saving the negative of instant films

<p>I'm using Polaroid landcamera, which uses peel apart type of film.<br />I'm hoping to save the negatives of my shots.<br />There is a good guy on flickr who shares his discovery of how to do it.<br />Basically it is like this:<br>

peel apart -> fixer -> use bleach to wash the black paint on the back<br>

(this procedure is for Fuji instant films. Polaroid film might work differently.)<br>

--------<br />My question is, is the fixer necessary for this procedure?<br />Cause it is impossible to carry fixer with me all the time.<br />I know that the fuji instant negative would start to turn black once it sees light, does that means it's ruined once it sees light?<br>

Solutions for both Fuji and Polaroid are welcome, I have two packs of Polaroid B&W in hand.<br>

Thanks</p>

<p>I don't know about the fixer. Fuji b&w instant film negs will last awhile after peeling apart. If I'm home I slap my negs right on a scanner. </p>

<p>If I'm away from home I slap my Fuji negatives onto 4x6 inkjet paper.<br>

<img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3617/3569692056_0d925af329.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>there are neg films and then there are films that pull apart with a positive also on the part pulled off--color films as well as b/w. The part you tear off will oxidize rapidly and I have used them for some pretty cool results, but more the old type 59/669 rather than the newer ones, like Fuji's. These newer ones have that awful yellow cast built in and solarize pretty quickly as well as oxidize. I have never heard of these being saved by fix, since they are positives and actually very vulnerable to liquids. They can be wet, but usually they will disintegrate if not scanned quickly after being wet or submerged while scanning(using a silicon dam to create a pool on the scanner bed). </p>

<p>The old p/n polaroid films were a different story. These, type 55/665, did require clearing and processing to save. They were very nice fine grained negatives and made excellent prints and lasted years.</p>

<p>To Greg:<br />"Slap the Fuji negative onto inject paper"<br />What does this do? Does image tranfer onto inject paper? Or is it just a way to bring the negative home safely?<br>

To John:<br />"using a silicon dam to create a pool on the scanner bed."<br />What? You mean, put water in a transparent container and put our negative in it to scan?<br>

--------<br />BTW, how can you scan the negative right after you peel apart?<br />There is a black paint in the back of negative, wouldn't the scanning result turns out to be black?</p>

<p>When using the Polaroid peel apart films, other than the 55 or 665(?) b/w neg films, or the Fuji instant film, the part that is peeled off is actually a positive. It can be rather attractive, but oxidizes quickly. I would generally dry it with a hair blow dryer right away and then scan it when it was dry. But you could also submerge it in a water bath on your scanner to get the more saturated colors if done right away. But these dissolve quickly as well. You would just put the silicon sealer right on the scanner glass to create a "container" and fill with some water to submerge the peeled off bit into. Just be sure you have plenty of paper towels around to soak up anything that leaks or overflows onto the scanner or you might have some interesting and unpleasant results!</p>

<p>What do you mean black paint? I don't think fuji makes the P/N instant film. Polaroids did have a black goo on the negs that needed to be cleared, but I am not sure that is what we were talking about here.</p>

<p>To John:<br />I have to say, the idea of making a dam on scanner sounds scary and exciting in the same time.<br>

I'm not pretty sure we are talking the same thing either.<br />What does P/N indicate?<br />Anyway. The Fuji films I was talking about are "FP-100b" and "FP-100c".<br />Please have a look the following link. This is the good guy I metioned in the top. He makes the instruction with FP-100b. You can see there is a black paint on negative. It is the same with FP-100c.<br>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/pacorocha/sets/72157619006319867/">http://www.flickr.com/photos/pacorocha/sets/72157619006319867/</a></p>

<p>Well, looking at this, I have never seen this before. It looks a bit like the old Polaroid type 55/665 but maybe more fragile. Very interesting in any case.</p>

<p>I just looked it up and there is an interesting discussion here http://thecapitala.wordpress.com/ about how to do the color negs--scroll to end of the page</p>

<p>Marcus, it transfers the negative to the inkjet paper making another positive. The thing with it is there is less contrast with this transfer so high contrast scenes look better with the caveat that you get a lot of artifacts when transferring it to the inket paper.</p>

<p>If I'm I home I just immediately slap the neg on my scanner. I've done this with Fuji FP-3000B45, FP-100C45, and Polaroid 669.</p>

