I smell like fixer

R

ray_g

Guest
Finally got the chance to try my hand at printing. Now I know the magic you all describe, seeing the image appear on the paper.:)

I just tried to make two 8 x 10 prints tonight - one was fairly decent, and the other had a whole lot of dust spots. :(

I have been reading on spotting, but it seems Spotone is out of production. What do you recommend---pens? ink? what kind? what basic shades/colors to start off with? what brush ?

The first print was very satisfying. The second had me wishing for a "clone tool." :D
 
Get compressed air for your darkroom in the first place, it will not take all spots away, but it will improve things a lot.

/Håkan
 
I just checked and calumet has Marshall sotting dyes. I've used spotone for fourty years anhd still using bottles that I've had for twenty.

The best way to use soptone and I would imagine the same is true for Marshall is to put a drop on a piece of plastic and allow it to dry. Use a 000 sable brush and wet the brush with saliva. You heard me! I speek from what I was taught with spotone and don't know if there is anything in Marshall's that is a problem. Spotone is just pigment and apparently not toxic. Water is too fluid and saliva gives the correct consistency. I take a piece of trhe same kind of photo paper and work the tip of the brush on it untill I get the density I need. Then, I litely tuch the tip of the brush to the spot. I don't necessarily try to totally cover the spot and exactly match the density because it's too easy to get a dark circle around the edges of the spot. The trick is to blens each spot with the density around it. It might take a few thousand tries but it works.

I wonder how many million spots I've spotted in fourty plus years and a few hundred thousand prints.
 
I agree with Hakan, get rid of the dust before you print it. Ilford sells an anti-static cloth that you wipe the negative with, that removes dust and neutralizes any static electricity charge which may attract dust to the film.
 
a nice soft sable brush and an anti static cloth is the key!
out damn spot!

it's kinda cool in there eh? ray.

what was that famous movie quote?

'i love the smell of fixer in the morning'

joe
 
My photo teacher told me that when spotting, get a giant magnifying glass, a tiny brush, and just touch, not dab or jab, making the tiniest dots you can see. It should take a while. A glass of wine, or any other focusing fluid may steady your hand. Think of painters who use the pointillist techniques, or just making pixels on a blown up print in photoshop. Of course, dust will be your lifelong enemy when printing, and all measures you can take to print from a clean negative will pay off by needing less spotting.

Speaking of bodily fluids used in the darkroom, I keep a special small round brush in a cigar tube to keep it clean, and use it to lift off a speck of dust from a negative. Just roll the brush in the crease between your nose and cheek, where "nose grease" usually accumulates. This moistens the brush only slightly, and allows the brush to lift dust specks off easily. Flick the brush gently with a finger before storing again in a dust free container. Gross and primitive, but it works.
 
I use a similar method to x-ray. But I just using the artists water colour paint in 'Ivory Black'. Water colour paint is in small thumbnail size pots in solid form. Using the finest sable artist paint brush you can find use your saliva to wet the brush then start gathering the paint slowly. I use an old piece of unexposed printing paper the same type as the print and check the density on that. Build up the spot very slowly using just the tip of the brush using the smallest spots you can make. It does take time but the end result is very good.

Rule of thumb though is get as few spots as possible, thats the harder part.
 
backalley photo said:
a nice soft sable brush and an anti static cloth is the key!
out damn spot!

it's kinda cool in there eh? ray.

what was that famous movie quote?

'i love the smell of fixer in the morning'

joe
Click to expand...

Yes, Joe, it is cool. I've been wanting to learn this for so long.

Mango, thanks for your kind offer. And thanks to all for the advice. I guess I will need to shop around for a few things.
 
Ray: another good tool for getting rid of dust/lint from the negative is the Staticmaster brush. They have an isotope under the brush that ionizes the air around it as you brush, so it counteracts the effect of the static that has attracted the dust on your negative in the first place. I use it on my negatives when I scan too. Really nice. The isotope has a short half-life (i.e. "expiration date"), so look for one that will last you at least a couple of years.

I find it gets rid of the stuff that airblowing alone can't get rid of.
 
Manolo Gozales said:
Hey:)

I have some Teteanl spotting pens (a set of 10) which I picked up at a clearance sale with a load of other stuff. They have never been used. Don't know what they are like since I have always used Spotone. You are welcome to have them if you wish. Drop me a PM with your address and I'll stick them in the mail.

Regards

ManGo
Click to expand...

Got the Tetenal spotting pens from Mango (thank you!), and they worked like a charm. I've found compressed air at the local Staples. Any particular place to get the anti-static cloth? Is this the same as regular microfiber cloth?
 
I have to agree. I've not made too many prints on the whole, but seeing the print emerge under the developer is the most fun part of the entire process.

The smell of fixer is a good deterrent against annoying people :D. Just extend your fixer affected fingers forward like Darth Sidius and advance toward said pesky people and watch them recoil :angel:.
 
Here is something to try. I was reading about a method of removing dust from a digital sensor in a dslr and thought "I should try that on my negs". What the article said was if you use canned air and blow it through a synthetic artists brush it will create a static charge. Then with the brush charged lightly one time wipe it across the sensor, in our case the neg. The static charge is supposed to pick up any dust on the surface. I haven't tried it yet but I will the next time I am in the darkroom, on a ratty neg that is. If I find the url again I will post.
 
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