# That Dutch Guy Who Wants To Revives Polaroid Film? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 9, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863 "2010-03-09T16:08:50Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/1 "2010-03-09T16:08:50Z")
Polaroid Corporation died a long time ago. The last plant making the film closed up in Feb 2009 (I believe), and I haven’t seen the film in stores for a long time. Sometime last year, I read about an ex-Polaroid guy in Holland, who was seriously considering restarting the film line. His reasoning was that there was still a billion plus Polaroid cameras, and if he could make the film, he could have a profitable business (albeit small and non-growing). I haven’t heard anything more…do you think he could succeed? ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/2 "2010-03-09T16:11:58Z")
The Impossible Project began selling new Polaroid film a few days ago. > **[Polaroid EU | Official Online Store](https://www.polaroid.com)** > > We create beautiful tools to capture the meaningful moments in life. Welcome to the beautifully imperfect world of Polaroid photography. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/3 "2010-03-09T16:26:42Z")
The last camera I had that used Polaroid film was a hybrid digital that finally quit working entirely, so I’d wage that many of those billion plus cameras are in landfills by now. There’s probably a very small, niche market for Polaroid film (particularly for industrial uses like ID badges) but I don’t think there’s much demand left for personal use. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Moto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9de0a6/32.png) [@Mr.Moto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Moto)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/4 "2010-03-09T17:39:48Z")
Speak for yourself. I have a Polaroid Land Model 95 - the first instant camera. It would be a thrill to run some prints through this 60-year-old piece of history. ---
**Author:** ![tacoloco](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/7993a0/32.png) [@tacoloco](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tacoloco)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/5 "2010-03-09T17:43:04Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Speak for yourself. I have a Polaroid Land Model 95 - the first instant camera. It would be a thrill to run some prints through this 60-year-old piece of history. It’s fun for a while, but gets old and expensive pretty quick. Still, I took some fun and cool shots with it. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/6 "2010-03-09T17:52:46Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The Impossible Project began selling new Polaroid film a few days ago. > > [http://www.the-impossible-project.com/](http://www.the-impossible-project.com/) Sweet - We gave our son our old Polaroid a while back. I was worried that the last ever picture taken on a Polaroid would be of his brother’s butt. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/7 "2010-03-09T18:08:41Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > The last camera I had that used Polaroid film was a hybrid digital that finally quit working entirely, so I’d wage that many of those billion plus cameras are in landfills by now. There’s probably a very small, niche market for Polaroid film (particularly for industrial uses like ID badges) but I don’t think there’s much demand left for personal use. I tend to agree. There are undoubtedly a few real aficionados, like Mr. Moto, who’ll be interested, but my gut tells me that most people who used Polaroids have found something else to take its place, and are unlikely to go back. Even for industrial use, as you mentioned, you can now take a digital picture, and print it out directly on a printer, and it probably takes no more time than a Polaroid would have. ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/8 "2010-03-09T18:37:08Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > Polaroid Corporation died a long time ago. The last plant making the film closed up in Feb 2009 (I believe), and I haven’t seen the film in stores for a long time. They appear to be in the digital photography business these days, but [Polaroid still exists.](http://www.polaroid.com/) They even claim to be getting back into the instant camera business. From their website: > [@](#): > > The Return of Polaroid Instant Classics > Supported by a strategic relationship with Summit Global Group, a longtime Polaroid partner, and The Impossible Project, the manufacturer of classic film for Polaroid film cameras, Polaroid will offer a completely redesigned, modern version of the Polaroid OneStep camera, the PIC 1000. The PIC 1000 will be available in a range of fun colors and use classic Polaroid Color 600 Instant Film to produce the brand’s classic white border instant pictures. The Polaroid Color 600 Instant Film will work with both classic and new Polaroid cameras and will be offered in packs of 10 pictures. The new classic PIC 1000 camera and instant color film will be available at national retailers in 2010. ---
**Author:** ![lost4life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c4cdca/32.png) [@lost4life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lost4life)\ **Post date:** [March 9, 2010, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/9 "2010-03-09T19:24:06Z")
You know, digital cameras just don’t capture that naughty look when taking pornographic pictures. Nothing beats a Polaroid for that sleaze factor! ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/10 "2010-03-10T02:29:53Z")
> [@Mr.Moto](#): > > Speak for yourself. I have a Polaroid Land Model 95 - the first instant camera. It would be a thrill to run some prints through this 60-year-old piece of history. I also have a Model 95. It’s in the basement, in its original box, complete with instruction manual and that giant flash/reflector. IIRC, the only film for it was black and white, and even with that smelly stick of protectant the prints faded in a couple of years. It might be a thrill to find usable film and run off some shots, but it would also be a thrill to hand crank an Edison cylinder, shout “Mary had a little lamb” and then listen to myself. That doesn’t make reintroducing either one a commercially viable business venture. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/11 "2010-03-10T02:41:30Z")
The Dutch are a country, and a culture, that are both highly civilized and highly eccentric to the mainstream of global commercialism. Just try to understand that every now and then they want to do things like revive Polaroid, or fly the last remaining [DC-2](http://propliners.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/6376074032/m/3171012493), or play [hopelessly unmarketable music](http://beauhunks.com/). It’s all largely irrelevant and mostly harmless. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/12 "2010-03-10T02:56:04Z")
