Reviving Polaroid--Harman and The Impossible Project

arealitystudios · Mar 23, 2010

keithwms said:
Another thing the I.P. really should consider, in my opinion: instant film without the positive image.

So you'd just get a negative and that's it. This would set aside the whole dye transfer business, perhaps push the cost down, while still delivering an enlargeable neg that you can inspect only a minute after shooting.

(Those of us who sho(o)t 55/665 'roids typically tossed the positives anyway.)

If this could be done with colour, ooh... imagine instant colour negs. No C41 processing.

If such a product were possible I would buy it by the truck load.

As it stands though, I am very happy to give the new PX 100 and 600 films a try. Last night I pulled out my SX-70 camera which hasn't been touched in quite a long time. I'm really hoping when I load some film into it the camera kicks on and comes to life no problem.

Ektagraphic · Mar 23, 2010

They use to have the 665 that would give you a black and white negative and a print. They also had Polachrome. The technology was there.

Ektagraphic · Mar 23, 2010

Check this out. http://www.polaroid.com/media/document/665fds.pdf

keithwms · Mar 23, 2010

Ektagraphic said:
They use to have the 665 that would give you a black and white negative and a print. They also had Polachrome. The technology was there.

Yes, but as far as I know there never was a pos/neg colour film.

I still use 665 and 55... very happily, but miserly...

Quite some time ago I wrote to polaroid asserting that instant b&w positive images aren't going to be as popular, in the future, as instant b&w negatives. The remaining analogue shooters aren't going to be all that enamoured with instant positives anyway... there are "other technologies" that give you that at much lower cost per shot. An instant neg, on the other hand, is a very useful object that will generate multiple prints, thus earning back the cost of the film if used in competent hands. It'd be substantially less expensive than all-in-one pos/neg film, which was already priced beyond any but the most dedicated 55/665 users and a few people who wanted to try a bit as a novelty.

My arguments fell on deaf ears I guess. Or maybe just bankrupt ears....

But maybe the I.P. folks will have the sense to think more deeply about the economics. If they are clever, they could provide a real solution to people who want to do LF b&w or maybe even colour but don't want to do c41 or e6 and who want monobath convenience.

nickandre · Mar 23, 2010

These guys seem to have the idea down. The market for these things is most likely not shrinking. The fat has been trimmed. If one can start production in this climate they should be fine for the foreseeable future.

spoolman · Mar 23, 2010

The Impossible Project - March-22-2010

I heard this news item on a local business channel at 6:48 pm EDT.March-29-2010 the Impossible project will announce the launch from a former Kodak Plant in Germany the new Instant film in B&W for SX-70 and 600 series cameras.The film will be priced @ 21.00 US per package.No word on how many films in the package.

Can anyone confirm this? It was on the Business News Network a cable channel owned by CTVGlobe Media here in Toronto.

Doug

Prest_400 · Mar 23, 2010

spoolman said:
I heard this news item on a local business channel at 6:48 pm EDT.March-29-2010 the Impossible project will announce the launch from a former Kodak Plant in Germany the new Instant film in B&W for SX-70 and 600 series cameras.The film will be priced @ 21.00 US per package.No word on how many films in the package.

Can anyone confirm this? It was on the Business News Network a cable channel owned by CTVGlobe Media here in Toronto.

Doug

Infact, they already did it. There's a thread about it: (there was a url link here which no longer exists)

Let's see if someone gives me away a Polaroid.

Edit: Whoops, didn't notice you say 29th of March. The presentation was already done the 22th, and most of what you ask has probably been said by them.

David A. Goldfarb · Mar 23, 2010

Merged.

Peter de Groot · Mar 25, 2010

spoolman said:
I heard this news item on a local business channel at 6:48 pm EDT.March-29-2010 the Impossible project will announce the launch from a former Kodak Plant in Germany the new Instant film in B&W for SX-70 and 600 series cameras.The film will be priced @ 21.00 US per package.No word on how many films in the package.

