[LargeFormat] Removing black spots from prints

[Paul Butzi]

> Does anyone have experience in dealing with this sort of
problem?  I don't
> want to retouch the neg itself -- it's fairly important to
me -- so I'm
> thinking the route to follow will likely be bleaching and
(probably)
> subsequent spotting.  At the moment, I'm using Ilford MG
RC, and I have
> little idea how it reacts to bleaching (nor spotting, for
that matter --
> it's never been my forte).  If it comes to it, I'd
consider switching over
> to fiber-based paper, I guess, but hope that isn't
necessary.

In situations like this, I spot the negative - the smallest
possible dot directly on top of the 'white spot'.  The film
I use has a retouching base on the non-emulsion side and I
retouch on that side.

The net result is that your small black speck on the print
has been turned into a slightly larger white spot on the
print.  Then it's a matter of spotting the white spot down
to match the surrounding region.

It doesn't save having to spot each print but it does save
having to bleach every print.

-Paul