Ever since Fuji announced that they were going to stop production on the beloved FP-100C instant film, a large segment of photographers’ hearts were broken. Mine included! Peel apart film was amazing and so much to work with and shoot with. Most of us still have our cameras, I know I still have mine, sitting around wrapped and put away in the hopes that someone would one day resurrect the format. But as time has passed, I feel like almost all of us have given up on the return of Peel-Apart Instant Film.
And then today, this popped up on my Facebook feed.
Polaroid seems to be emphasizing the word “peeled” in the last line.
But they have teased us before with new products and then only delivered a special frame or duotone color. Its been disappointing.
But I can’t help but hope that this time will be different!!!!
Maybe, just maybe peel-apart-film will be back!!
Or maybe this is just a clever way to word things to get everyone hyped up.
Is Polaroid bringing Peel-Apart Film Back?
Unfortunately, they are not. Polaroid has posted here in their support pages that the format is unsupported. Several times in the past they have stated that they have no interested in producing peel-apart film. This leaves photographers searching for alternatives to their beloved format.
What is the appeal of Pull-apart film?
For starters, there are a lot of really great cameras still out there that work and are a lot of fun to shoot with. The minute Fuji killed the FP-100c film, we all had to put those cameras away. Beyond the cameras, the film is just a lot of fun. There’s a groove to using peel-part, the timing and the excitement create a really unique experience and you still get an instant photo! While the integral films are fun, they are somewhat prepackaged and neat. Peel-apart film is a very hands-on film and there’s a little bit of mess to it. It just feels more like I’m a part of the process when using peel-apart film.
Also, there’s the image quality. Back with the old Polaroid and later with the Fuji FP-100C, the image quality was really really good for an instant film. You could create a lot of beautiful and fantastic images with peel-apart film that you just couldn’t get with the integral film. The colors seem sharper and more vibrant. The image was crisper. In my opinion, it was just a better product. Sadly, the appeal of the easy to use integral films combined with the rise if digital drove demand for the film down and combined with the decreasing supplies to create the film, it ultimately was discontinued.
What about One Instant from Supersense?
The one-instant film popped up a few years ago and was an indie kind of start-up to revive peel-apart. I actually just ordered my first batch of film and its in preproduction now! From the examples I’ve seen, the images look great! The One-Instant film isn’t mass-produced so it takes time to get and only comes in small quantities for higher costs. As soon as my order arrives, sometime later in 2021, I’ll do a full review and post an update as well as update this post!
Can I Still Buy Peel-Apart Film?
Yes, you can. There are still packs of expiring Fuji FP-100C and FP-3000B out there, but they are expensive. Originally costing around $20 per pack, the packs now cost in excess of $100. There are lots of stock available on Ebay of the FP-100C and the FP-3000B. There was only one listing for the Fuji FP-100C on Amazon and its for a 5-Pack costing $773 but it finally sold and there is no longer ANY FP-100C listed on Amazon. You can purchase FP-100C and FP-100C Silk from Supersense for 88 and 68 Euros respectively.
Keep your eyes peeled…
Ultimately, this was just a really bad choice in copy that sparked excitement in myself and a lot of other photographers. For this campaign, Polaroid ended up only announcing the return of round-framed film. While their round film is fun, it isn’t what we were all hoping for. In the mean time, there’s always one-instant and I think it is time that I gave their film a try! I’m heading over to their sight now to order some!
If you’re interested in reading about some of my other posts about instant film, CLICK HERE!
Check out this article too - which was posted as pack film began to disappear from the shelves.