Diffusion Transfer Printing ("Polaroid" peel-apart) recipes

analogwisdom said:

I wish I could give an answer and be correct. I used it based off of the SDS I shared earlier in the thread, and because you told me to try replacing the AEEA.

I increased the TEA to around 4% because I figured that DEHA is less stable than the DMEHA that Polaroid used, so the increased concentration of TEA would help with stability. I also figured AEEA is too aggressive as a secondary solvent?

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I think Polaroid also switched to DEHA later on due to supply chain problems with DMEHA. (I may have misundersood that.)

analogwisdom said:

I could also be completely wrong and got lucky, I'm learning as I go.

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As the saying goes, the more you practice, the luckier you get.

On the subject of surface plates for experimental papers: Polaroid engineers used glass sheets. Not as rigid as a surface plate but smooth, and a lot lighter.

alecrmyers said:

On the subject of surface plates for experimental papers: Polaroid engineers used glass sheets. Not as rigid as a surface plate but smooth, and a lot lighter.

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I was considering using glass before I bought the surface plate.

AliExpress has an interesting option here:


A piece of float glass from a gallery or hardware store might be good enough, too.

analogwisdom said:

I was considering using glass before I bought the surface plate.

AliExpress has an interesting option here:

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005972671788.html

A piece of float glass from a gallery or hardware store might be good enough, too.

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I read an interesting discussion about glass vs. surface plates on an engineering forum, from the engineer's point of view. Glass is smooth but not very flat. Even float glass. Also, not rigid so it assumes the curve of the table underneath. Unless it's very very thick - as thick as a surface plate - in which case it's still not flat, but at least it's flatness doesn't change. And then it's as heavy as a surface plate, and costs more. So engineers who want to hone things can't use glass - it has to be the machined granite.

Whether flatness is all that important or not, I still can't say.

Analogwisdom, Great work! Congratulation!
May I ask what you used to light the subjects for such a low iso?
I resorted to high power LEDs as i sold all my speedotron gear years ago, even had two 9600ws heads!

Qebs said:

Analogwisdom, Great work! Congratulation!
May I ask what you used to light the subjects for such a low iso?
I resorted to high power LEDs as i sold all my speedotron gear years ago, even had two 9600ws heads!

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A regular camera mount speedlight has enough power for 16 ISO film. My little nikon sb80dx is good to 9ft at f5.6 set to iso 16. I've been using it for both my polaroid and ra4 reversal experimentation.

Qebs said:

Analogwisdom, Great work! Congratulation!
May I ask what you used to light the subjects for such a low iso?
I resorted to high power LEDs as i sold all my speedotron gear years ago, even had two 9600ws heads!

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Thank you. My friend on the other side of the country took the photos, so I'm not sure about his exact lighting situation. I know he uses constant lights, though.