Regarding Polaroid Type 55 film, all I can say is WOW!!!!! I never knew it was practically immortal?!? I had a box that expired in August 2002, and it had been open since 2005 or 2006. It’s the black and white 4×5″ Polaroid film that comes with a negative and a positive in one. It develops in about 20 seconds. I loved the negative that it made, and wish I could still easily get it.
Well, I was playing around with my Cambo Legend tonight and decided to dig through its case for some cut film holders to use. That’s when I discovered the open box of Type 55 and another open box of some Polaroid color instant film. This film has been sitting open for several years, and I really just tried it as a joke. Uhhhhhhh… no joke here, the film actually still worked!!!
As you’ll see below, the developer didn’t “completely cover the paper and negative, but I think it’s just as much my old holder’s fault. Sure, the developer is over eight years expired, so it may not be quite as eager to spread, but I remember this holder giving me problems when I last used it years ago.
Anyway, isn’t it amazing the film still works? Like most other expired Polaroid films, the color box was completely dried up and unusable. I’ve got two unopened boxes of Polaroid in my gear closet – one is a Type 52, I think, and the other is another Type 55! I’m guessing and hoping the unopened box of Type 55 is still good, too. I guess I’ll find out sooner or later.
I tested these three sheets of the 55 tonight. I can’t find what I did with the fixer I’m supposed to use on the negatives, so they may not survive for long. I’m sure I probably threw out the bottle I had, as I thought I’d never need it again. If only I had known that Polaroid Type 55 lives forever…
