Polaroid Unveils Pocket-Sized Dye Sub Printer for Your Smartphone Snaps
Polaroid has officially unveiled its first product since the company reclaimed its original name and released the Polaroid Now back in March. Meet the Polaroid Hi-Print: a pocket-sized, bluetooth-enabled photo printed that uses dye sublimation to create 2×3-inch “stickable” prints from your smartphone snaps.
There are a lot of pocketable photo printers out there, but they tend to fall into two broad categories: those that use Instax instant film, and those that use thermal “Zero Ink” (AKA Zink) technology. The Polaroid Hi-Print is neither.
Instead, Polaroid decided to give dye-sublimation a try, creating a printer and special paper-and-ink cartridges that allow you to create higher-quality prints than was possible with the (notoriously “meh”) Zink printers the brand has released in the past. The goal is to give users “all the quality you’d expect from a photography brand with all the freedom to create when inspiration strikes.”
Each paper cartridge contains 20 “stickable” sheets, so you can “print, peel, and stick” your photos to whatever or whomever you’d like, and the printer runs off of a rechargeable Li-Ion battery that will last you approximately one full cartridge per charge.
Here’s a closer look at the new smartphone printer:
If you’re interested in a pocket-sized printer and you want to give Polaroid a shot, the Hi-Print itself will cost you $100, and each 20-photo cartridge will set you back $17. You can also pick up a “starter pack” bundle that includes two photo paper cartridges and the printer for $130, which comes out to a whopping $4 discount.
For reference, that pricing is pretty much identical to picking up a Fuji Mini Link Instax Printer and a twin-pack of Instax Mini film.
The Hi-Print officially launched on Monday, and is available to pick up online right away. You’ll also be able to find it at Urban Outfitters (because of course you will…), Best Buy and Target, among others, starting September 10th.
(via SlashGear)
