Being able to post short replies and follow thread is a luxury I have not had in 10 years namely because I had to waste so much time clarifying stupid and boring stuff which didnt intrest me in the first place
whenever I have managed to provide answers i have had to cramm it in and then leave because I am burdened by work as it is. I appologize for the long post.
My interest in providing this info is non commercial and i am against using the forums to push products.
So I will make no reference to that
here is another aspect of this media cirque
http://www.circlerectangle.com/blog/archives/1503/comment-page-1#comment-1355By the time Type 55 was discontinued it had gone from its original price of 16.00 to almost 79.00 a box.
The rummors of discontinuationby people who live to spread rummors in forums concurrent with an expectancy of a lifetime commitement from Polaroid before these guys would buy 1 box is what started the decline.
Price increase was the second step it became an eventual choice for many
the two Lesser evils that Polaroid tried to avoid while Ed was in charge is
that the company or film would be blamed for poor performing cameras-
Fact is when we made a product that could deliver Polaroid images so defined it could be used as final art
in the most demanding situations people were so convinced the peel apart films were a blur that the market
was unwilling to believe that the problem was not the film but something called parallelism.
Remember misinformation is free- advertising is not.
And concurrently with the fenomenon of discontinuation
WE all have to face the fact that a year ago the publishing industry collapsed and many if not most great photographer took a big hit in their income and accredited journalists were forced to retire.
There is a state of anarchy when it comes to niche products such as this film or the ... camera
I can and have removed myself from the reach of the snobs who say nothing is any good until they say so
but someone who hopes to make a film cannot afford that luxury.
The last time arround it became a luxury item for that very reason because the so called freedom of expression of those who ask for credentials was deemed more important that the freedom of expression of those who knew and ueed the films.
That is why being that Polaroid was a softer film and they ceased to make Pro camera after the 180/ 195 they opened an OEM division and when people asked which camera should I use with that film they sent them to products which met their standards.
The forums did away with that too- they said it was too arbitrary;)
Then finaly there is the inevitable in that life moves on and times change.
For a film to be viable it has to be cheap.there seems to be an apathy about them
which I feel comes out of partisanship which I find unreasonable
Back in the day when we shot 810 Pola we could go thru a case a day.
At fuji prices for pack films you could still do it had a client.
Even though Fuji now has the monopoly on peel apart films their pices rival Polaroid prices of 10 years ago
but they are not receiving the support they deserve if you only consider their fild an image of much higher quality to what is now claimed as being saved.
Many claim it is an image more defined and more resolved than any Polaroid film ever was .
I can tell you from personal experience that making a better product doesnt carry the gratitude you would assume- on the contrary andto a film company a new film is a risk .
The only way a type 55 Polaroid film would come back is if those who are deserving got toghether and sent the usual naggers to the soapboxes for their discouragement.
Then and only then would a film company find the risk viable and the Trademarks may have protection on the tech even if patents are expired there may be contiuationsand Polaroid made their transition and if we expect them to grant licence to someeone else to make the film the saving rhetoric while mentioning the trademark has to end because the risk to the trademark standing is- has been the biggest hurdle
A few years back when I tried to obtain the licence to make it these concerns seemed unreasonable to me
but As someone here has made ref. to a brand and a price and said then- and now.
I tell you that what i did then and what I do now are two different things and the interferances I faced from instigated confusion and still face to get the point accross I have dealt with because Im a small buisness and had no choice but pun intended it has made it all close to" impossible."
To Summarize
In order to Assure that a Type 55 is not" Impossible" those of us who love it have to send a message that we would be content with the tech only and are willing to allow the Traemark to move on.
Otherwise we are the ones who have to be prepared to finally do so.
