In their mission to save peel-apart instant packfilm, the team at Austrian-based company Supersense has released a new ONE INSTANT peel-apart instant packfilm product. It’s an 8-shot DIY kit that cuts labour costs by placing some of the manufacturing process into the hands of photographers. Founded by the Impossible Project’s Florian Kaps, Supersense hopes that making their packfilm more affordable with this DIY component will encourage more support for the niche product and help it live on into the future.
Since 2018, Supersense’s ONE INSTANT project has worked on saving peel-apart instant packfilm. It’s an expensive endeavour though, due to the high amount of manual labour involved in creating the product. This is where the ONE INSTANT DIY film kit steps in by saving some of the labour components for photographers themselves. It also allows customers to learn more about all the pieces that go into creating the packfilm.
“Reducing labour costs in production results in a more affordable film, and by outsourcing manufacturing to the shooter, SUPERSENSE hopes it might even inspire a new generation of instant film enthusiasts to come up with fresh approaches to fight for the survival of this format.” – Chris Holmquist, ONE INSTANT Production Manager
At the moment, Supersense is the only company working on producing peel-apart packfilm after Fujifilm discontinued their FP-100 product. Supersense is hoping the community has an appetite for taking part in the process which will help them continue innovating and refining the product for the foreseeable future. They have released the kit as a pre-sale item to help them determine the level of community interest in the new DIY format. You can check out the pre-sale DIY kit webpage here where it is currently listed for $98.
Three different types of film are available: colour, black and white, and one called ‘CHOCO’, a sepia-toned monochromatic option. Each shot can be put together in approx. ten minutes without needing a darkroom. Once assembled, it holds materials for 8 shots of ‘Type 100’ packfilm. No special equipment is needed other than what is inside the kit. Pre-sale orders are expected to be fulfilled in the first three months of 2024.
The cartridge design for ONE INSTANT film was originally invented by Uwe Mimoun of KONO Manufaktur. Supersense further developed the idea in-house. The film is hand-assembled by a small team based in Vienna. Film, paper, and chemical pods are obtained from 20×24 Studio based in Boston.
The developing time for each shot is 2’30” @ 20°C. The film will work in all cameras that take Polaroid & Fuji ‘Type 100’ peel-apart packfilm. Supersense warns the film will not fit in Polaroid 545, Polaroid 550, or Fuji PA-45 holders.
If you would like to see more about the kit, Ben from the ‘In An Instant’ YouTube channel produced an in-depth preview with the help of ONE INSTANT production manager, Chris Holmquist.
“Everything about the ONE INSTANT DIY FILM KIT was designed with the goal of providing the most affordable and immersive packfilm experience ever. It’s our big hope that by reducing the cost of our film, more people will have access to this incredible medium. Moreover, there is the possibility for a kind of ‘crowdsourcing’ side-effect growing from the DIY FILM KIT, as enthusiasts across the world are finally enabled to build and understand how the packfilm format works, from the inside out, potentially sparking innovation and inspiring new ways of looking at how to keep this format alive in the future.” – Chris Holmquist
You can still purchase ONE INSTANT pre-assembled packfilm from Supersense. One pack costs $55 and comes with 3 peel-apart instant shots. These also come in the three options of colour, black and white, and choco. To get 8 shots, you would have to spend almost $150 whereas the DIY kit offers this for $98 at the moment. So, for those who don’t mind a little DIY, it’s a good way to save on shooting packfilm.
If you can’t get enough of DIY, ONE INSTANT also sells a DIY film camera that works with their packfilm. The camera is both a pinhole and a sliding box camera. Check it out at the link here. This is what one photographer had to say about the camera on ONE INSTANT’s blog (linked here):
“Over the last month I’ve discovered that also like its namesake film, the ONE INSTANT DIY camera is a unique piece of photographic technology that rewards a thoughtful, intentional approach with high-caliber peel-apart imagery.” – Aidan Avery
Chris from Supersense tells me the initial response has been ‘overwhelmingly good’.
“We sell a very niche product for a very small market, but our customers and supporters are very passionate and vocal! It seems that everybody sees the potential for community involvement and a kind of “open source” ethos to this new product, which is really great for us to hear.” – Chris Holmquist, ONE INSTANT Production Manager
If you’d like to help support the project and pick up a DIY kit, head over to the pre-sale page here. You can also find more information about Supersense and ONE INSTANT on their webpage here.
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