I have recently tried the SpotPen pens for spotting black & white prints. They are certainly much quicker and easier (for me) to use than Spotone and brushes. No preparation, no mess.

They seem to work nicely on darker areas, BUT on lighter areas there seems to be a rather yellow or brown cast to the areas I've spotted--sort of what I would expect with a warm tone set, which mine is not. Any ideas why, or what might be done about it?

Thanks

-- Richard Evans (evans@dbtech.net), December 10, 1999

Answers

Dump the pens. They're junk compared to using Marshall dyes and a 000 brush. And be more careful in the future with your film and processing/printing. James

-- james (james_mickelson@hotmail.com), December 11, 1999.

Dump the pens. They're junk compared to using Marshall dyes and a 000 brush.

Maybe dyes and brushes are such a pain in the a** that some of us never get the hang of it. Snobbery is junk.

Richard: your paper is simply a colder tone than the pens. I guess it's not worth it to you to change paper or developer. I use Agfa MCP paper and a diffuse head, which matches the pens quite well for the minimal spotting I do.

-- Tim Brown (brownt@ase.com), December 11, 1999.

I agree with James. The pens are very expensive and dont last or come in the combinations of colours which can be achieved with dyes. The secret to using the dyes is to put some spots on a tile or small glass plate and let the colours dry completely. Slightly damp your brush (mouth is good), brush 000,pick up a little dye, wipe on absorbent paper to get the required dryness, and test the colour on the side of the print (paperbase) for colour. I also use a very strong light (150W) and very strong glasses or magnifier. This is just as quick as pens.

-- david strachan (strachan@cww.octec.org.au), December 11, 1999.

I've noticed that same problem you describe, except I use Ilford Warmtone paper almost exclusively. I admit it's a little strange that the pens that are supposed to work with the "colder" looking papers work perfectly on warmtone. Advice? Write'em a letter dammit!

-- Chris Marchand (c_marchand@cariboo.bc.ca), January 23, 2000.