Are Polaroid B&W archival?

GabrielC · Jun 25, 2021

Hello photrio (or APUG?)!

I'm a newcomer from France, newly 21 years old.
Since I'm still young, I'm trying to make sure my photos stand the test of time.
I learnt that colour processes were never truly archival and tend to fade in some decades, thanks to PE.
I shoot a lot of 35mm and 120, but instant film too. So, on top of instax coulour (wide), I'm trying to find a more or less archival instant film. If I'm not mistaken, Instax monochrome uses dyes and is not a real B&W silver process, but, is Polaroid B&W a real silver-based film, and as such archival ?

Thanks a lot!
GC

ic-racer · Jun 25, 2021

You could look up Charles Berger permanent Polaroid process.

Nicholas W · Jun 23, 2022

GabrielC said:
Hello photrio (or APUG?)!

I'm a newcomer from France, newly 21 years old.
Since I'm still young, I'm trying to make sure my photos stand the test of time.
I learnt that colour processes were never truly archival and tend to fade in some decades, thanks to PE.
I shoot a lot of 35mm and 120, but instant film too. So, on top of instax coulour (wide), I'm trying to find a more or less archival instant film. If I'm not mistaken, Instax monochrome uses dyes and is not a real B&W silver process, but, is Polaroid B&W a real silver-based film, and as such archival ?

Thanks a lot!
GC

Polaroid B&W will shift in color to sepia unless specific steps are taken. First, you must remove the sponge on the top rear of the film. Chemicals leech from the sponge over time and cause color shifts. If you do this carefully with an exacto blade you won’t disrupt the white frame on the front. Second you need to store them in an airtight container with silica gel packs inside. I use a Pyrex that I blacked out with gaff tape.

halfaman · Jun 24, 2022

ic-racer said:
You could look up Charles Berger permanent Polaroid process.

That seems to be a sort of a color carbon transfer printing process with special dyes. I think the OP is refering to instant film.

Nitroplait · Jun 24, 2022

I highly doubt that any of the currently available instant mediums, where the chemicals are still present in the print, can be archival.

I have some BW peel-apart Fuji produced Polaroid compatible prints dating 35 years back which doesn't show any deterioration - but that film is no longer produced so irrelevant for your situation.

gone · Jun 24, 2022

In my mind, the word Polaroid means impermanent. It's just not what the films seem to be designed for. I suspect that permanency was never really expected of the films, even from Kodak.

Part of the fun of Polaroid photos is looking at them every year and seeing how they've changed from the last time you saw them. If you expect your work to be very archival, use film and print on FB paper. It's a more aggravating paper to work with compared to RC, but once you get it dialed in, it should be more archival than anything else short of printing w/ carbon.

Andrew O'Neill · Jun 24, 2022

The old Polaroid prints that I coated with that stinky stuff that came with the film, are looking quite good still. That's 25 years ago. The ones I didn't coat from 2008, have faded and have gone sepia. The newer stuff I shot in my SX-70 from 4 years ago, looks good still as far as colour goes. But who really knows how long instant pics will last...

reddesert · Jun 26, 2022

Instant film's never had a strong point of permanence. My recollection is that for the black and white that made a positive and negative (Type 55, I forget the packfilm number), if you cleared the negative (in sodium sulfite solution) and hardened it, it was supposed to be fairly permanent. But this was beyond the normal consumer "Polaroid."

For someone starting out, my feeling is to pay more attention to controlling your process than to the ultimate in nominal archival quality. As a youngster, I struggled dealing with B+W fiber based paper washing and drying until one of my college friends said, "Look, just use resin coated paper." He was right, it was easier to wash and dry, and stored properly (not too much heat or humidity; negatives in Printfile sleeves), the negatives and prints still look ok even 20-30 years later. Color negatives and prints don't hold up quite as well. However, these days with scanning and color correcting, you can often rejuvenate even a faded C-41 negative or print.

RalphLambrecht · Jun 26, 2022

GabrielC said:
Hello photrio (or APUG?)!

I'm a newcomer from France, newly 21 years old.
Since I'm still young, I'm trying to make sure my photos stand the test of time.
I learnt that colour processes were never truly archival and tend to fade in some decades, thanks to PE.
I shoot a lot of 35mm and 120, but instant film too. So, on top of instax coulour (wide), I'm trying to find a more or less archival instant film. If I'm not mistaken, Instax monochrome uses dyes and is not a real B&W silver process, but, is Polaroid B&W a real silver-based film, and as such archival ?

Thanks a lot!
GC

I doubt it

guangong · Jun 26, 2022

I only used Polaroid BW positive/negative film for 45 camera and also for Hassy with 45 back. As I remember, also soaked print and negative in a bucket with ...right now {Moderator's edit of politics} can’t remember. Those pics have held up over time. Can’t say anything regarding other Polaroid stuff.

juan · Jun 26, 2022

The B&W photos I shot with my white Swinger and coated with the stuff in the tube still look like they did when they came out of the camera 54-years ago.

Alan9940 · Jun 26, 2022

I doubt that any instant film is truly archival, but I can tell you that we have a B&W Polaroid SX-70 shot that has been sitting out on top of the bedroom dresser (indirect daylight) for probably 10 years and, other than a bit of color shift to yellow/sepia, it hasn't changed at all.

GabrielC · Jun 26, 2022

Hello, thanks for all your answers. I know that instant film is not supposed to remain pristine for years, but since B&W uses stable silver, i was wondering what would happen to it over time

If the only shift is one to sepia, I consider it "archival"-ish, if the picture remains easily readable but yellow, that's fine. I will use more of them in the coming years. I don't really use color polaroid because if find them inferior to instax anyway..

Hawkeye · Jun 26, 2022

The B&W Polaroids my dad took in the mid 1950’s still look perfect.

Alan9940 · Jun 26, 2022

Hawkeye said:
The B&W Polaroids my dad took in the mid 1950’s still look perfect.

But that was a different film from what's available today.

Oren Grad · Jun 26, 2022

GabrielC said:
I know that instant film is not supposed to remain pristine for years, but since B&W uses stable silver, i was wondering what would happen to it over time

It's not obvious to me that the B&W versions of today's integral instant films leave you with a silver image. I think it's likelier that Polaroid B&W and Instax monochrome produce dye images, like the color versions. Does anyone know of technical documentation - perhaps patents? - that addresses this?

FWIW, Polaroid B&W that I shot last year has already faded very substantially, stored in the dark at room temperature. At least over the short run - up to two or three years - my Instax monochrome prints have been much more stable.

xya · Jun 30, 2022

GabrielC said:
Hello, thanks for all your answers. I know that instant film is not supposed to remain pristine for years, but since B&W uses stable silver, i was wondering what would happen to it over time

Oren Grad said:
It's not obvious to me that the B&W versions of today's integral instant films leave you with a silver image. I think it's likelier that Polaroid B&W and Instax monochrome produce dye images, like the color versions.

That's correct. All integral instant films that I know of are dye transfers, including today's B&W Polaroid or Instax. The old peel apart films were different.

Are Polaroid B&W archival?

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