Salvage a negative from FP-100C shot on your Polaroid
Salvage a negative from FP-100C shot on your Polaroid

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).

FP-100C Print
FP-100C Print

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 …

Peel paper off around edges of negative
Peel paper off around edges of negative
Prop the glass up in the sink and run some cold water over it
Prop the glass up in the sink and run some cold water over it
Turn water off and immediately place the negative face down (black side up). Press it down so it seals itself to the glass.
Turn water off and immediately place the negative face down (black side up). Press down on it so it seals itself to the glass.
Pour a little bit of bleach onto the back of the negative
Pour a little bit of bleach onto the back of the negative
Brush off the black backing of the negative with the paint brush. Frequently dip the brush back into the container of bleach.
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.
Run cold water over the negative to wash away backing. Be careful not to get water underneath the negative at this time.
Position water to go underneath the negative and pull it off the piece of glass using rubber gloves.
Pull the negative off of the glass using rubber gloves.
Wash the developer goop off of the emulsion. DO NOT APPLY a lot of pressure otherwise you will wash away part of the emulsion.
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.
Clip the negative up to dry and you're all set!
Clip the negative up to dry and you’re all set!
Scanned negative from FP-100C
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
Bleached Fuji FP-100C Negative Scan
Bleached Fuji FP-100C Negative Scan
Bleached Fuji FP-100C Negative Scan
Bleached Fuji FP-100C Negative Scan - Discoloration is from bleach leaking onto the front during the wash
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
Bleached Fuji FP-100C Negative Scan – Yellow discoloration is from bleach leaking onto the front during the wash

Thanks for taking the time!

-Justin

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Bleaching FP-100C