FP-100C

 

The news came late February 2016. Fuji decided to stop manufacturing the FP-100C. It doesn't sound like much, after all, this is just a product and it has an expiration date like every other product. We need to move forward, make room for something new. After all, new is better, isn't it? It has been described by Damion DeStefano (Authorized Customer Care Representative at Fujifilm) as "necessary in order to remain sustainable in today's market". So, why keep this instant film on the shelves?

 

The truth is that Fuji isn't losing money. As of today, the company is doing very well. Don't take my word for it, check out http://www.fujifilmholdings.com/ 

 

Fujifilm has finalized production of the FP-100C Color Instant Film, consciously aware of what it would do. "We know that the discontinuation of a well-loved and long established product can be difficult to adjust to" 

 

Let's take a minute here. FujiFilm is making money, they know that the FP-100C is well loved, so why stopping manufacturing it?

 

The truth doesn’t come as a surprise. They value more their profits than they value their customers. They prefer to reallocate the money spent in making the Color Instant Film into something juicier in order to increase an already existing profit, to make even more money, more, more and more.

 

The FP-100C Color Instant Film is the last of its kind. It had pushed the photography industry forward and as far as I know there is nothing better in quality when it comes to instant film.

 

Fuji is throwing out a product that is part of the photographic heritage.

 

Let's put it this way, why do we keep any monuments? Many of them are free to visit or aren't sustainable. Because they are part of our History, they are stamped landmark buildings.

 

Products should have the same right. The FP-100C is as historical as the Eiffel Tower or Bethesda Fountain in Central Park. It has been used by the most talented photographers in the world. It captured many buildings, many faces, many people who aren't here any longer and whose smiles are forever engraved within its white frame. It became (after Polaroid filed for bankruptcy) the last peel-apart color instant film to be produced. I believe there are products out there that need to be protected from extinction by an independent commission that would evaluate the historical impact on our society.

 

And no.... new isn't always better!