Polaroid B.V.


Polaroid B.V. is a Dutch photography and consumer electronics company, founded as a manufacturer of discontinued film for Polaroid Corporation instant cameras. In addition to film, the company produces new instant cameras under the Polaroid brand name as well as wireless speakers and other accessories.
Polaroid B.V. was founded in 2008 as The 'Impossible Project'. In 2017, Polaroid Corporation's brand and intellectual property were acquired by Impossible Project's largest shareholder and the company was rebranded as Polaroid Originals. In March 2020, Polaroid Originals branding shortened its name to Polaroid.

History

The Impossible Project was founded in 2008 after the original Polaroid announced in February of that year that it would stop producing film for Polaroid cameras. The founders were Florian Kaps, André Bosman, and Marwan Saba. In June 2008, Kaps and Bosman met at the Polaroid factory's closing event and decided to find a company to produce materials for Polaroid cameras. In October 2008, Impossible bought Polaroid's remaining production machinery for $3.1 million and leased the north building of the Polaroid plant that had been operating in Enschede, Netherlands. Using that equipment and plant, they developed new instant film products for use in some of the existing Polaroid cameras, and began mass production and sales in 2010. They generated US$270,000 in profit on US$4 million in revenue and sold 500,000+ units.
In January 2012, the company announced that it and Polaroid would launch a range of collectible products, called The Polaroid Classic range, that originates from different periods of Polaroid's history. Between six and ten products will be released each year. In July 2013, Florian Kaps announced his retirement from the project and Creed O'Hanlon took over as CEO.
In December 2014, The Impossible Project announced that Oskar Smołokowski would be their new CEO and Creed O'Hanlon would become the executive chairman of Impossible's management board.
Polaroid has offices in Vienna, Berlin, New York City, and Tokyo, and has licensed its name to stores in Germany, Spain, and London.
In May 2017, Wiaczesław Smołokowski acquired the brand and intellectual property of the original Polaroid corporation. Impossible Project was renamed Polaroid Originals in September 2017. In March 2020, the company rebranded again, changing its name to simply Polaroid.

Products

Instant film

Polaroid manufactures SX-70 and 600 film, i-Type film, Go film, and large format 8x10 film. Unlike the original large format 8x10 film, the new 8x10 is an integral film with the positive and the negative kept together. The wide-format Spectra film, produced between 2010 and 2019, was discontinued in October 2019 as a result of technical issues and motor jams from ejecting new film.
The SX-70, 600, and i-Type film all have the same length and width measurements, 4.2 x 3.5 in with a 3.1 x 3.1 in square image area. The smaller-format Go film measures 2.623 x 2.122 in with a 1.851 x 1.811 in image area. The integral zinc-chloride battery that was in the original film of the SX-70 and 600 is replaced with a lithium-ion system in Impossible's remakes. The i-Type and Go, for which integrated rechargeable batteries are part of the camera itself, do not have a battery in their film. Current SX-70 film has a speed of ISO 160; all other lines are ISO 640. Except for the 8x10 film, all films are sold in units of 8 exposures.
In addition to the usual white-framed film, Polaroid BV has made 600 and i-Type films with special frame colors, patterns, and/or shapes. These can be limited in quantity and become discontinued earlier. For the classical SX-70 and 600 series, many earlier "test versions" are listed as well.
DiscontinuedCurrent

Film nameTypeISOReleaseDiscontinuedCharacteristics
PX 100 Silver Shade First FlushB&W150February 2010???First flush, B&W, instant film for Polaroid SX 70 cameras. Released first to artists, then to regular customers
PX 100 Silver ShadeB&W150March 2010???Second generation film
PX 100 Silver Shade CoolB&W150September 2012???
PX 70 Color Shade First FlushColor125July 2010???First flush, experimental color system
PX 70 Color Shade Push!Color100December 2010???An ongoing chemical reaction makes images taken on the PX 70 PUSH! shift to blue with time.
PX 70 Color ShadeColor125June 2011???
PX 70 Color Shade CoolColor125April 2012???
PX 70 Color Shade V4B Test FilmColor125August 2012August 2012Introduction of an Opacifier
PX 70 Color ProtectionColor125??????
Cyanotype for SX70Color100??????Cyan Color
B&W SX-70 FilmB&W160April 2015AvailableWhite frame
Color SX-70 FilmColor160October 2013AvailableWhite frame

Film nameTypeISOReleaseDiscontinuedCharacteristics
PX 600 Silver Shade First FlushB&W600February 2010???First flush, first supplied to artists, then to regular customers
PX 600 Silver Shade v05B&W600May 2010???
PX 600 Silver Shade v06B&W600June 2010???
PX 600 Silver Shade UV+B&W600June 2010???UV+ sheet improves the black & white tone; also versions in black, grey, and gold frame.
PX 600 Silver Shade CoolB&W600June 2010???
PX 680 Color Shade BetaColor680??????
PX 680 Color Shade Beta 2Color680??????
PX 680 Color Shade First FlushColor680??????
PX 680 Color Shade CoolColor680June 2012???
PX 680 Color Shade Block PartyColor680??????Urban Outfitters Exclusive
PX 680 Color Shade V4B Test FilmColor600July 2012July 2012
PX 680 Color ProtectionColor600??????
Ltd Edition Generation 2.0 Color 600 FilmColor600??????
Cyanotype Film for 600Color600January 2015???
B&W 600 FilmB&W640March 2015AvailableWhite frame
Third Man Records Edition Black & Yellow Film for 600B&Y600??????Black frame, Black and Yellow film
Black & Red Duochrome for 600B&R640??????Black frame, Black and Red film
Black & Orange Duochrome for 600B&O640??????Black frame, Black and Orange Film
Black & Pink Duochrome for 600B&P640??????Black frame, Black and Pink film
Color 600 FilmColor640???AvailableWhite, white round, and color frames
Black & Yellow 600 Duochrome Edition FilmB&Y640August 2020???Black Frame, Black and Yellow Film
Black & Green 600 Duochrome Edition FilmB&G640June 2022???Black Frame, Black and Yellow Film
Blue 600 Reclaimed Edition FilmBlue640April 2023July 2023Experimental chemistry incorporating reclaimed factory waste material

Film nameTypeISOReleaseDiscontinuedCharacteristics
B&W FilmB&W600October 2013January 2015"Impossible Hardware", Type-600 film without battery
Color FilmColor600October 2013January 2015"Impossible Hardware", Type-600 film without battery
Color i-Type FilmColor640September 2017AvailableType-600 film without battery
B&W i-Type FilmB&W640September 2017AvailableType-600 film without battery

Film nameTypeISOReleaseDiscontinuedCharacteristics
Color Go FilmColor640August 2021AvailableCompatible only with the Go camera

Film nameTypeISOReleaseDiscontinuedCharacteristics
PQ Silver ShadeB&W640August 2012Late 2013
PQ Silver ShadeB&W640Late 2013Late 2013Second generation
B&W 8x10 FilmB&W640July 2014???Third Generation
B&W 8x10 FilmB&W640???Out of stock
Color 8x10 FilmColor640???Out of stock