Harman Technology is the British maker of Ilford Photo brand films and darkroom materials. It has been at the forefront of a three-year long campaign to save the darkroom and film-based photography. As BJP reported before, in early 2008 Harman Technology approached Polaroid to discuss taking over the firm's instant film business.

"We ourselves considered buying the Polaroid factory in Boston when they closed it, but we found that it would have been too expensive to produce new films," Harman's president of marketing Steven Brierley tells BJP today. "So when Impossible approached us after buying the Dutch factory, we were pleased to be involved."

Last Monday, when Impossible officially unveiled its first two black-and-white instant films, Harman Technology was there to witness the reactions to a one-year research and development effort.

"We're delighted that they were able to achieve what many thought was impossible," says Brierley. "It has been a very gratifying experience. We played a large part in the R&D in collaboration with Impossible.

Harman Technology was tasked, one year ago, to create the negative film, a component that captures the image, for the new black-and-white instant films. The negative film, through a chemical reaction, then transfers the image to the printing half of the instant film.

"There were a lot of challenges in achieving the final result," says Brierley. "We've never been involved in instant film before, and we were not privy to Polaroid's secret formulas. So, we had to work with the end product in mind. We had to meet the specifications we were given, and see how to go about it."

After three months, in the summer of 2009, Harman Technology had a working prototype. "It went better than we thought," Brierley tells BJP. "And we entered full production in December."

All negative films are made in England, before being shipped to the Netherlands where they are assembled with the instant film's other components. "We can produce as many as Impossible needs," he adds. "We don't envision any restrictions."

Brierley also confirms that Harman Technology is involved with the negative film components of the upcoming PX600, which will be released in the coming weeks, as previously planned. PX600 has been designed for use with the One series of Polaroid instant cameras.

Brierley has also commented on the high sensitivity of the PX100 film, which can produce images only at temperatures above 17 degrees Celsius. "Like any Polaroid, the temperature has an effect on the chemical process," he says. "If you're shooting in New York, outside in the blistering cold, don't expect much."