RE: The facts man, just give me the facts......

"Thomas B. Maugham" <tmaugham@xxxxxxxxx> · Thu, 9 May 2002 12:41:14 -0400

Well, you certainly may be correct about the future of Polaroid as least as
far as film scanning and general photography is concerned.  The issue to
current owners of Polaroid products (I own a SS4000) is where do we go
should we need service?  I presume that since the device is actually
manufactured by Microtek that I could go to them but at what price?  Will
they honor Polaroid warranties?  Are there any differences in the firmware
between the Polaroid-branded product and the Microtek offerings?  There are
many questions from me and I am sure from others but not many if any
answers!

Tom

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-scan@leben.com [mailto:owner-scan@leben.com]On Behalf Of
dickbo
Sent: Thursday, May 09, 2002 9:26 AM
To: scan@leben.com
Subject: The facts man, just give me the facts......

....as Joe Friday might well have said.

Here are the facts man
-----------------------
In a BJP(UK) article titled "Polaroid stalls on Sprint", published on 5th
May this year of our Lord 2002, the author quotes a Microtek announcement
introducing it's model Artixscan 4000tf which claims that Polaroid Europe
will not be launching it's model Sprintscan 4000 Plus into the European
3,500,000+ population market because the product margins are too low (to
which we might all chorus that "1% of something is better than 100% of
nothing").

Regarding the speculative rumour that Polaroid could be considering
withdrawing from this market sector in order to enable the company to
'rationalise' its range down to 'core' products - Robert Huxley, group UK
product manager was unable to comment.
What he did say however was that "the Sprintscan 4000 has come to the end of
its product life cycle and is now no longer available".

So then Artixscan are introducing the model as their 'own brand' product and
pricing it in UKŁ830 including Silverfast V:5.5, which I might add is a
cracking bit of software, and if the up-rated hardware spec is anything to
go by, makes this model the best value film scanner currently available over
here (for UK readers the Artixscan Phone Number is 01327 844880) but by
implication suggests a quite serious likelyhood that Polaroid will not be in
the film scanner market for much longer.

Four pages further up the road in an additional artical titled "Polaroid
sees Clear Water" (a better title might well have been "Polaroid sees the
Red Mist"), the author announces that Polaroid hope to reach a $180,000,000
sale agreement with an American venture capital, SORRY, 'Private Equity',
company named as 'One Equity Partners'.

As the named price represents less than 15% of Polaroids asset value, one
need not have a University degree in common sense in order to assume the
likely outcome for Polaroid once the sale has gone through.

Interestingly, the sale once confirmed will include all the common stock in
their foreign divisions.

Brothers and sisters I am suggesting that this looks like a straight forward
asset stripping situation because the Polaroid value must surely  consist
mainly of fixed assets. This means land and/or buildings which of course
know no loyalty to any specific industrial preferences and can be turned
into something else at the merest whim of any particular buyer.

I am suggesting, my friends, that it's good bye to Polaroid and hello to a
lot of other things, most of which will have nothing whatsoever to do with
photography or film scanning.

"The old King is almost dead and long live the new King" in whatever form
the market may decide to accept him......

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