Image transfer is a technique by which Polaroid peel-apart film is used to create an original print on a range of non-photographic surfaces. When making a transfer, the image is almost immediately pulled away from the negative that is then allowed to develop on another surface. Due to the nature of the process, each print is an original and is signed by the artist. Many are then hand-colored or painted.
The uncontrolled ooze of excess developing chemicals around the outside of a transfer causes the unique signature look of uneven and unrepeatable borders.
Kathleen Thormod Carr. Polaroid Transfer: A Complete Visual Guide to Creating Image and Emulsion Transfers. (New York: Amphoto Books. 1997), 32.
Polaroid film was discontinued in 2009, making these original images increasingly rare. While other companies have tried to fill the gap in the market, nothing I have tried thus far has matched the quality of the Polaroid film.
I’ve been holding on to the ones I created from 2005-2009 but realize it is time to let them go. Here’s a look at five of them I’ve added to my Etsy Shop. They are matted and backed with Crescent’s acid-free mats and ready to pop into an 8×10 frame of your choice.
Find them in my Etsy Shop: https://diannapaulkprints.etsy.com