Happy days are here again, Polaroid fans!! As you may recall, in January of 2009 a group called The Impossible Project decided to take on the Herculean task of personally saving the production of Polaroid instant film after the Polaroid company decided to halt production of the film and its instant cameras. The Impossible Project took control of an entire Polaroid film factory, hired the company’s employees and decided to take on the task of producing the film themselves. In October, The Impossible Project announced that the first batch of newly manufactured Polaroid instant film would be made available this year along with a new Polaroid One Step instant camera (in January of this year we got our first look at the new Polaroid PIC 100 instant camera). Yesterday, The Impossible Project made the world announcement concerning the release of their new batch of instant film … here is what the packaging will look like and some deets from yesterday’s press conference announcement:
A group of engineers and enthusiasts who leased an old Polaroid film factory in the Netherlands announced Monday that they had successfully reinvented instant film and will start selling packs this week. The news gives new life to some old Polaroid cameras. The company, called The Impossible Project, will sell film for SX-70 cameras made in the ’70s as well as more recent cameras that take 600-series film. Each film pack will cost $21 and produce eight black-and-white images. The company plans to introduce color film this summer, and expects to make 1 million packs in the first year. The film will be sold online initially, but the company expects to make it available in some stores as well. Polaroid stopped making instant film in 2008 … The revival of instant film was dubbed The Impossible Project because of the complexity of the product, and because key materials used in Polaroid’s formulation were no longer available, so the startup had to figure out a new way to make the film. The original Polaroid Corp. filed for bankruptcy in 2001, followed by the successor company in 2008. Holding company PLR IP now controls the Polaroid brand name, licensing its use mainly to electronics companies. It is not involved in The Impossible Project and the new packs won’t carry the Polaroid brand. However, PLR IP announced in January that new instant-film cameras would be launched this year that can use the packs.
This is truly amazing … do you see what a group of like-minded individuals can accomplish if they work hard enough for it? They can literally do the impossible! Just a couple years ago, the notion of Polaroid instant film was DEAD … now, we have the promise of brand new film to look forward to. As a big Polaroid fan, I couldn’t be more thrilled with this accomplishment. I’m so pleased that Polaroid is on board with this revival … their decision to manufacture a new camera to coincide with he release of this new film is brilliant. People … now is the time to get into taking photos with Polaroid instant cameras!! Now that we have Impossible Project film that will work in Polaroid cameras, there’s no excuse not to get in on the fun. Woot!!
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The Impossible Project is truly inspirational … it’s amazing that these individuals were able to re-design and save Polaroid film (or Impossible) film. What a story! It’s true — when people really unite around a cause, anything is possible…Thanks Trent for keeping us updated!
Believe it or not, I still have film in my Sun 600 camera, and a box of unopened film with the expiration date 11/01 — and it’s still working.
Do you know if this new film will work with all the old Polaroid instant cameras?
@Lula — The new film is being made to work for all SX-10 and 600 Polaroid cameras — new and old.
This is pretty awesome, BUT…..will the film sell well enough to continue production? Can it really be considered “saving Polaroid film” if it dies out again in six months? At the risk of sounding like a Negative Nancy, I really don’t see this lasting long at all. Photographic film is all but dead, and I don’t think that the novelty of instant pictures has enough appeal in today’s market to stick around.
Imagine if someone had tried to save audio cassettes. Sounds pretty absurd, right? Sure, they may have stuck around a bit longer due to the nostalgic factor. But they wouldn’t have lasted very long. With the Polaroid instant photos, I don’t think that the convenience (novelty) of having a real picture in your hands instantaneously will be worth the price and hassle involved. With so many of us carrying cameras and phones around, we’ve pretty much got digital photo albums with hundreds (if not more) pictures at our fingertips already. The digital camera has defeated it’s predecessors, and though it’s sad to say, I don’t think the cameras of yesteryear will ever be making a legit comeback.
Thanks, Trent. I just pulled out my old OneStep Flash; the box says it should use 600 Plus film. To my surprise, it still had some film in it and the battery and flash still work! I don’t think it has been used since the early-mid 90′s. Alas, the pictures just came out brown. Hopefully, new film will work.
@Lula — Yes, the film expires over time. I bet your camera will be fine with new film :)
is this legitimate?