New 55.... just can't wait

[John Conway]

I was just over there on the 55 site . Since I am so anxious for the New 55 film to hit the shelves, I check out the site all the time in hope of some good news. My tent and sleeping bag are ready. When they announce the release I'll be waiting at the door of the store the day it hits the shelves. When I look at those sample images I see something very special, different from the original 55, and something unique that I really like. I think I like it better . What I don't understand is why so much work is needed to get it all together and work in a 500 series holder. The Land design has been around for a long time. I guess I just need to be patient.

[Peter Gomena]

They've not had the advantage of the Land patents, research, formulas, and machines. They've had to re-invent the wheel. That takes a while.

Peter Gomena

[MIke Sherck]

Knowing how something is done and being able to repeat the process, without failure, in commercial quantities, are entirely separate problems. Many products have been invented but never marketed either because they couldn't be made economically or couldn't be made reliably.

Mike

[Joe Smigiel]

Could someone post a link to the site? Thanks.

[rdenney]

Could someone post a link to the site? Thanks.

http://new55project.blogspot.com/

Rick "found in five seconds of Googling" Denney

[SpeedGraphicMan]

If they can sell it for less than $20 a pack... I will jump onboard.

[John Conway]

They've not had the advantage of the Land patents, research, formulas, and machines. They've had to re-invent the wheel. That takes a while.

Peter Gomena

That is what puzzles me. Is there a reason why the patents can't be obtained? As far as the formulas, although this is a different film, the original formulas would certainly help with the new process. And then the machines, where ever they are,could possibly be purchased. I have been to many factory auctions and the stuff goes cheap.

[John Conway]

If they can sell it for less than $20 a pack... I will jump onboard.

Forget it. I'm sure they will keep the price down as much as they can. But thinking that it will be 20.00 a box is a pipe dream. We have gone through the numbers here before. When you figure what traditional film and processing costs per sheet, a hundred a box for twenty prints and twenty negatives is a reasonable price.

[Ben Syverson]

It's not easy to buy a patent from a private equity firm. At this stage, New 55 is a labor of love, not a hot startup with tons of cash... But it's moot, because the patents on 55 must have expired at this point.

I believe the machines were immediately dismantled for scrap. Impossible salvaged at least one of the 8x10 pod filling machines, but they couldn't get the 4x5 version. You have to remember that Polaroid failed slowly, closing plant after plant. I think what Impossible got came from one of the last operational plants. The others had already been liquidated.

Still, even if you had the original machines and formulas, it would still be an uphill battle to get a working product. It's not like baking a cake—instant emulsions are notoriously complex and temperamental.

[rdenney]

That is what puzzles me. Is there a reason why the patents can't be obtained? As far as the formulas, although this is a different film, the original formulas would certainly help with the new process. And then the machines, where ever they are,could possibly be purchased. I have been to many factory auctions and the stuff goes cheap.

They already have access to some old Polaroid guys. But many of the people who figured out these problems and built them into their machines are no longer around.

And it's a common strategy for a company not to patent its most important information. Patents make public their deepest secrets about how they make things work, and patents for improving a production process are harder to get. Patents also have a lifespan. So, many trade secrets are never patented, and if you don't get the people on board who developed the technology in the first place, you have to start over.

Rick "betting a lot of those file cabinet contents on the Charles River have been shipped to the recycler long since" Denney