Even More Hope

Dave Bias, one of the founders of Save Polaroid has made a big announcement about his new project, The Reagents. Go, read and be thrilled!

On the Improssible TIP

A few of you have asked how The Impossible Project (TIP) can make Polaroid films given obstacles such as patents and such. Well, a lot of the following is a bunch of guesswork, which is duly noted, so read it carefully before you decide that anything in this post is cold hard fact.

Original U.S. patents are only valid for a maximum 20 years without any extensions so Polaroid's patents for the SX-70 would have expired by 1992. I would imagine that the SX-70 era patents would have included the films' casing, so those patents should also have expired along with any extensions. With those patents being expired, anyone can make the films (it's the same way that generic drugs come onto the market) the problem is who has the equipment to make them?!

The Factory in Enschede, NL - it's like Disneyland, only better!

Well, no one but Polaroid has had the painfully expensive gear, until November, 2008; that's when the factory locks were changed by a couple of guys in Austria. I believe they planned to continue manufacturing the film and licensing the Polaroid brand name, but with Polaroid's bankruptcy (which can void any contracts the company wants to get out of) Polaroid could have easily gotten out of any arrangement that may have been reached previously with the licensing (I don't know if any such arrangement was ever contracted.)

They'll be back at work soon!

I do know that Polaroid was considering getting back into the instant film market, but they would have needed to come to an agreement with the Austrian lads in order to do that. Who knows, they still could. I think they still have the peel-apart factory in Mexico....

The TIP decision to not make any of the Polaroid films is kind of strange to me - the patents should be useless, so there shouldn't be any need for them to buy the rights to make SX-70, 600 or Spectra. My guess is that they either want a clean break and to make these films their own or someone at Polaroid has a magic wand and has managed to have super-long patent extensions.

Regardless, the factory is now had by a group of people who are all about keeping the film alive. In the end, that's all that really matters!

I told you so =P

Seriously, great news for integral film! And for those of you who have spent your 401k's on film... well... you live and you learn, right?!

Rumors in my Inbox

I have been reading a few posts online this week about how the end of Polaroid is now upon us and it makes me sad. No one seems to try to scratch the surface of a rumor or even stop to think if what he or she reads is a rumor or fact. I've also been reading your emails and I know that there is a lot of hurt out there over all of this 'last call' everyone has been putting out about Polaroid. Truth is, there is a strange transition that has started now with the bankruptcy – the new and the old are doing a little dance around one another to figure out how it is they can fit together. What the hell does that mean? I can’t say.

Yeah, I know some stuff, but I have to leave it to those in control of these things to come forth with their information, especially since things are so chaotic at the moment. Still, there is some very wrong information out there that has caught my eye. Most of it, I refuse to even acknowledge, but this one from Silverbased (a blog I’m actually quite fond of) is one of the lesser-damaging posts I’ve read by far and a good example: “All the factory equipment was subsequently auctioned off and scattered to the four winds—seemingly spelling doom for Polaroid integral films (meaning the most popular, squarish 600 format; and the rectangular Spectra/Image type).”

Now, what this post should be referring to (though the author doesn’t specify) is that the factory in Waltham, MA. It has had its equipment broken down and sold off and the land was sold to Related Cos. L.P. This was the factory that made the batteries for the integral films (600, Spectra, etc.) The Dutch factory (where the integral films were actually made) is still fully intact. Admittedly, I know nothing about the peel-apart factory in Mexico, as I don’t pay too much mind to peel-apart films. For those of you looking for information on them, sorry. The most I can tell you is that I haven’t heard about its sale, so I assume it is unsold.

It would be pretty easy to hire out a factory in China to make batteries, so even though one (of three factories) is gone, it was the least important factory and the safest one to get rid of.

So, long story short – stop perpetuating rumors. I know many of you are emotionally invested in these films (and I’m not?!) and you don’t want to see them go, but all you’re doing is getting your feathers ruffled over very little. I sometimes think that many of the people pushing these rumors simply love the drama of it all. If you don’t need the drama, then stop paying any mind to rumors.

