Does this count?

darin3200 · Aug 28, 2005

To start off, I was bored.
I was trying some organic toning and it was going ok with coffee so I made a big pot of tea and let it boil for a while. I had some prints from the darkroom that didn't come out just right, but were still ok. I took one and put it in the boiling tea. After a couple minutes it was nice and orange and it was starting to seperate just a little around the corners. I took a tweezers and slowly and gently peeled the paper backing off just a little. Put it back in the tea, peel a little more off, back into the tea, etc... Then I had a very thing piece of paper with the image on it. It was put between to pieces of glass and then into the oven to dry with too much curling. Then I put some paper cement on some construction paper and laid the image on there.

I don't need polaroids, I've got gelatin-silver transfers :lol:

Karalee · Aug 29, 2005

Nice job and interesting process.

But we dont need no stinkin glue

terri · Aug 29, 2005

That's interesting. I like toning with coffee.

Experimenting is fun!

It will be interesting to see how this stands the test of time, whether the glue will leach or stain, dry out and crack the emulsion, etc. That would be my main concern; after that, the permanence of the construction paper. Doubt it's acid-free.

What darkroom paper did you use? That looks very high gloss. Was this FB or resin?

ksmattfish · Aug 29, 2005

terri said:
What darkroom paper did you use? That looks very high gloss. Was this FB or resin?

I don't think this is an "emulsion transfer", but an "emulsion lift". The gloss you are seeing is the gelatin.

EDIT: Whoops, Terri, I reread your question, and understand better now.

terri · Aug 29, 2005

ksmattfish said:
I don't think this is an "emulsion transfer", but an "emulsion lift". The gloss you are seeing is the gelatin.

EDIT: Whoops, Terri, I reread your question, and understand better now.

That'll learn ya to jump the gun. :razz:

btw, Mr. Needham, an emulsion transfer IS an emulsion lift. Any time the word "emulsion" is used for these type Polaroid processes, it is assumed the emulsion is lifted and transferred to another receptor surface. It's annoying how the terms seem interchangable, since it's easy for a beginner to be confused between "image transfer" and "emulsion transfer".

And I know you probably know all this, but since you can pretty much kick my butt on every other photographic process, I gotta get my tiny lectures in when I can. :sillysmi:

darin3200 · Aug 29, 2005

terri said:
That's interesting. I like toning with coffee. Experimenting is fun!

It will be interesting to see how this stands the test of time, whether the glue will leach or stain, dry out and crack the emulsion, etc. That would be my main concern; after that, the permanence of the construction paper. Doubt it's acid-free.

What darkroom paper did you use? That looks very high gloss. Was this FB or resin?

It was semi-mattee RC, its less glossy in real life. How to you get polaroids to stick to paper?

ksmattfish · Aug 29, 2005

terri said:
Mr. Needham, an emulsion transfer IS an emulsion lift.... since it's easy for a beginner to be confused between "image transfer" and "emulsion transfer".

You are right, I should have said "image transfer".

terri · Aug 29, 2005

darin3200 said:
It was semi-mattee RC, its less glossy in real life. How to you get polaroids to stick to paper?

Okay, that's why it worked. You were able to get that plastic coating off the RC paper. I couldn't figure out how else that would work; it seemed unlikely that a glossy FB would lift off in a similar manner.

Polaroid emulsions are built differently, of course. There is only one formula that works with emulsion lifts, and it is (by and large) any Polaroid film that ends with a "9" - 669, 59, 809.... same emulsion formula, different sizes. The top layer of this film can be "boiled" off (for lack of a better term, but you don't really want boiling water) until the thin membrane that lies on top of the paper backing comes loose. It is somewhat delicate and friable, but can be pulled, stretched, ripped, wrinkled, and otherwise distorted in any number of fun ways, without a single rip if you're careful - unless you want to rip it.

This membrane naturally adheres to most surfaces (the one I've read about that stubbornly rejects the membrane is rubber). But paper, stone, tile, fabric will take it, although you have to follow certain procedures for fabric and take care it doesn't go through the wash cycle. :razz:

ksmattfish · Aug 29, 2005

Another way to do it is by applying a liquid emulsion (like Rockland's Liquid Light) to something like glass or plastic that it won't stick to like the fibers in paper.

Lissy · Oct 24, 2005

Heya. I'm new here

I'd like to try this out, when it's in the tea, should it be face down to pull off the paper, or face up to pull off the emulsion? Thanks.
(and other details of the process you can think of would be great too)

Hertz van Rental · Oct 24, 2005

It isn't technically toning either.
What you are doing here is dyeing or staining. You can do it to the paper base or the gelatine of the emulsion.
Toning is when you chemically alter the silver in the image - usually by substituting the silver for another metal. Though some toners work by 'coating' the silver and others (like sulphide toning) react with the silver to produce a coloured compound.
Things like tea and cofee just stain, they don't react.

darin3200 · Oct 24, 2005

Lissy said:
Heya. I'm new here
I'd like to try this out, when it's in the tea, should it be face down to pull off the paper, or face up to pull off the emulsion? Thanks.
(and other details of the process you can think of would be great too)

I put the print image side-up in the tea for about 30 seconds so that the base got wet. Take the print out of the tea and pull the emulsion from the paper just a little bit. Then put it back in the tea and hold the base down with some tongs and use your fingers to carefully keep the emulsion above water and slowly pull it off.