP4+) in XTOL: this film was the third
treated with the same solution, increasing developmnet time. This is
an error I really don't repeat anymore!

So I presume that a further wash take no great effects.

Thanks all

piterengel

"piterengel" wrote in message
om...
Hi, I need to spotting some b/w photos printed on RC
paper. I've never
done this before, so any help is welcome.

Thanks all

piterengel

The technique is exactly the same. The emulsion and
overcoating for RC is identical to that used for fiber. The
rate of absorption of retouching dye will depend partlly on
the hardness of the gelatin layers to it will vary depending
on whether a hardening or non-hardening fixer was used.
Sometimes putting a very small amount of an alkali in the
water with which the dye is diluted will improve absorption.
Spotone advises diluted with an Alkaseltzer but a pinch of
bicarbonate of soda should do it. I find that using an
almost dry brush works best.
Glossy surfaces are going to hard to retouch and the
retouching shows more than it will on a textured or matte
surface. This is true of both RC and fiber.
For textured or matte surfaces I find that a Wolf's
Carbon pencil is often an easier way to spot prints than
dye. These marks from these pencils are not shiny as are the
marks from common writing or drawing pencils. Wolf's were
discontinued for a long time but were put back on the market
a few years ago and are generally available in art supply
stores (probably even in Italy:-) )


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA

"piterengel" wrote in message
om...
Hi, I need to spotting some b/w photos printed on RC
paper. I've never
done this before, so any help is welcome.

Thanks all

piterengel

The technique is exactly the same. The emulsion and
overcoating for RC is identical to that used for fiber. The
rate of absorption of retouching dye will depend partlly on
the hardness of the gelatin layers to it will vary depending
on whether a hardening or non-hardening fixer was used.
Sometimes putting a very small amount of an alkali in the
water with which the dye is diluted will improve absorption.
Spotone advises diluted with an Alkaseltzer but a pinch of
bicarbonate of soda should do it. I find that using an
almost dry brush works best.
Glossy surfaces are going to hard to retouch and the
retouching shows more than it will on a textured or matte
surface. This is true of both RC and fiber.
For textured or matte surfaces I find that a Wolf's
Carbon pencil is often an easier way to spot prints than
dye. These marks from these pencils are not shiny as are the
marks from common writing or drawing pencils. Wolf's were
discontinued for a long time but were put back on the market
a few years ago and are generally available in art supply
stores (probably even in Italy:-) )


--
---
Richard Knoppow
Los Angeles, CA, USA