Polaroid launches its new “chemistry-loaded” B&W 600 Monochrome Frame
May 7, 2024
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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Polaroid has announced a new B&W 600 Monochrome Frames Film (buy here). It comes with a “highly anticipated photo quality upgrade”. The company calls it “chemistry-loaded”, saying it provides richer detail, lighter contrast and more reliability.
It’s compatible with Polaroid 600 cameras (buy here), as well as the Polaroid I-2 (buy here), Polaroid Now (buy here) and Polaroid Now+ (buy here). Each pack only contains eight frames, though. So, it’s still pretty expensive to shoot.
Polaroid B&W 600 Film Monochrome Frames
While Polaroid today isn’t the same Polaroid of years past, it’s on the right track. Polaroid was officially taken over by the Smolokowsky family in 2017. The family was the largest shareholder in Impossible Project.
Since then, Polaroid has been trying to bring back the old films to their former glory as quickly as they can. They say they’re constantly pushing to improve the chemical makeup of the films. Many of the original Polaroid recipes were lost. And of those that were saved, a few are said to require chemicals that are illegal today.
Our film chemistry is at the very heart of what we do at Polaroid. We’re hard at work on numerous research tracks to keep pushing the film forward, and moments like these when we can release the new formulations to the public are super exciting. We’re very proud to manufacture all of this in our European factories, the world’s only Polaroid film production facilities!
Polaroid Chairman, Oskar Smolokowski
The new Polaroid 600 B&W Monochrome Frame edition is the latest iteration of the company’s black-and-white chemistry. You get 8 sheets per box, and each sheet comes with either a black, white or grey frame around it.
I haven’t shot Polaroids in years, but it’s nice to see that this unique form of photography has not been lost to the ravages of time. And not only has it not been lost, but there’s still a thriving community of users out there.
I don’t think Polarild will ever again be as popular as it once was. Digital is just too convenient now. And most people aren’t even making prints anymore. Then there’s the fact that Fuji has claimed a big chunk of the instant film market.
Still, it’s great to see it’s still being worked on and still improving in 2024.
Price and Availability
Polaroid 600 B&W Monochrome Frame is available to buy now in packs of 8 for $19.99. Polaroid says the improved black-and-white chemistry will also be rolled out to upcoming film releases.
John Aldred
John Aldred is a photographer with over 25 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter – and occasional beta tester – of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.
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