If you don’t know what instant “pack film” is it’s ok, most people under the age of 50 have never seen it.

Originally made by Polaroid for the Land Cameras, this film produces beautiful color or black and white 4”x5” positive prints that you peel apart after exposing and pulling through the rollers. After Polaroid shut down, Fuji continued to produce their FP-100c pack film until 2016 when they announced that they were calling it quits too. And now 18 months later supplies are still available but they are dwindling. Soon thousands of wonderful cameras will be useless. It really breaks my heart...

A lot of people, including myself turned to the Impossible Project and began begging them and hoping that they would somehow help to save the format. If you aren’t familiar with The Impossible Project, they saved integral film (the instant film most of us think of when we think of polaroid...) by buying a Polaroid factory and spending a decade and more money than I can imagine trying to recreate that Polaroid magic. Just a month ago, Impossible changed their name and entire business to Polaroid Originals which was a good indication that they are going to be here to stay for a while. Their integral film is amazing and I love the company and have been a customer of there’s since the beginning. I think that all of us pack film fans secretly hoped that this change might bring about the salvation of our beloved format. If they could save integral Polaroid film, and were successful from a business standpoint, maybe just maybe they can save pack film if we harass them enough...

But sadly this week Polaroid Originals released an article definitely squashing our hopes. They do not have the resources to revive another format and want to make sure they can continue to improve and thrive with their current product. I was heartbroken. Other companies have tried and failed. New55 brought us some hope, but they fell short also.

There are several of us out here in the world that love pack film and are hoping and even praying for a miracle; for some titans of industry me innovation to come along and breathe life into our old cameras once again. Until that happens, I have decided that I’m going to spend as much as I can afford and purchase as many packs as I can to make this a Pack Film Christmas with my family. I’m going to enjoy the format as long as I can!

If you’re curious about pack film, it’s not too late to order some Fuji FP-100c and it will work in any old Polaroid Land camera! You can find them for cheap online. They are a different experience and just a lot of fun! It’s definitely worth looking into 😊

The last few shots that I took before I ran out...

The negative side of the pack film after processing.

Arina, who is a model now, is so easy to photograph.