Polaroid will cease production of its instant film and close factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands as it changes its focus to portable Zink printers for cellphones and Polaroid-branded digicams, DVD players and TV sets.

 

February 10, 2008: Polaroid will cease production of its instant film and close factories in Massachusetts, Mexico and the Netherlands as it changes its focus to portable Zink printers for cellphones and Polaroid-branded digicams, DVD players and TV sets.
The move comes as a result of a failure to embrace digital technology, which has largely replaced instant film. With global sales of conventional film dropping by 25-30% per year, instant film has become a vanishingly small part of the imaging media market. Polaroid stopped making instant cameras two years ago. This year’s closures will see the loss of 450 jobs.
Polaroid film will continue to be available until next year, after which Fujifilm will be the only instant film manufacturer. The company is seeking a partner to acquire the licensing rights for its instant film technology. Meanwhile, it is seeking to enter the digital arena with a photo printer that uses Zink thermal printing technology. Slightly larger than a pack of cards, this printer requires no ink and produces business-card-sized prints.
Polaroid is also re-branding TV sets, DVD players, digital photo frames, digital cameras and MP3 players from third-party manufacturers. These products are reported to have generated almost US$1 billion in revenue for the company in 2007.