Last Updated on 09/13/2016 by Chris Gampat
When Fujifilm announced that they’d be killing the last of their peel apart film, the analog photography world wept. But today, New55 and Florian Kaps are announcing a team up with David Bohnett to rescue the film. In an upcoming Kickstarter campaign, the collaborators will be working together to try to bring the film back to life in the same way that Florian and the Impossible Project did for Polaroid film. This new version will be put out under New55 as a positive/negative instant film.
The press release below has all the details.
SAVE IT LIKE A POLAROID PICTURE
AFTER SAVING POLAROID FILM, FLORIAN KAPS NOW TEAMS UP WITH NEW55 FILM & DAVID BOHNETT TO ALSO RESCUE INSTANT PACKFILM
In February 2016, Fujifilm announced ceasing production of the world’s last peel-apart packfilm, the FP-100c. Since then the founder and former CEO of The Impossible Project and SUPERSENSE creator Florian Kaps strives to keep this unique material alive. Kaps not only discovered a small film manufactory with the potential to accomplish this complicated mission, he has recruited entrepreneur David Bohnett and others who are strong supporters for this visionary analog undertaking.
NEW55 Next Generation Instant Film Laboratory & Manufactory
Over the last six years and against all odds and prophecies the Ashland, Massachusetts-based NEW55 Film Manufactory – initiated and driven by the vision and energy of the acclaimed inventor Bob Crowley – has evolved capabilities to re-produce a new generation of astonishing peel-apart film formats. As a more than impressive first proof of concept, they just recently introduced the latest version of their professional quality 4×5 inch black&white, positive-negative instant film: New55 PN. Additionally a small experimental prototype run of a 4×5 inch color peel apart instant film will hit the market at the end of this month.
Upcoming Kickstarter Campaign to re-start peel-apart packfilm
Now, with that proof in hand and the urgency to step in to satisfy market demand for Type 100 packfilm, Crowley and Kaps decided to take on the challange and intensively start working on the future of instant packfilm and a replacement version of FP100-C. To do so significant investments are needed to advance into a serious industrial production and development stage. Therefore they are currently preparing for a global Kickstarter Campaign in order to pre-finance the first step of the essential buildup of the New55 Film Manufactory.
SUPERSENSE: The new global headquarter of analog
SUPERSENSE was born in 2014 with the essential aim and true mission to materially reduce the further irrevocable atrophy of analog assets, by accelerating the (re-) discovery of traditional analog producers, products, and technologies, connecting all available resources and actively bridging them with those new emerging, fast growing markets.
SUPERSENSE operates an all analog manufactory, office, and concept store in Vienna, Austria with the vision to become the home and center of a global analog maverick’s association.
“After all these hard and truly IMPOSSIBLE years, fighting for the re-start of the last Polaroid factory, I honestly was very skeptical to start another adventure of that complexity. But then I visited the New55 manufactory and met David Bohnett and suddenly everything made perfect sense!”
DAVID BOHNETT: All analog advisor and investor
David Bohnett is a Los Angeles, CA-based philanthropist and technology entrepreneur with a passion for social justice, improving society through technology, and preserving analog photography. Bohnett founded the pioneering social network site, GeoCities.com in 1994. He has been an investor in dozens of technology start-ups since GeoCities was acquired by Yahoo! Inc. in 1999. Through his venture capital arm, Baroda Ventures, Bohnett is an advisor and investor in SUPERSENSE helping them achieve their mission to evolve a new modern future of the iconic analog peel apart.
“It’s a privilege to partner with Doc Kaps and the NEW55 team to develop the next generation of Type 100 packfilm. We intend to ensure that packfilm will continue to be available for the legions of amateur and professional photographers who shoot with their beloved Polaroid cameras. Current and future generations will continue to have the ability to produce the unique, one-of-a-kind images that only analog photography can do.”
For more information please visit
new55.supersense.com
www.bohnettfoundation.org