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SAVE PACKFILM TRAVELOG NO. 22: ANALOG EMERGENCY CALL

 


"Don't undertake a project unless it is
manifestly important and nearly impossible."


This powerful quote from Edwin H. Land has been our all analog credo from that magic day back in 2008 when we had the chance to rescue the Polaroid factory the very last second.

Today, exactly 8 years later, I urgently have to inform you that once again it is NOW in our hands to save something manifestly important and nearly impossible  the very last second. This time it is not about the factory of a big shortsighted company. This time it is all about  small and incredibly dedicated team of analog visionaries: the team from Bob Crowley and his New55 heroes.

I personally have desperately searched the world to find somebody who has a realistic chance to restart the production of our beloved Type 100 packfilm.

BOB CROWLEY IS A PURE GENIUS and what he already has accomplished for me is the 1000 % proof that he is the one to invent and develop a new way to produce a new generation instant peel apart film ACROSS ALL FORMATS.

But there is not only Bob`s creative power that males me belief in this adventure. My trust is also based on the support of IMPOSSIBLE and  these unbleievable  first peel apart film COLOR samples Bob and myself had the pleasure to preview at our last visit  in the IMPOSSIBLE factory laboratory in Enschede. 



The future of packfilm meeting with the instant film legends: Oskar Smolokowski, Bob Crowley, Steve Herchen and myself (from left to right) 


SO PLEASE LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,  forgive me that I write this mail to you and each and every email address I have collected since 2008 in order to create the largest analog emergency call of all times.

BECAUSE THIS IS AN ANALOG EMERGENCY



We have to support BOB and his team NOW, and secure the future of packfilm , ESPECIALLY THE FUTURE of Type 100 PACKFILM with our support of their recent Kickstarter. The future of this amazing material in in their hands and they really deserve all our trust and our support.

I personally will not only give you my word that I will do my very best to support this team with all my heart but I ALSO WILL PERSONALLY TRANSFER YOUR VERY PERSONAL FAVORITE PICTURE SENT TO MY E-MAIL INTO A LOVELY B/W 4x5 inch exposure with the brand new instant lab that Henny Waanders built for me. This I will do for each and everybody who pledges at least 75 USD NOW and therewith helps making the campaign succeed.

Believe in the Impossible,

Florian 'Doc' Kaps

8 comments

  • Emie

    Incredibly late to the party and I wish I had realized pack film was leaving when I had the chance! It suddenly all came into realization when I got myself a Land Camera 100 with black and white film only to find that I probably shouldn’t have carelessly loaded the film and held on to it for when the time was right. But any who I was wondering if there was any update on pack film?

  • Aaron Smith

    Steve, I am in a similar position. I have several packfilm cameras and backs, and though I do support impossible and love their story(thank you doc!), packfilm is still my favorite. One ray of hope for me is the extended lifetime of fuji fp-100c. Today I just shot two packs of fp-100c, one expired a decade ago, the other two decades ago! I only lost two shots!
    I think I will keep trying to acquire the stuff.

  • Steve White

    I’m sorry to say that it looks like all of the well intentioned projects to save packfilm are all dead.

    This one was well intentioned but the initial focus on 4×5 was enough for many not to support it. Personally I have over 40 of the smaller packfilm (3 1/4 × 4 1/4) cameras, all of which are in working order. I don’t shoot packfilm to be artistic, I take my cameras to events, vacations, etc., to capture life as my grandparents did nearly 50 years ago.

    I was hoping for a revival but clearly that’s not happening. I would back any Initiave supporting the smaller sizes, but I do believe packfilm is now dead. My trip down memory lane will end when the 200+ boxes in my film fridge are gone. At which point my cameras will die along with the format. Very sad.

  • V-G

    I say the same as you Aaron: Please let us now if you still are working on bringing back packfilm. Give us some hope!

    This silence is not a good sign.. Someone called “Catlabs” said they were going to produce packfilm, but no new for months, now they don’t answer questions about it.. Things looks bad for packfilm.

  • Aaron Smith

    Any updates? I have been googling packfilm and fp100c for updates for two months, and I don’t want to miss any ways I can help. Though I have been vigilant, I nearly missed this last kickstarter- pledging in the final days. I love my packfilm and like lots of us am collecting quite a bit of it, but I would love to see this continue, even if it is to eventually be boutique analog photography. Please tell us if you are working on it or if you have given up.

  • Mathis Stone

    I have to agree.I really wanted to see this succeed, but more communication, and emphasis on the packfilm rather than 4×5 would have brought more people. I feel like it would have made quite the difference with gathering people, since it still did do well at getting a large funding amount. Maybe try one for $200,000 instead of $400,000 also, so you can at least get a decent amount of funding. I hope the best for this project, and still have a lot of faith that it could succeed.

  • fastcat99

    Sadly, the New55 color film Kickstarter remains far short of its goal. I cannot help but wonder if it might have done much, much better if the emphasis had been on Pack Film rather than 4×5 format. Pack film is where the large volume of customers resides. If they had been given more priority in teh project rather than relatively obscure 4×5 film, perhaps the funding would reach the lofty goal. Just my thoughts for the next possible Kickstarter round…..

  • Ianalog

    Why not post this new sooner ?
    Because they know that comunication is the most important thing in a fundraising campaign.
    Why the official sites like savepackfilm.net savepeelapart.com does not talk about it ?
    And supersense and new 55 on their respective website? And especially by the newsletter of the different mailing list of contact ?
    Because a kickstarter campaign is preparing and communicate well before its launch.
    Sorry if I am direct.
    But this is so logical.
    Just because of that it puts everything at risk.

    It is not a criticism, but an incomprehension.

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