Can anyone confirm this? It was on the Business News Network a cable channel owned by CTVGlobe Media here in Toronto.

Doug

I must say they are bad informed. It is not a former Kodak plant in Germany but a former Polaroid plant in Enschede the Netherlands.

perkeleellinen · Mar 25, 2010

I didn't want to start another thread on this, so I'll ask here. If I want to use this PX 100 film do I need a SX-70 camera or are there other Polaroid cameras that work?

Steve Smith · Mar 25, 2010

I have a couple of Polaroid cameras here at work which have been given to me as they are surplus to requirements now. I have a Polaroid One and a Supercolor 635CL. The labels in the film compartments both say 600. Does that mean that they will take the new PX600 film?

Steve.

Stephen Frizza · Mar 25, 2010

keithwms said:
Yes, but as far as I know there never was a pos/neg colour film.

There was a polaroid product available in australia for a while which was positive colour print and positive film. It was commonly used for overhead projections and if i recall it was called 601 or 691 or something like that. I only ever saw one sheet of it in a clients archive and I was saddened i wasn't old enough to see the product in circulation because I fell in love with it. I dont think it worked like polachrome either because the base of the material looked different, but thats just from memory. Can anyone clarify on this? or give more info?

Peter de Groot · Mar 25, 2010

I don't see the film in there shop yet but with the film they do sell there is a drawing of the camera that it will fit into. I think the px600 is the new 600 film for the 600 camera's and the px70 for the sx camera's.

5stringdeath · Mar 25, 2010

http://consumerist.com/2010/03/new-polaroid-film-on-sale-today.html

Ektagraphic · Mar 25, 2010

The 600 film will not be available for another 6 weeks according to their website.

fotophox · Mar 26, 2010

Boing Boing on the announcement:

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/03/24/update-the-impossibl.html

Akki14 · Mar 27, 2010

My continuing testing with the two packs I bought on Friday at the Photographers' Gallery, London, UK.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fishies_go_pook/sets/72157623584034449/

coigach · Mar 27, 2010

Thanks for link on your tests with the new film - I've just ordered some.

Also, do you have any experience in working with the 'fade to black' film?

Cheers,
Gavin

Akki14 · Mar 27, 2010

coigach said:
Thanks for link on your tests with the new film - I've just ordered some.

Also, do you have any experience in working with the 'fade to black' film?

Cheers,
Gavin

No, not interested in self-destructive prints

ann · Mar 27, 2010

i was disappointed to discover , at least for now, that the only film available for sx-70 was the Fade stuff. hopefully, something else will come along , as i would certainly buy the product if it can be manipulated as in the past.

Ektagraphic · Mar 27, 2010

??? I am not sure you have seen the right film look here. Dead Link Removed

Toffle · Mar 27, 2010

Akki14 said:
My continuing testing with the two packs I bought on Friday at the Photographers' Gallery, London, UK.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fishies_go_pook/sets/72157623584034449/

Thanks, Heather. Very interesting. Keep us posted with your further progress.

Cheers,

coigach · Mar 27, 2010

Akki14 said:
No, not interested in self-destructive prints

Am sure you're only joking, but you do know that you can 'freeze' the colour change at any time?

Cheers,
Gavin

Akki14 · Mar 27, 2010

coigach said:
Am sure you're only joking, but you do know that you can 'freeze' the colour change at any time?

Cheers,
Gavin

Yes but I don't like ripping apart the integral polaroids and I've found a few accounts of the "special" films not being quite as light stable (like ArtisticTZ's colours changing over the course of a week or a month).
As it is, this stuff seems to very slightly change over the course of 24hours sometimes.

Ektagraphic · Mar 27, 2010

He or She is not joking. They had a film that after 24 hours the image fades to nothing. The only way to get the image back after it is lost was to put it in the sun. There were some ways that you could peel apart the film and stop it. You can buy it here. Dead Link Removed

Reviving Polaroid--Harman and The Impossible Project

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