Bleaching FP-100C
May 5, 2012 § 8 Comments
For those of you unaware, FujiFilm’s FP-100C is peel apart film used in Polaroid cameras and other cameras equipped with a Polaroid back. I’ve been shooting the stuff for a few years on a Mamiya RB-67 and Polaroid pack film cameras (seen above). Other than Impossible Project films, Fuji’s peel-apart films are the only other dominate option for instant analogue photography.
I just recently found out how to salvage the negatives from FP-100C. For years I’ve just peeled off the exposed prints and disposed of the “other part”. I have been missing out! Not any more however 😉
My wife and I took a trip to our friend’s ranch a few weeks ago and she shot a lot of FP-100C while we were there. We saved all of her negatives and stored them in a box once they had all dried. Side note: I’ve found if you stash the negative away in a dark dry place, you can still salvage it. If it’s left out in the open sun to dry, exposure will run its course and the negative will be overexposed/washed out. Anyhow, she took an image of me plinking away with a bb gun on their back porch. It’s a little dark on the print but I’ll be able to pull out some shadow detail once the negative has been scanned (that’s one of the cool things about this).
To salvage the negative it’s quite simple actually. You’ll need:
– 8×10-ish piece of glass
– small paint brush
– container to hold bleach
– rubber gloves
– clips to dry the negative
All you have to do is …

Turn water off and immediately place the negative face down (black side up). Press down on it so it seals itself to the glass.

Without getting bleach underneath the negative, brush off the black backing of the negative. Frequently dip the brush back into the container of bleach.

Run cold water over the negative to wash away backing. Be careful not to get water underneath the negative at this time.

Wash the developer goop off of the negative. Be careful to not apply a lot of pressure otherwise you might rub off part of the emulsion.

Scanned negative from FP-100C – white blotches are from where the black backing was not bleached off.
Here are a few other examples:

Bleached Fuji FP-100C Negative Scan – Green discoloration is from bleach leaking onto the front during the wash. The left corner area is an undeveloped patch.

Bleached Fuji FP-100C Negative Scan – Yellow discoloration is from bleach leaking onto the front during the wash
Thanks for taking the time!
-Justin
Got an old pack film camera sitting around? You can buy FP-100C here. Aaaaand just because I love these peeps I gotta mention them again … Impossible Project is selling some of the last sepia toned polaroid peel apart film available. Buy it here.
[…] For an article on bleaching FP-100C click here! Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. […]
[…] more on this, you can check out this post, if you like. Share this:TwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this. Tags: clorox, […]
I saw this post a few weeks ago and just came back after having acquired a Polaroid Land Camera and five packs of Fuji FP100C. It’s amazing the difference in photo quality between the print and negative that you’ve shown here and I’m really excited to try bleaching my own negatives! Thank you for this post!
Karly!! I’m so happy to hear this. Thank YOU for letting me know! Please send an email to me at info@goodephotography.biz with some of your results. I’d love to see them!!
Hello,
do you have to adjust the exposure in order to get a dense negative, like in polaroid 665 film, you have to overexpose to get good neg, and use ISO 40 instead of nominal ISO 80?
Milo,
I just saw this. From my experience, you don’t have to push it a stop to get a good result. If anything, a slightly underexposed print has a nicer negative. More shadow detail to pull from. Have you tried it out lately?
I ran out of Type 55 (4×5, b&w, Pos/Neg) years ago but I’m still burning through my stock of Type 52 (4×5 b&w iso400 print only) I’ll try your technique on my Type 52. It would be great to print (once again) from an original negative with my polaroid photographs as an option to print scanned Light Valve negatives.
I’ve been trying to do this but my negative keeps coming out dark. Am I suppose to leave the bleach a bit longer or less time? Or is it the exposure of the shot its self?