Polaroid transfer creates images on paper by transfering ink or wet emulsion from Polaroid film
Choosing the slide
Polaroid transfer can be done in a couple ways; with a daylab machine where you put in a slide and expose the image with light onto the polaroid film or by taking a photo on an old polaroid camera. I use the peel apart film not the encapsulated polaroid film.
Using the daylab machine
Using the daylab machine takes the whole process indoors and allows you to make images from old family slides or to take new slides while traveling and create the polaroid images later. It is getting very difficult to find old polaroid film. I like to call this “kitchen art” because you need cold water, hot water, tongs, so many things have to come together to get the timing and temperature right! The film is old and edges stick and peel resulting in a cool “painterly” effect. I have images from a 1985 trip to Europe that I love to transfer!
hot water to release the emulsion layer
Usually I take the partially developed polaroid film, peel it apart and put it on watercolor paper and roll the film to release the ink onto the paper. In this image I let the polaroid fully develop the colors and use hot water to release the emulsion (the substance that the image sits in on the film). You take the gel like emulsion off and put it on watercolor paper. You can play with the edges of the emulsion and arrange its borders. SEE MY POLAROID GALLERY BELOW.
Polaroid Transfer gallery
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