Well as soon as it was noted [in the article] that Polaroid would license out their technology to third parties if possible, a lot of speculation started flying about. This is pretty standard, of course – as soon as anything is discontinued by one company, a few will quietly hope it will be picked up by another. And, thankfully, Polaroid is a more viable product than something like Kodak HIE or EIR.
So, who could take up the slack from Polaroid? Many have suggested Fuji, and I’m leaning towards them too, as they already make a range of Polaroid-compatible instant products. But someone on the Film Wasters forum actually [took the time to email Harman], the benevolent parent company of Ilford, and got a response;
HARMAN technology Limited thank you for your email. It is nice to know that you consider us to be the natural home of Black & White.
We will be in touch with Polaroid as soon as possible to discuss the licensing of the product. We will be in contact with you to keep you up to date with the situation.
In the meantime please keep in touch with our website (www.harmantechnology.com)
So, an interesting suggestion. This is in regards to Polaroid’s black and white products, of course, which are still extensively used by artists. No words on products like 600 format film, which you’d think has the largest market (everyone has a Polaroid 600 camera stowed away somewhere). Perhaps we’ll hear more in the next few weeks.
In the mean time, if you’re so inclined, you can sign the ["Save Polaroid" Petition]. I don’t imagine it will get Polaroid to reverse their decision, but it shows support for the product, which helps suggest how viable it is to other companies.