DIY 'Polaroid' Film

[ektachrome]

Hi guys
Today I was thinking - DIY Polaroid type film.
So far, I have this:

Use Direct Positive film/paper
Thickened monobath developer in foil pod
= instant photo

also:
use normal negative film + monobath
find way of image transfer between film and coated paper base.

Could anyone add to these ideas, and maybe make this a reality.
How would I go about transferring negative image to paper to form positive, and how would I make a thick monobath.
Would colour be possible this way? (e6?)
I will try to contact Impossible, Fujifilm, Ilford and some old Polaroid workers.

Good night and Merry Christmas
Ektachrome

 

[johnielvis]

ZAM...just had a thought...MONOBATH for direct positive paper MAY increase speed to be within actual usable range....as I remember the monobaths from a LONG time ago..they had the effect of increasing effective film speed...like as a normal side effect of standard operation...this is DEFINITELY worth looking into--not making "polaroids" but maybe some kind of daylight filmholder/developing tank/monobath arrangement where you use the dir pos paper and then are able to process in a few minutes in a monobath....

 

[aldobranti]

the New 55 project is heading down that way, there was a formula based on HC110 and household ammonia, you could try using methyl cellulose as a thickener, they suggested experimenting with KY jelly!

 

[adelorenzo]

This fellow recently made his own P/N film, may be of interest:

http://20x24instantcameraproject.wordpress.com/instant-film-pn/

 

[Ryan Oliveira]

Has anybody else tried to make instant film at home, and got usable results ? I'm trying a project to make instant peel apart film at home, but I haven't found any references in regards to the image quality and actual results that it can provide when a proper image receiver sheet is used ( the Instructables on 4×<5" instant film just used fixed out photo paper)

 

[Donald Qualls]

I haven't, but apparently for B&W, all that's needed as a receptor is a gelatin coating to capture the migrating silver from the undeveloped parts of the negative (the fixer component -- the pod gel is a super-fast monobath -- fogs that silver, so it can develop in the receptor). Not sure how that would work for color, since normal color negative film doesn't produce dyes in the undeveloped image areas. Seems to me color peel-aparts had dye couplers that migrated during development/fixing, and a receptor sheet that incorporated a binder for them.

 

[Ryan Oliveira]

Thanks, Donald ! I posted a publication here today detailing my procedure on how I'll assemble and make the B&W instant film, the pods, monobath and the receiver paper coated with gelatin, I'll include some zinc sulfide powder to that gelatin coating to better capture and reduce the migrating silver from the negative. Seems very promissing that I'll get an image !
The negative can be a simple B&W sheet film, I decided that I'll use Fuji HRU Super X-ray film, as it's cheap and can be cutted to size under a red safelight.

 

[J 3]

It's a cool idea but the one caution I'd have is that the monobaths that I've seen premade require elevated temperatures to work. Im Sure there is some formulation that can ballenced right. I think Grant Haist has a book on monobath.

Another thing to note is that the image would have to remain in the dark til most fixing was complete. Later Polaroid had some kind of PH based reaction I believe to make a sun shield that cleared as development finished.

 

[Helge]

I wonder why something like the bi-mat from the Lunar Orbiter wasn’t used, by Polaroid or competitors?
It would seem so much simpler and potentially higher quality to allow those extra few seconds and allow for development in the dark.

You’d need a light tight buffer for developing film. But that would seem simple enough to make.

 

[Donald Qualls]

The old peel-apart Polaroids were light tight. The negative had an opaque black backing, and the print, though white on the back, had an opaque layer under the emulsion. Couple that with the carrier, which was several mm wide to keep light out of the edge, and you got a package that only full brightness direct sunlight had any likelihood of penetrating.