Polaroid Transfers on Glossy Photo Paper (Really Easy!)

Posted by on Sep 12 2009, in glossy photo paper, parahanga, polaroid transfers

The reason I haven’t tried transfers before is that I am on location and usually don’t have proper supplies to do traditional transfers when I am out about on the beach, hiking, or outdoors in general. I’ve always felt a bit guilty about having to discard the negative.

If you are a newbie to polaroid (like me) transfers are simply ‘reusing’ the negative portion of the polaroid pack film by transferring it to another surface.
Now you don’t have to feel guilty about wasting the negatives anymore – I just tried using a new technique that I learned from Milgy, a Polaroid user in Great Britain. And you can do this anywhere!
What you need:
  • Pack Film negative. In the examples below I used Polaroid 125i Film
  • glossy photo paper, i prefer 10x 15cm (4×6 in)
  • hardcover book
  • optional: rolling pin
  • optional: water pan
Here’s what I did:
  1. Get some glossy photo paper, I used Kodak Gloss 10 x 15cm photo paper.
  2. Take your photo, when you peel your negative off, instantly slap it on the glossy photo paper
  3. Place the photo paper inside a hardcover book (the negative should be stuck to the photopaper)
  4. Leave the book shut for about 30mins (probably need much less time than this)
  5. When ready, peel the negative away from the photo paper.
  6. Optional, use a rolling pin – put the photo paper on a hard surface and go over the negative with a rolling pin. Peel the negative away.
Too my surprise, the peeling the negative away felt much like peeling the negative away from the original. Apparently you can do this with Fuji FP100c, which I’ve read
Here are some results – note I think the blotches come from rain, it was raining lightly when I took the photos, I think they add to the mystique! The positive copies will posted after this :
landscapemanip2-2263928

landscapemanip-1429820
Here is another way you can do this, I did some shots where there negative was sticking well:
  1. Place photo/negative in flat pan
  2. Pour hot water in the pan
  3. Take out photo, place on flat surface
  4. Use rolling pin to flatten image
  5. Peel Negative from photo paper
  6. Allow to dry
The effect is alot different – in this case – it looks rather ‘antiquey’ like a worn newspaper photograph. I am not sure if all the film will look this, but it yellowed and had some purpley marks from the emulsion:
sunsettracksmanip-5412202

Comments

  • Rob

    May 25 2010 at 3:33 am

    very interesting post, thanks a lot for sharing.

  • Pedro

    Mar 26 2012 at 3:30 am

    Dear
    We have seen your nice work with Polaroid emulsion transfer and we are pleased to present you a new product that, no doubt , will facilitate the process and will enhance the expressivity of your images.
    This method enables you to combine all the advantages of digital photography with the expressiveness of the emulsion transfers but on DIN A4 size.
    We refer our website to see in detail the simple process: http://www.jellyfishphoto.es
    We would like to know your opinion about this new product.
    Enjoy it: Pedro Kareaga