One advantage of a Polaroid camera, though, is you can have an instant print anywhere you are. Sometimes you need a print right at the moment and don’t have time to wait until you get home to upload a shot to your computer and then print it. I still have a Polaroid camera, and although I don’t use it anymore since I’ve gone digital, it’s nice to see it make a comeback. I’m sure there are millions of Polaroid owners who will buy the film and start using their cameras again. More than people likely think there are. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/13 "2010-03-10T03:08:57Z")
I always thought (and I used to try to persuade a friend who worked for Kodak about this until he finally made me shut up) that a Polaroid-style camera or portable mini-printer camera attachment would be the most superest invention ever for creating real postcards while traveling. You just buy a pack of blank white cardstock of post-office-approved weight and size, and stick a card into your portable mini-printer that isn’t much bigger than a paperback book (don’t ask me how they managed the technology for that, I’m more of an ideas person when it comes to electronics), press a button, and bim, out comes a pretty postcard that you yourself took, that you can actually stamp and put in the mail so your mom or friends can have a real postcard in the real mailbox. It would probably be best to have the printer attachment hooked up to a digital camera rather than an old-style film camera, so you can look through multiple shots before picking the one that you really want to print on your piece of cardstock. ---
**Author:** ![Beware\_of\_Doug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/278dde/32.png) [@Beware\_of\_Doug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Beware_of_Doug)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/14 "2010-03-10T03:10:26Z")
> [@Kimstu](#): > > I always thought (and I used to try to persuade a friend who worked for Kodak about this until he finally made me shut up) that a Polaroid-style camera or portable mini-printer camera attachment would be the most superest invention ever for creating real postcards while traveling. This is exactly why IT CAN’T BE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![In\_Winnipeg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/a8b319/32.png) [@In\_Winnipeg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/In_Winnipeg)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/15 "2010-03-10T03:10:46Z")
Well, there’s really no shortage of cameras out there. You see them at garage sales all the time. I think I still have two or three that I just stashed away when I couldn’t get film for them anymore. Would I ever seriously use them again? Maybe, just to show the kids or something, but not seriously. ---
**Author:** ![SteveG1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/bb73d2/32.png) [@SteveG1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SteveG1)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/16 "2010-03-10T03:13:19Z")
I have a Calumet 4x5 view camera, and one of those Polaroid backs. Great fun. I hope these films do make a comeback. I still have some Polaroid film in the fridge, and have been dreading the day it runs out. ---
**Author:** ![An\_Gadai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/d6d6ee/32.png) [@An\_Gadai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/An_Gadai)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/17 "2010-03-10T03:18:03Z")
As long as there are indie/lo-fi bands and albums there’ll be a need for polaroid instant film. ---
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/18 "2010-03-10T03:27:00Z")
And art/photography students - Polaroid transfers look awesome. ---
**Author:** ![wakingdream](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/9f8e36/32.png) [@wakingdream](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wakingdream)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/19 "2010-03-10T04:12:02Z")
> [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > The Impossible Project began selling new Polaroid film a few days ago. > > [http://www.the-impossible-project.com/](http://www.the-impossible-project.com/) They’re actually not selling it yet. They’re selling the last remaining stock of Polaroid film. They were selling it at [www.polapremium.com](http://www.polapremium.com), but in preparation for the release of the new film, they are now doing everything under the The Impossible Project name. They’re holding an event to announce the new film on March 22 (whether or not it will actually go on sale on that day, I don’t know). The new film will be black and white only at first, with color film coming this summer. > [@Kimstu](#): > > I always thought (and I used to try to persuade a friend who worked for Kodak about this until he finally made me shut up) that a Polaroid-style camera or portable mini-printer camera attachment would be the most superest invention ever for creating real postcards while traveling. > > You just buy a pack of blank white cardstock of post-office-approved weight and size, and stick a card into your portable mini-printer that isn’t much bigger than a paperback book (don’t ask me how they managed the technology for that, I’m more of an ideas person when it comes to electronics), press a button, and bim, out comes a pretty postcard that you yourself took, that you can actually stamp and put in the mail so your mom or friends can have a real postcard in the real mailbox. > > It would probably be best to have the printer attachment hooked up to a digital camera rather than an old-style film camera, so you can look through multiple shots before picking the one that you really want to print on your piece of cardstock. Polaroid already makes a standalone printer and a camera that print digital photos using an inkless printing system called ZiNK. ZiNK was developed at Polaroid then spun out into a separate company who license the technology back to Polaroid and a few other companies. ---
**Author:** ![postcards](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e8cbc/32.png) [@postcards](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/postcards)\ **Post date:** [March 10, 2010, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863/20 "2010-03-10T05:07:37Z")
> [@Achren](#): > > And art/photography students - Polaroid transfers look awesome. Not to mention manipulating [SX-70 prints](http://vangoghlaroid.blogspot.com/). [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-dutch-guy-who-wants-to-revives-polaroid-film/531863.md?page=2)