I am new at the emulsion transfer process and love it. When I put the image in the 160 degree hot water the bubbles that appear under the surface leave permanent marks. So when I have a final dry emulsion transfer the blister marks are still visible. My images are primarily clouds and sky so the colors are blue and white. Is it best to take the image out when these bubbles appear or leave it in the hot water until the full time (3-4 minutes) has elapsed. Thanks for any advise!!

-- Tonya Perme (fatcatnyc@yahoo.com), January 06, 2001

Answers

Tonya, I have found that different emulsion batches of the film sometimes react differently. I have found recently that 2 minutes is plenty of time in the hot water bath. I think it best to simply watch the emulsion and take it out when the tiny bubbles are more or less uniformly distributed under the surface. Also, you might try reducing the water temperature a bit. Good luck! Cynthia

-- Cynthia Davis (cynthia@cynthiadavis.com), January 11, 2001.

Carr's book suggest quoting from Polaroid that the bubbles are caused from pulling the film too fast through the processing rollers. I found that to be true. It did not seem to have anything to do with the water temp.

-- Daniel D Miller (PhotDan36@Netscape.net), July 25, 2002.