If the information is not verifiable (is their a link to a news article, for instance) and is not from a reliable source (the vast majority of those posting in Polaroid groups on Flickr are not reliable - the same goes for Wikipedia entries) then don’t concern yourself with the information. If you’re dying to know if something you’ve heard or read is true, then call the new Polaroid headquarters at (952) 932-3100 and ask! You’d be surprised at how much you can learn if you just ask.

Right now, everything is in a state of flux at Polaroid. The previous decision/announcement to discontinue the films was made by a man sitting in jail who doesn’t really have any control over his company. Now that there are others controlling it, great things (for us, the analog film-loving consumer) can be allowed to happen. Expect announcements in the coming weeks (but not in the immediate future.) Everything else will just be unsubstantiated rumor.

Bankruptcy: Merry Christmas, Everyone!

Well, Polaroid has finally filed for Chapter 11 protection... yup, they're bankrupt. They say that the bankruptcy will not effect the day-to-day operations or the release of their new technologies (POGO) but whether or not this is true remains to be seen. (Rolling over? No, Land must be banging on his coffin trying to get out of his grave! Seems to me like he'd want to knock some sense into Petters.)

Even if you don't believe me, know that there is good news not too far off.

Is There a Spin Doctor in the House‽

Things are getting very interesting in the Petters/Polaroid saga. We all know this is most probably the lowest point in the history of Polaroid (including whatever else is still to come) as the Ponzi scheme (of the century?) continues to unravel. The United States Department of Justice has released a statement that claims Petters is facing up to 205 years (!!!!) for all his apparent wrong-doings. Where all of this is starting to get interesting is the Motion for Discovery that the prosecutor has filed. From Section 3:

B. Insanity Defense/Mental Illness: For its order pursuant to Rule 12.2 of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure requiring defendant Petters to give notice to the government no later than the date of the first hearing on pretrial motions if he intends to rely upon the defense of insanity or introduce expert testimony relating to a mental disease or defect or any other mental condition of the defendant bearing upon the issue of guilt.

What this basically means, is the Department of Justice thinks that one defense Petters may use is a plea of not guilty by reason of insanity. And if this is what the defense is planning, the Department of Justice wants that information as soon as is possible.

Which does this look like to you, guilt or insanity? (To me, it doesn't look like either - I think he's enjoying it a bit - he probably thought he'd be out first thing in the morning when this picture was taken, hence the smile. But what do I know‽)

As far as Polaroid goes, it has remained safe thus far, since it is not yet bankrupt, but the vultures have been circling for a while and one has decided to strike. A while back, a judge ruled that Polaroid would be left alone, to continue operating as it had been, but now, Acorn Capital Group has filed a motion to have that ruling overturned. (The hearing was scheduled for Friday December 5, 2008, but I haven't found any judgment so far. It may have just been the first of several hearings to come.)

Essentially, Polaroid is the one thing in the Petters "empire" (shall we call it) that is still able to stand on its own and has a chance of making any money whatsoever. It is the only thing of value left and the creditors that Petters and Petters Group Worldwide want it in order to recover at least some of their lost money.

I guess this means you shouldn't get too excited about the POGO stuff just yet. It may never get off the ground.

600 in a Spectra?

hi Jenelle,

I own a image 1200, which takes spectra. Unfortunately the shops are not selling spectra anymore, but one salesman told me about how people are using the 600 films in the spectra simply by filing off the plastic grooves? do you know anything about this? i'm desperate to use my camera but I cant buy spectra films. Do you have any other suggestions or knowledge of using other films in this camera?

thanks,
kristina

Hi Kristina,

I have good news and bad news. Bad news first: the technique you have heard about is not for use with Spectra films. 600 and SX-70 films are semi-interchangeable, but Spectra film (though it is chemically the same as 600) is a different format. Read here for more.

The good news - the GREAT news - is that there is a new partnership of unsaleable and Polaroid, which has resulted in PolaPremium, which was just launched this past Thursday (on Thanksgiving, no less.) Spectra film can still be found there, for the time being. A word of advice, buy it while you can, I think it will go quickly. Also, they have good shipping rates, if you buy in bulk and they're still cheaper than what's on ebay right now.

Best of luck!

Jenelle-