Integral film is the type of film you think of as THE classic type of "Polaroid." A thick photograph with a white border is ejected from your camera with a whirr, and develops in daylight before your eyes. All of the developing chemistry is contained in the wide bottom border, and is distributed across the photo by rollers as the picture is ejected mechanically from the camera.
Polaroid ceased production of their classic Polaroid 600 Color Integral film in 2008. The last production run was hoarded by fans for as long as possible, but because the film cartridges contain batteries that weaken over time, the film cried out to be used while still relatively fresh.
Each image is one of a kind (an instant positive, made without a separate negative), and measures 3.5" by 4.25" (including the white borders), with an image area of about 3" by 3⅛".
The Impossible Project (now called US Polaroid Originals) (us.polaroidoriginals.com/) leased an old Polaroid factory in Enschede (the Netherlands) and attempted to re-engineer integral film using modern chemistry, both new and experienced film engineers, and some original manufacturing equipment saved from the scrapyard. Impossible launched a sepia monochrome instant film in 2010, and subsequently produced several iterations and variations of this chemistry in increasingly neutral tones, plus an experimental "color" integral film.
The results of Impossible's efforts have been mixed. The experimental films possess unique and interesting characteristics, but are highly temperature sensitive, light sensitive (even after being ejected from the camera to develop), have long development times, and early versions were prone to internal crystallization and instability. My prints often faded or otherwise changed significantly within days of exposure, even if stored in dry, dark conditions. As a result, the original prints displayed here are NOT available for sale, and may fade to white if framed and displayed in light. Small digital prints of these scans may eventually be available in an open edition. The originals are the same dimensions as the Polaroid 600 prints.
Copyright © 2010-2019 A. E. Graves