360Photography

Two-and-a-half years after it announced plans to keep Packfilm alive, CatLABS of JP has announced it’s no longer continuing its efforts.

Typically known for its impressive collection of analogue photography products, CatLABS of JP announced in March 2016 that it had plans to revitalize Packfilm — an endeavor further expedited by Fujifilm’s discontinuation of its Packfilm offerings. Over the next two years, CatLABS of JP spent a great deal of time and capital looking for the puzzle pieces it needed to keep Packfilm alive.

‘We had begun a globe-trotting effort to secure things for the future, and met (sometimes secretly) with top executives from companies all around the world, (Japan, Germany, France, China and the US),’ says CatLABS of JP on its update page. ‘We visited factories, warehouses and dungeons, walked knee deep in dust and detritus to try and uncover some long lost or forgotten piece of technology we hoped would aid us in this quest. We met with suppliers, designers, chemists and engineers and secured what would potentially be the base upon which a new production line would be built.’

As you can imagine, it wasn’t a cheap process. After two years of research, travel and communications, CatLABS of JP realized its efforts and capital would be better spent elsewhere. Thus, the effort to keep Packfilm alive is officially over.

On the page announcing the end of its efforts, CatLABS of JP thanks its supporters, saying ‘we would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported us along the way. We got thousands of emails and phone calls, and while [we were] not able to respond to all of them, know that we took each and every one of them to heart – it has meant the world to us to know there is a strong and active analog community out there.’

Despite the ending of its own efforts, CatLABS of JP ends its update with a call to action for analog photographers around the world — get out there and buy what Packfilm remains in an effort to show how many photographers around the world still use it.

‘Those who have been lamenting the demise of Packfilm (FP100c) and those just jumping onboard now, should know that Packfilm was and still is readily available around the world (and probably will still be available for the next few years), says CatLABS of JP. ‘Everyone should go out and buy some now, buy lots of it and go shoot. Its the only way to keep the industry going.’

CatLABS of JP even links out to another effort to keep Packfilm alive, a revival aptly named Save Packfilm. In addition to an online community full of resources to show support, Save Packfilm is also launching a Kickstarter in two days to help crowdfund its efforts. To find out more information and to be notified when the Kickstart goes live, head on over to the Save Packfilm website.

CatLABS of JP ends its farewell with a simple request ‘as always – BUY MORE FILM. SUPPORT THE INDUSTRY.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)