IMPOSSIBLE's on a mission to revive Polaroid film

Things have been pretty bleak for Polaroid fans ever since the company filed for Chapter 11. Once the producer of an iconic American gadget, the company has been reduced to a corporate shell, its good name taunting us from the face plates of a myriad of consumer electronics -- including instant digital cameras that are not nearly as cool as their forebears. That's why it does our heart good to hear about the crazy, Fitzcarraldo-esque plans of an outfit called IMPOSSIBLE. The company has already purchased all the essential gear and signed a lease on one of the buildings at the old Polaroid plant in the Netherlands, where they'll be hard at work developing new versions of the venerable Instant Integral film that can be produced using modern manufacturing methods. The company hopes to be in the swing of things by sometime in 2010. Best of luck, kids!

[Thanks, Sebastiaan ter Burg]

[Shravan Posted Jan 19th 2009 5:49PM]

Ironic. IMPOSSIBLE wants to revive Polaroid tech ? Is it possible ?

[groovyone Posted Jan 19th 2009 6:22PM]

Awesome! Even though I have a very nice digital SLR and film SLR there is a great deal of fun still in my old Polaroid Sun 660. I hope they keep it going. If you haven't used one in a while, try it and see if you don't smile.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 19th 2009 10:31PM]

Sadly, my father worked for Polariod for 35 years and he was lucky enough to take retirement a year before they sold (so he kept his pension).
I currently work in the very building that used to manufacture the film in Norwood, MA (it is now home to a medical device manufacturer, the company I work for). They were still making the film up until last year in this building.

I am someone that grew up with Polaroid camera's around the house and miss the memories of peeling the paper off and shaking the photo so the ink would dry (many people still mistakenly think the newer versions of the film that were self contained and didnt require paper to be peeled needed to be shaken).

I hope this succeeds as I still have a bunch of different camera's around the house and would love to play around with the old SX70 again for old time sake.

[batmanuel Posted Jan 19th 2009 6:49PM]

There will always be a niche for vinyl among the hipster douchebag crowd, the same people who are keeping vinyl afloat.

I personally hate Polaroid myself because it lacks the "warmth" of daguerreotypes.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 19th 2009 8:19PM]

"the "warmth" of daguerreotypes"

Ahh Brian you make me laugh. Maybe those will be next, who knows?
If daguerreotypes make a comeback, I'm building a greenhouse to make
use of all my crappy exposures.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 19th 2009 7:52PM]

interesting if it happens..... What's next Minolta?

[PhoenixGSU Posted Jan 19th 2009 8:24PM]

Actually Minolta is still in the game, its just been swallowed by Sony.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 19th 2009 8:31PM]

I had to laugh at that story. We are in the digital age now.

[Quikboy Posted Jan 19th 2009 10:52PM]

I would love one of those Polaroid cameras, but I don't know where they sell one locally. If I could find one locally, and it was cheap, then I'd be all for it.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 19th 2009 10:57PM]

Jake - pfffttt! Artists NEED polaroid. Why? Because WE don't like digital. It isn't good enough. It isn't cool enough. It's factory fresh twinkie's, kind of like food, but missing essential ingredients that let one lead a healthy life. Ya know... like fake boobs, kind of like the real thing, they look nice when they're covered up, but take off the shirt and all you see are the silicon bags floating around underneath the skin and scars when the lady bends over or lifts up her arms. Polaroid is an art. It's not cool to let it die. And digital could never come close to it. End of story.

[JohnR Posted Jan 19th 2009 11:07PM]

Polaroid film is more expensive now that the company is bankrupt than when it was beforehand....bring it back and in a partnership with Flickr and Lomography.com and the company will do just fine.

[(Unverified) Posted Jan 20th 2009 12:35AM]

Yeah, buy a totally obsolete technology that bankrupt one company and start another with it. (Then again, if you need some money laundered....)

[rj7855 Posted Jan 20th 2009 4:29AM]

I always hated the photos of my Polaroid, if it was too cold the photos would appear very slowly and would get a blue hue. If you got a nice picture from it you instantly had to carry the photo with you all the time and you never could make a duplicate because the lack of a negative. The only thing I liked about the system was the very flat 6V battery hidden inside the photo cartridge; I used them any many DIY projects (eg. making my own electronic greeting cards)