Using negatives from Fuji peel-apart instant film

[arcr1]

I wonder if anyone can offer advice?

I've read that it is possible to clear, or fix the negatives you get from Polaroid/Fuji peel-apart instant film so that you can use them for contact-printing? I've scrounged a Polaroid "Gel Camera" from work, which takes these packs, and I'd like to be able to use the negatives for contact-printing cyanotypes. However, my reading hasn't revealed exactly how one should process the negatives after they have developed themselves.

The Fuji and Polaroid documents tell you to fold them in on themselves and throw them away (!), I've read one site saying to clean the non-emulsion side with bleach (normal domestic bleach? potassium ferricyanide? It didn't say) and then other sites just mention that the negs can be "fixed".

Has anyone here done this? If so how?

Andrew

PS: The camera, by the way, is a very simple plastic box with a 105mm flens at one end (in a Copal shutter) and a film pack holder at the other. No viewfinder, and pre-focussed at about 30cm. It was intended to be used to document electrophoresis gels on a light-box.

[StanW]

I think Polaroid's recommendation was to use sodium sulphite for clearing.

[robinb]

Hi Andrew

I had a go with the negs from Fuji Fp100c instant film
Basically i used the bleach that was under the sink and painted it onto the back of the neg -the black shiny side
left it a min and washed it off
the result was a underexposed positive

Give it a try ...

[arcr1]

Thank you Stan and Robin,

Now I know what I'm looking for, I've found other sites talking about Sodium Sulphite/Hypo Clear, though I don't think I've seen anything about getting a positive from the negative!

I'll buy a pack of film, and some hypo-clear and have a go. I've already got bleach!

Thanks again,

Andrew

[Andrew Bartram]

Go to I-Tunes and down load the Film Wasters Podcast from a Month or two ago - it's a video podcast.

All the info is there

[arcr1]

Thanks for the link Andrew, the Filmwasters podcast was good.

For the sake of anyone reading this later, the bleach is to dissolve the black backing on the Fuji negative. I get the impression that this backing wasn't present on the Polaroid equivalent, which was confusing me as most of the docs I found originally were for Polaroid. Possibly, for best results, one needs to combine both the bleach process on the back, and then sodium sulphite/hypo clear to clean up the emulsion as much as possible.

I'm going to have to give it a go!

Andrew

[photomi7ch]

Let us know how you get on, Andrew