A group of engineers, former Polaroid employees and Polaroid fans have announced their intentions to raise Polaroid Integral Film--the self-developing film packs used in cameras like the SX-70 (shown)--from oblivion. Polaroid stopped making film last year and while alternative peel-apart films designed for Polaroid cameras are available from Fujifilm, there is nowhere for SX-70-type camera owners to turn, and this group, which calls itself The Impossible Project, is hoping to change that by 2010.
According to the group's business plan, The Impossible Project has already purchased Polaroid's production plant in Enschede, Netherlands, including all of the machinery and production material. Their goal is to create a new film with optimized film pack components that are easier and less expensive to manufacture, and sell it to vintage Polaroid camera owners under a new name. Based on market surveys conducted by the Impossible Project, the new product would be a niche product, marketed towards younger, creative artists rather than as a mass market item.
The film, the group insists, would not be the same as Polaroid. In addition to using new, simpler materials in the construction of the film packs, the film itself will be reformulated. The company hopes it can tap into owners of over a billion functioning Polaroid cameras worldwide.
The fledgling company's goal is to launch this new, modern Integral film within 15 months, with production starting in 2010. Their team includes machinists and engineers that worked for Polaroid, as well as a former Lomo founder and a Pepsi marketing big-wig. The new film will be sold under a new brand name. Significantly, Ilford Photo is listed as a supporter on
The Impossible Project web site.
