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Polaroid Transfers

There are five types of Polaroid Processes that can be done with Polaroid film,
The Original Print, The Image Transfer, The Emulation Transfer, The SX70 Technique, and the negative/reverse of the Polaroid BW/Color film. All the images produced by these processes are one of kind prints.

In image transfer it is a marriage between photography and print making. You start with the usual two piece Polaroid film, the print plus the chemical side. After you expose the film and peel it apart into two halves you have the image side and the emulsion chemical gooey side. You place the image side down and using the chemical as an ink base, you place the chemical side face down on watercolor paper. You rub the back of the print, time varies upon print. Upon peeling the Polaroid back off the paper you should have successfully transferred the chemicals to the watercolor paper and are left with a soft print reminiscent of a Degas painting. The results are never guaranteed and the results are  a one time procedure per piece of film and the results are one of a kind images.

In emulation transfer you start with the usual two piece Polaroid film, the print plus the chemical side. After you expose the film and peel it apart into two halves you have the image side and the emulsion chemical gooey side. You put the emulsion chemical down and place the print side into boiling water. After a few minutes the emulation boils off the sub-straight Polaroid paper. What you have left is a floating film in the water. You place watercolor paper under the film and as you take the paper out of the water you hold the film onto the paper. You can stretch, tear or fold the thin film on the paper. You then squeegee it and when it dries you are left with a unique image. The results are never guaranteed and the results are  a one time procedure per piece of film and the results are one of a kind images.
In the SX-70 process the images start with SX-70 instant film, the kind that develops before your eyes when it comes out of the camera. When the image has developed and while the dye layers under the plastic coating are still soft (within the first few minutes), the image can be manipulated by pressing and pushing on it with various tools. Basically moving the dyes around underneath the plastic cover and accessing and exposing the lower layer of white titanium dioxide, making patterns or outlining parts of the photo in any way you like to render it more painterly in effect. The results are never guaranteed and the results are  a one time procedure per piece of film and the results are one of a kind images.

NOTE: Now that Polaroid has stopped making these films (SX70 in 2003) and their standard film in 2008, all these techniques will never be able to be reproduced.