Physical photos have always been appealing; even now, during the age of smartphone cameras. Sometimes our smartphones get their memory filled up with tons and tons of pictures that we take and store as precious moments throughout the year. And some time after taking those photos we like to sit alone, or between family and friends, and take another look at those pictures to remember and relive those same moments once again.
And sometimes, we cherish those moments so much that we never want to lose those memories, so we end up scrolling through our smartphone’s albums just to find the one perfect shot among hundreds of digital pictures just to print it out and stick it on our fridge, office wall, or even frame it.
The new Polaroid Lab desktop device lets you do that at home, by converting digital files into classic Polaroid-style film photos (prints the photos in a similar way to their Polaroid Originals OneStep 2 Instant Camera). But the Polaroid Lab from Polaroid Originals isn’t just a printer. The company describes it as a “miniature table top darkroom” that uses chemistry to create the images rather than just printing.
Meet the Polaroid Lab, Polaroid Originals’ new, and a one of a kind creation, capable of turning your digital photos into real Polaroid pictures. “The Polaroid Lab works with 100% real chemistry and a little bit of magic.” It works with devices running iOS 11 or above and Android 7 or above.
To use the device, you select an image from your smartphone while using the Polaroid Originals App. After that you need to place your smartphone screen-side down onto the Polaroid Lab’s platform. Then all you have to do is push a button, the image is projected onto a piece of film, and the Polaroid Lab creates your instant photo by using mirrors, lights and chemistry. The image is then ejected from the machine, leaving you only with the fun process that all Polaroid products are known for – shaking the film while the photo develops, making it start to reveal itself.
The device was based on The Impossible Project’s Instant Lab printer, which was originally a crowdfunded project from 2012. The Impossible Project then rebranded to Polaroid Originals in 2017. Polaroid Originals is a Dutch photography company and manufacturer founded in 2008 by Florian Kaps, André Bosman and Marwan Saba. The company creates retro cameras, printers, and instant film.
The Polaroid Lab will go on sale on October 10th for $130 in the US, €130 in Europe and £120 in the UK. If you’re interested in getting one the first Polaroid Lab devices, you can subscribe to Polaroid Original’s website with your email to get notified as soon as the device comes out, and you’ll also get 10% off your order. Click here to go to Polaroid Original’s website.
