Future of Polaroid

[Dirk Rösler]

I wonder if Polaroid could contract out the film production for a fee and let the subcontractor take on the risk and keep the product alive. Companies do this all of the time while they refocus their business, thereby continuing to generate income from their older but still valid intellectual property.

OK - should be easy enough to find someone to take such a risk of producing a product that is selling to an ever shrinking niche market, right?

[scrichton]

Unfortunately with companies releasing digital cameras that can be used in courts as evidence (some trackable file type meta data) and the polaroid money pot ( the average brainless fool who goes snap happy ) The market has died long ago for them. X-Ray went largely digital, Passport booths I remember as far back as 1998 being digital. If they had developed what Fuji tried to, which was the digital instant camera. I think that could have kept them afloat in the field. I would have loved one of them. The only other thing could have been a true reverse scanning packfilm printer. However I think the R&D department got sidetracked from the start trying as kodak to break the new field over the people who already knew it best. Rather than working on strengthening their products by augmentation they completely deviated. Sad to know my single sheet of type 55 will be last and the 2 packs of 600(sx70) will probably be the last I will see of the click and wait excitement.

[jb7]

I wonder how much the last pack of 55 will go for on ebay?
Already the prices are rising.

It'd be a valuable commodity to have bought futures in-
and I'm sure many have- the only risk being an outside chance that some other party might produce it under license.

Someone should begin plotting that graph now-

joseph

[Gene McCluney]

I have been told by my film and photo supplies vendor that the pack film size used for making ID and passport photos is actually increasing in sales of late. (Prior to Polaroids announcement of quitting film). It seems the new passport requirements have people scrambling to get passport type photos made. Small mom & pop operations who have working Photo ID cameras that take Polaroid type materials have been reluctant to switch to digital when their expensive Polaroid equipment still works just fine.

[Ted Stoddard]

As a photographer and a consumer, I have seen many of Polaroid products and most of them are crap and not worth buying but I will definitely buy as much Type 55 film as I can... Pretty soon each box will go for an outrageous amount of cash I also believe that prints made from these types of negatives will also go up and be highly collectible over time...Some company needs to take over the film making from Polaroid before its too late and they scrap all the metal from the machines making the films and etc... Just my 2 cents...