OLD Polaroids

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Rick Granick

Rick Granick

SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
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Remember the really old Polaroid photos that came out of the camera as a "sandwich" of stuff? You had to peel off the facing paper, resulting in a very thin print, which would then be mounted onto a lightweight sticky board to keep it flat.
I'm working on a photo collage project, and a number of the photos are of this type. They have partially peeled up from the backing but are stuck in some areas. The adhesive seems like a rubber cement relative.
Any way to safely remove these photos from these obnoxious backings? I'd like to have them lay as flat as possible among the traditional prints (school photos, etc.) within the multi-opening mat, but their edges are pretty curly.

Thanks.
kaffeetrinker_2.gif
Rick
 
Laser color copies from Kinkos cost about 89 cents and you get what you pay for. The color copies will also stand out among the other photos.

Go to a local photo lab and get the photo copied on real photo paper.

Doug
 
Rick,
Have the Polaroids been in frames or in a book? If they have been in a book exposure to visible light at this point might cause rapid fading. These things are about as unstable a photo medium as you can get. Copies, however derived (inner negative, scanned and printed, photo copy, etc...) would be preferable for the collage.
If they have been in a frame and have not faded, it's a wonder.
 
These pix are fairly faded already. I think I'll take them over to Kinko's and slap them on the the digital photo copier and just do some nice flat reprints. I can prob. boost the contrast a bit in the process. Then she can store the originals in the dark.
Thanks for all the great suggestions.
:cool: Rick
 
The chief attraction of Polaroids was always the instant gratification. I guess this would be a textbook example of the concept "easy come, easy go" !
:cool: Rick
 
OOPS, I'm sorry I thought this was about old PARANOIDS.

I have to stop listening to those voices in my head!

Med time.
 
I took the items in question to Kinko's and used their digital color copier to copy them onto heavyweight coated paper. It worked great. I even enlarged a couple of them slightly to compensate for two mat openings I made slightly too wide. Win-win deal.
:cool: Rick
 
One of the problems with Polaroids is that when the fixer was squeezed out of it’s “capsule” there wasn’t anything in the process to remove the fixer. Hence, they tended to fade over time.

Several years ago I contacted Kodak about this problem. They suggested that if you re-fix the Polaroid, then wash it thoroughly (they suggested using Photo-Flo), the fading would stop. At this point they claimed that a Polaroid would be as stable as a standard silver emulsion, black and white print.

However, if the Polaroids were tacked down using rubber cement, then, I think, you’re toast.
 
Originally posted by Bill Henry:


At this point they claimed that a Polaroid would be as stable as a standard silver emulsion, black and white print.

However, if the Polaroids were tacked down using rubber cement, then, I think, you’re toast.
Click to expand...
kodak is right, Once removing the fixer, it's jut like any other traditional photo. The main difference is the paper that the photo was printed on. It's Thinner and more Fragile. When reapplying the Fixer, and cleaning it with photo flo, you have to be very careful not to tear the paper. (I'm Speaking From a horrible experience here) So on that same note, you can remove the rubber cement prior to taking these steps, but you must be extremely slow and careful.
 
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