I have these three vertical stripes on every single photo i take! They are very noticeable & make the pictures i am getting a total waste of money!! I put a new pack of film in yesterday and i am getting the same three vertical stripes with that pack. Could it be something to do with my camera? I have a Polaroid Spirit 600.

Would you be able to scan and post a few examples?

In my experience, it's usually related to the film packs and how they were stored. However, it sometimes might be related to the camera. Check the rollers. Do you see any residue on them? If so try cleaning the rollers. I use a Q-tip cotton swap wetted with 91% isopropyl alcohol. Using the wetted swab, clean the residue from both rollers, then use a dry cotton swab to wipe away any dried residue.

Again, I suspect it has to do with the way that the film stock was stored, perhaps prior to when you purchased it. I buy my stock directly from TIP in the USA, and put it in a small fridge that I store all of my other film stock. I've seen some of the striping in my films, but not nearly as much as once I started storing my stock in a fridge.

Good luck.

Claire, you might also want to read this thread, covering the same topic...

http://support.the-impossible-project.com/entries/20448763-weird-co...

Thanks for your help.

This is one of the polaroids that has the 3 stripes. This was one of the first that did it & from this picture on it has happend to every single picture getting progressively worse.

I will scan in the rest & upload them tomorrow, this one is all i have on my laptop at the moment.

How would i go about cleaning the rollers? Would i need to take the camera apart?

I did email service@theimpossibleproject.com a while ago but i didn't get much help :(

Claire, looking at the scanned image, I've seen similar behavior before. I noticed, too, that this image is very pale. May I ask you to do something for me? On the back of the frame, just above the chemical pod on the left side, you'll find a ten-digit number. Would you post that ten digit number, along with additional samples?

Also, please follow up directly with Impossible at the email address that Patrick listed. He's watching the email queue and he's in the best position to help you. I'm happy to help, but I'm just a user like you are.

Thanks!
TRB

The first two are from the same pack as the other pictures i put up. Obviously the last if from a different pack & its still happening :(

Its really difficult to read that code, it's been cut off slightly. From what i can make out its: 0810437005 on the colour pack & 0910433227 on the black and white.

I'll email them now :)

OK. Based on the codes that you provided, the color film was produced in August of 2010, and the B&W film would have been produced in September of 1010. Both would have been produced very early in the first production batches. See http://support.the-impossible-project.com/entries/20900132-tip-unde... for information about decoding the ten-digit batch-codes.

Presuming the codes are correct, then the color film was probably PX70 Color Shade First Flush (which was the first film Impossible offered that had a very limited range of color), and the B&W film was a PX 600 Silver Shade. If the color film was indeed a PX70 Color Shade FF, it shouldn't be used with a Spirit 600 because that particular camera requires ISO 600 films, and the PX70 film is ISO 125. Photos taken with the color film will typically be underexposed, but you can push the light/dark control all the way to the light side and improve the exposure.

In terms of the striping, the films would be considered pretty old, especially if the films had not been stored refrigerated. When left unrefrigerated, the chemistry in the three pods ages more quickly, and sometimes differently between pods. If you were using film stock that was freshly-produced, the striping is far les apt to happen. I'm presently shooting films produced in November and December 2011, but which I've kept stored in my fridge, and there's no sign of striping.

From where did you purchase the two film packs? If you didn't purchase them from Impossible, you might want to go to the merchant to see about replacing the films with current production stock. If you did purchase them from Impossible, I've had very good luck when contacting their customer service department.

I hope that this additional information is useful.

Regards,
Tom

Mine too ! I just bought the SX-70 camera from impossible project store. Since i bought a kit , there is 2 free film inside the kit . I finished 1 film cartridge with all the pictures having that irritating stripes . I thought is the way of how i handle that caused the problem . But when i insert the 2nd film cartridge , the problem still occur....

I emailed to the impossible project for help support but still have not receive any reply. Any solution to share ?

I made my purchase at impossible project asia.

Christine, which store?

http://shop.the-impossible-project.com/stores/asia

The only Impossible Project Space is in Tokyo, and it's owned by TIP. The other outlets in Asia are resellers or partners, and not owned by TIP.

Regards,
Tom

I made my purchase through impossible project Tokyo eshop.

OK. And you wrote that have already sent an email to service@theimpossibleproject.com. Have you tried contacting the Tokyo shop directly at asia@the-impossible-project.com, correct?

I sent an email to service@theimpossibleproject.com but not yet reply. I also sent an entry you told me to submit at the website. I have not tried on contacting the Tokyo shop yet because the only information i found in the kit is to contact service@theimpossibleproject.com . I shall try emailing them too. Thanks for the information!

OK... Best wishes!