Plaroid Transfer

[Onestepbeyond70]

Hi all,
i've been reading this forum for a while and it is simply great!
I've been using LF for a while and now wanted to do some Polaroid transfer.
Have you had any experience with expired (1 year or so) Polaroid 59?

[Ash]

Plaroid sounds fairly toxic....

[Frank Petronio]

Got a lot of money to burn? One year expired 59 should be fine for transfers in most cases but given the success rate those are going to be expensive experiments.

[Onestepbeyond70]

Thanks for your reply, Frank.
It is much more expensive shooting slides (buy,develop,hi res scan...) or
darkroom printing.

Carlo

[JBrunner]

Hi Carlo,

Expensive is a relative term. Darkroom process can cost more or less, depending on what you are doing, and how well you do it. Once you get your technique down, and depending on the paper you choose, it will ring in about $2 a print. In return for that you have a unique print made with a unique process. I really enjoy doing it as a departure, when I want a break from my other stuff. It's a nice way to spend an afternoon for twenty bucks or so, and I usually have a few nice prints to show for it. With a bottle of wine and a fun model, it's a pretty hard day to beat.

Some folks shoot slides and use a Daylab printer or Vivitar printer so they can work with a small format, and make the exposure to the instant film, and subsequent transfers later. Daylab also has a printer that will expose instant film from prints up to 4x6.

Fuji pack film works as well, but the 4x5 holder for the Fuji 4x5 is a little more expensive right now than they were because folks are switching to them, and the transfer process must be done in the dark if using Fuji.

Hope that helps

J

[Gordon Moat]

I have done Polaroid transfers directly off image captures, though usually I use an old Sunpak Polaroid printer (similar to Daylab). Generally, you should expect your efforts at transfers to fail, though after a while you can get about 80% to 90% success. Due to that failure rate, it is tougher to do in-camera Polaroids for transfers. The few I have done sold for much higher amounts than transfers I did from 35mm slides, because they are truly one-of-a-kind prints.

You may want to start working with Fuji FP100C45 to do transfers, because this film will continue to be available in the future. While Polaroid materials are here, definitely do manipulations, but remember that what you learn will not exactly translate into doing Fuji Transfers. Lifts are possible with Fuji Instant, but easier with Polaroid (see type 669 example image); main problem is that Fuji will not stick on emulsion lifts, though you could use matte medium or encaustic to make it work.

Paper plays a big part in the success of the transfers. After some early experiments, I made a choice of only using Fabriano acquarello Artistico Extra White, which is a 100% cotton watercolour paper; the finish is Hot Pressed Grana Satinata. You might see some people recommend cold pressed, though I had far greater success with hot pressed paper. The extra white brings out the highlight details in the transfer.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

[Onestepbeyond70]

Jb and Gordon,
thanks for your informative reply.
I never thought about using the Daylab , i want to do in camera transfers , they look better (i did it in the past, then stopped for lack of money). Thanks for pointing out the possiblity of doing transfer with Fuji 100 4x5, though the film holder is quite expensive. Besides it seems it has more realistic colors than polaroid, isn't it?
anyway, i can buy T59 for 80euro (if you are interested i give you the website), but it is one year expired
and wanted to know if one could use them for transfers.



Ps.
I think we all agree the anyone spend his money as he prefers.
Im a big fan of Large Format, alternative processes and Polaroid, but i prefer
digital dodging and burning. And digital prints on Ilford baryta base paper are great, have you tried it?

[Gordon Moat]

Fuji FP100C45 and FP100C are similar to Polaroid 690 pack film, though maybe a touch less vibrant. I like the results more than Polaroid 669, and the Fuji skin tones are much closer to reality.

Here is a great comparison: when I have been on a shoot, and shot a Polaroid of the set-up, the AD or CD will look at them, and then hand it back. Whenever I use the Fuji Instant, rather than handing back the test shot, they often ask if they can keep it. Fuji Instant is way better than Polaroid. The bizarre thing is that the poor quality control on Polaroid is what made manipulations easier, and the good quality control on Fuji Instant is what makes them tough to manipulate.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat Photography

[Onestepbeyond70]

Gordon,
thanks for sharing your experience!
Basicly you confirm that Fuji are..let's say "less artistic".

Best Regards
Carlo