New instant packfilm project by Florian Kaps

Henning Serger · Jul 13, 2018

Hello,

just for your information:
Florian Kaps, former founder of "The Impossible Project" and now owner of 'Supersense' in Vienna, seems to try 'the impossible' again:
Starting a project to produce packfilm:
https://the.supersense.com/blogs/news/docs-instant-adventure-continues

http://savepackfilm.supersense.com/

Kickstarter campaign is scheduled for September.

Best regards,
Henning

Theo Sulphate · Jul 13, 2018

This is interesting and I may consider supporting it. I would like more substance, more, technical details, and fewer "superhero" references.

keenmaster486 · Jul 13, 2018

Wow, and I had thought that project was dead as a doornail.

mshchem · Jul 13, 2018

Good Luck!

AgX · Jul 13, 2018

It is easy to be a Superhero when living on the ideas of others.

BrianShaw · Jul 13, 2018

AgX said:
It is easy to be a Superhero when living on the ideas of others.

I’m going to recycle this saying. It applies 1000% to where I work.

P.johnson14 · Jul 13, 2018

Nice!

Packfilm is what got me back into photography several years back. I have my packfilm stash that I need to shoot though I’ve been hesitant just because I want it to last.

I’ll donate on Kickstarter when it opens up.

Theo Sulphate · Jul 13, 2018

This is more of a packaging project than a chemistry project. Impossible/Polaroid Originals already has an instant film product (yes, not yet as good as the real Polaroid or Fuji instant film).

They just need to recreate the packfilm packaging and image transfer process.

richyd · Jul 15, 2018

Yes, they make an extraordinary effort to produce 8x10 film for which the market must be very small so I don't see why they couldn't, for instance, use the same techology and combine it into a sheet type package for 4x5; I have even taped Instax and Impossible film into re-purposed orginal Polaroid sheet envelopes, sort of works. That would be a great solution for 4x5 users with all those 405 holders around and an ever diminishing supply of Polaroid sheet film. Maybe they could use the ashes of the New 55 project for that.

For pack film, looks more challenging but again might be able to use their current technology, again like the separate 8x10 system and combine the negative and positive transfer sheet within the smaller pack unit.

EdSawyer · Jul 16, 2018

meh... kickstarter is not a good sign. usually that means half-baked ideas, no money/resources, and basically cyber-begging based on future promises. Not exactly a stunning list of talent on their site either (yet). And without any machinery, they either need a huge amount of funding to build/buy the machinery, or else a fairly large amount of funding and some reliable vendors to outsource all of that sort of thing (production tooling, injection molding, etc.)

mweintraub · Jul 16, 2018

EdSawyer said:
meh... kickstarter is not a good sign. usually that means half-baked ideas, no money/resources, and basically cyber-begging based on future promises. Not exactly a stunning list of talent on their site either (yet). And without any machinery, they either need a huge amount of funding to build/buy the machinery, or else a fairly large amount of funding and some reliable vendors to outsource all of that sort of thing (production tooling, injection molding, etc.)

Florian 'Doc' Kaps is the founder of Impossible Project. So he's got that going for him.

EdSawyer · Jul 16, 2018

still meh. IP has yet to turn out anything worth their asking price, even given the machinery, tooling and experience/expertise they inherited. If they ever make anything worth buying I'd be a customer, but until then, a skeptic.

mweintraub · Jul 18, 2018

EdSawyer said:
still meh. IP has yet to turn out anything worth their asking price, even given the machinery, tooling and experience/expertise they inherited. If they ever make anything worth buying I'd be a customer, but until then, a skeptic.

I totally undertand. I'm not a fan of IP, but the newer PO stuff is much better.. but still not there.

I'm less skeptical with him than I am about a certain re-seller that says they're going to do it.

Oren Grad · Jul 18, 2018

I wish him the best of luck. But I'll have a hard time putting much credence in it unless and until he's able to get beyond the arm-waving and spell out concretely what are the raw materials and equipment he needs to acquire and what are the R&D problems he needs to solve to get from here to there, and how he plans to do it. Take a lesson from the way Bob Crowley communicated about New55.

If he prefers to keep us all in suspense, then by all means let him find some angel investor to pay for it, and surprise us with the finished product. But if he wants to Kickstart it...

mshchem · Jul 18, 2018

If Fuji, who had the perfect product, all ready developed, best manufacturing and technologists can't make it go. I'm not holding out much hope. First time I tried IP film in my SX-70 on the 3rd shot the pod exploded as it was passing through the rollers getting blue goo all over. I'm waiting for a Instax with a Zeiss lens

EdSawyer · Jul 19, 2018

Fuji *could* have kept doing packfilm, they chose not to (a-holes. I still don't forgive them for that), in order to pimp their instax crap.

Cholentpot · Jul 19, 2018

EdSawyer said:
Fuji *could* have kept doing packfilm, they chose not to (a-holes. I still don't forgive them for that), in order to pimp their instax crap.

Instax for packfilm cameras. Why not?

Henning Serger · Dec 5, 2018

EdSawyer said:
Fuji *could* have kept doing packfilm, they chose not to (a-holes. I still don't forgive them for that), in order to pimp their instax crap.

No, they could not, because the demand for packfilm has collapsed long ago.
Packfilm has been produced for two markets:
1. Professional photographers in studios using it for test shots (e.g. lighting).
2. Passport and identity-card photography.
The first market (studio test shots) collapsed about 15 years ago. Digital replaced packfilm for this purpose.
The second market (passport) lived a bit longer, especially in markets like developing and newly industrialised countries. But even there some years ago the remaining passport photographers replaced packfilm by using digital instead.
Result:
The demand for packfilm has shrunk by more than 95%. Enthusiast photographers like you and me always have been a negligible and much too small part of the demand. It was impossible for Fujifilm to keep their huge packfilm line running with such a tiny remaining demand.

Best regards,
Henning

Henning Serger · Dec 5, 2018

Henning Serger said:
Hello,

just for your information:
Florian Kaps, former founder of "The Impossible Project" and now owner of 'Supersense' in Vienna, seems to try 'the impossible' again:
Starting a project to produce packfilm:
https://the.supersense.com/blogs/news/docs-instant-adventure-continues

http://savepackfilm.supersense.com/

Kickstarter campaign is scheduled for September.

Best regards,
Henning

The Kickstarter campaign was delayed.
But it is online now:
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1755997589/one-instant-analog-packfilm-re-invented

Best regards,
Henning

Peter de Groot · Dec 5, 2018

I backed it. I just hope those a*holes from Polaroid 20x24 will not screw Doc Kaps over like they did New55. Without pods packfilm isn't a thing really.

keenmaster486 · Dec 5, 2018

This will be among the only Kickstarter projects that I will ever back.

200 grand! Wow. Hopefully if they make that goal, that will be plenty of dough to get the thing off the ground. I've been waiting for something like this for years.

Cholentpot · Dec 6, 2018

keenmaster486 said:
This will be among the only Kickstarter projects that I will ever back.

200 grand! Wow. Hopefully if they make that goal, that will be plenty of dough to get the thing off the ground. I've been waiting for something like this for years.

It's halfway there and 28 days left. I think it'll make it.

I folded and bought an Instax Wide a month or so ago...it gets the job done for what I need. I'll be following this to see if they come out with something after this run is done.

New instant packfilm project by Florian Kaps

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