<Cynthia, what do the images look similar to? Can you get a nice pastel
look? Do you you think it's possible to reproduce that polaroid "image
transfer feel"? If we scanned say a polaroid image transfer, would you
think it possible to enlarge it back to your handmade paper and retain
the feel of the origional?>
Chris, it's funny you should mention Polaroid because that has been my
photographic specialty for 18 years. I am scanning Polaroid SX-70
manipulations and Image and Emulsion Transfers on a Umax Astra 1200S. The
Image transfers probably are closest in quality to their originals because
the inks react to the paper a similar fashion to the dyes that are transferred
from the Polaroid film, but they are still a bit different....grainier.
With Photoshop it's obviously easy to vary the image size and so enlarge (if
you have enough ram) or reduce. I haven't enlarged them a lot from the
original size and so don't know how they'd hold in quality to the original.
The reductions are interesting miniatures of the originals, however.
I've been putting the Emulsion transfers directly onto the handmade papers for
about 3 years now. I really like the effect because the texture and
materials in the paper show through the translucency of the film adding
another dimension. The Epson prints don't show this and really don't
duplicate the original in this respect. Image transfers don't do well on the
handmade papers because they are usually too rough. I find that the smoother
hot press watercolor papers do best here.
This is certainly an inexpensive way to make a Polaroid transfer print, but
I'm not sure about the stability of the inks. But then what's the stability
of the Polaroid anyway? They'd be good for greeting cards etc.
One of the things that I like best about these Polaroid processes and other
Alternative Photographic processes are that "Handcrafted look and feel. The
hand of the artist is clearly evident and an important aspect in this
increasingly technological world.
Cynthia Davis