End of Polaroid film: this sucks for so many artists I know:

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http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/22ce2e1c-d69c-11dc-b9f4-0000779fd2ac.html

Polaroid film faces the final shutter
By Justin Baer in New York

Published: February 8 2008 23:48 | Last updated: February 8 2008 23:48

Polaroid, the US company that introduced instant photography 60 years ago, is to stop making film.

The group, which stopped making instant cameras a year ago, will now complete its transition to digital printers, televisions and DVD players by shutting four analogue film factories.

More consumer news - Feb-09Polaroid cameras and the white-bordered prints they produced were common at family reunions and crime scenes alike for decades, reaching peak popularity during the 1960s and 1970s. They would also become a medium of choice for artists such as Ansel Adams, David Hockney and Robert Rauschenberg.

The advent of digital technology has pushed Eastman Kodak and other veteran manufacturers to abandon film production in recent years. Soon after Polaroid was sold to private investment firm Petters Group in 2005, the management started its own gradual retreat from analogue photography.

Polaroid will close two factories in Massachusetts as well as facilities in Mexico and the Netherlands, eliminating about 450 jobs. The company plans to make enough film to last customers until next year, Thomas Beaudoin, chief operating officer, said.

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