<p>Back to the inkjet paper, this is the original of the above transfer:</p>

<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2429/3567666468_cdfe61f031.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>Thank you, John.<br />The link is very interesting! But what he is doing kind of raise another question.<br />It's not technique related, but...<br />What he is doing is, instead of getting correct exposure for negative, and sacrafice the photo.<br />Why do we want to do that? If we just want a negative, we can use 120 roll film, isn't it? <br />If it is the old feeling we want, 120 Lomo or 120 pinhole should do a good job.<br />Of course I'm just saying it now. I'll definately give it a try, maybe I'll know what is the advantage of doing it in this way right after I see the result.<br>

Greg,<br />oh, I did not know the photo you posted was the transfer you were talking about, I thought it is just a random nice picture.<br />I am very interested in this technique. I like image transfer technique.<br />Could you please fill me in some of your knowledge? It can give me a more pleasant start, I believe...<br />How long do we leave the negative on inject paper before separting them?<br />Does this damage the negative?</p>

<p>Thank you, John.<br />The link is very interesting! But what he is doing kind of raise another question.<br />It's not technique related, but...<br />What he is doing is, instead of getting correct exposure for negative, and sacrafice the photo.<br />Why do we want to do that? If we just want a negative, we can use 120 roll film, isn't it? <br />If it is the old feeling we want, 120 Lomo or 120 pinhole should do a good job.<br />Of course I'm just saying it now. I'll definately give it a try, maybe I'll know what is the advantage of doing it in this way right after I see the result.<br>

Greg,<br />oh, I did not know the photo you posted was the transfer you were talking about, I thought it is just a random nice picture.<br />I am very interested in this technique. I like image transfer technique.<br />Could you please fill me in some of your knowledge? It can give me a more pleasant start, I believe...<br />How long do we leave the negative on inject paper before separting them?<br />Does this damage the negative?</p>

Thank you, John.

The link is very interesting! But what he is doing kind of raise another question.

It's not technique related, but...

What he is doing is, instead of getting correct exposure for negative, and sacrafice the photo.

Why do we want to do that? If we just want a negative, we can use 120 roll film, isn't it?

If it is the old feeling we want, 120 Lomo or 120 pinhole should do a good job.

Of course I'm just saying it now. I'll definately give it a try, maybe I'll know what is the advantage of doing it in this way right after I see the result.

Greg,

oh, I did not know the photo you posted was the transfer you were talking about, I thought it is just a random nice picture.

I am very interested in this technique. I like image transfer technique.

Could you please fill me in some of your knowledge? It can give me a more pleasant start, I believe...

How long do we leave the negative on inject paper before separting them?

Does this damage the negative?

<p>I just immediately slap the neg onto a sheet of pearl/luster 4x6 inkjet paper and will peel it apart anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour later. Don't press unless unless you want to experiment with interesting blobs on your transfer. I think longer than that and the negative and paper dry and get too stuck together.</p>

<p>I've tossed all my negatives so I can't rememember the shape of the negative afterwards. I have a pack of 4x5 Fuji FP-3000B that I'm going to shoot in the next day or two. I'll do some more and let you know.</p>

<p>Greg, according to what I read, the negative thing only works with the 100 speed films.</p>

<p>Marcus, the reason for this procedure is that it will be different from all that you mention. Kind of like the reason there are a lot, or were, a lot of different types of negative film--everything delivers a slightly different image. A process like this will have limitations that other films don't have and it will do things that others wont do. Of course, the value of this is only in whether it produces a result that is usable by you. If not, then it is not a process you should use, but may work for another person who does a different type of imagery. The value is that if you try it, you then discover something along the way, if only that you don't like it!</p>

<p>This is a partially solarized FP-3000B45 negative that I put in a plastic baggy and scanned 4 or 5 hours later. Since it was night it didn't see much light. I haven't gotten solarization like that since. The positive is below.</p>

<p><img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2274/3569691522_d5f9ffaac5_o.jpg" alt="" /> <img src="http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3569/3565625113_c7c98acb8b_o.jpg" alt="" /></p>

<p>John, I agree with it.</p>

<p>Greg. I tried your transfer technique, slapped my Polaroid 664 B/W negative onto a piece of pearl inject paper. Nothing turns out :(, it only left a pink square and a very light (hardly can be identified) image on the paper.<br />Does this technique only works for Fuji film? </p>