Do Emulsion Lifts

Emulsion lifts are the easiest and most exciting Polaroid creative technique to master. All they entail is soaking a print in warm to very hot water until the image comes loose, then re-depositing the freed emulsion on a new receptor sheet.

Because emulsion lifts involve separating the image from the photographic paper, there is enormous potential for manipulating the picture to create different shapes.

Traditionally, emulsion lifts are done using color prints from Polaroid ER films (Types 669, 59, 559, 809), but the same technique also works in B&W using Polapan Pro 100 films (Types 664, 54, 554, and 804) - albeit with the need to use boiling , rather than just hot, water.

Prints must be fully dried before being subjected to emulsion lifting. Drying can be accelerated using a hair drier, but to be safe it is often best to allow at least overnight drying of prints before use.

Step One
Fill one tray with tap water heated to 160 degrees F, and another tray with room-temperature tap water. Place a sheet of acetate or Mylar on the bottom of the cold water tray.

Moisten your receptor sheet in the tray of room temperature water, and remove it from the tray. Place your receptor sheet on a waterproof countertop and remove excess water with a squeegee.

Step Two
Immerse a fully-dried Polacolor ER print face up in the tray of 160 degrees F water for four minutes. Agitate the tray to keep the print under the surface of the water. It is not necessary to keep the water heated during this time. After four minutes have elapsed, or if the emulsion begins to float free from the substrate/backing/photographic paper, remove the print from the hot water using tongs and place it in the tray of room temperature water.

Step Three
Lightly push the emulsion from the edges of the print slightly toward the center. Lift the emulsion and slowly peel it away from the substrate. Bring the emulsion back and over itself (somewhat like turning down a bed sheet), thus reversing the image. Leave the emulsion floating in the water. Discard the substrate.

Step Four
Carefully grab the corners of the emulsion and clamp it with your fingers to the acetate on the bottom of the tray. Holding the emulsion, lift the acetate in and out of the water several times to stretch the image and remove wrinkles. Repeat this on all four sides, always holding the top two corners. When you are satisfied with the image, remove it from the water and place it on your flat work surface. Further manipulate the emulsion on the slippery surface of the acetate until you are satisfied with its appearance. Flip the acetate over and place it emulsion-side down onto the receptor sheet.

Step Five
Carefully remove the acetate. Use your fingers to push and stretch the image to further manipulate it. You can also dunk the emulsion/paper in and out of the cold water to further manipulate the image. When finished, roll the image with a soft rubber brayer roller from the middle to the edge. Start with just the weight of the roller, gradually increasing pressure only after all the excess water and air have been removed. You are done when all the folds, wrinkles and other effects look pressed down. Hang dry when finished.

Step Six
Flatten the transfer in a warm dry mount press. If desired, spray with a clear UV protective lacquer coating. When completely dry, the image can be finished with pastels, watercolor paints, dye and pencils if desired.

B&W Lifts
It is also possible to perform emulsion lifts using coaterless B&W Polaroid Polapan Pro prints, though to obtain separation it is necessary to immerse the print in boiling water for up to 15 minutes. After this time, the edges of the print will have loosened, and the print can then be moved to a just tolerable hand-hot tray in which emulsion can be pulled carefully from the print

Compared to color, B&W emulsions are relatively tough and can withstand considerable force. On the other hand, they don't bond well to receptor sheets, and therefore should always be spray coated when dry to ensure permanent fixing.