Photography

Enfojer lets you develop photographic prints straight from your smartphone

Enfojer lets you develop photographic prints straight from your smartphone
The Enfojer stand
The Enfojer stand
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The Enfojer stand
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The Enfojer stand
The optional kit comes with a tray rack and development trays
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The optional kit comes with a tray rack and development trays
The optional kit comes with a tray rack and development trays
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The optional kit comes with a tray rack and development trays
The Enfojer app lets you edit images, and walks you through the development process
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The Enfojer app lets you edit images, and walks you through the development process
The Enfojer with an early prototype alongside
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The Enfojer with an early prototype alongside
The smartphone is placed screen side down
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The smartphone is placed screen side down
You'll need a darkroom setup to develop photos
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You'll need a darkroom setup to develop photos
Adjustable lenses ensure the developed photo is sharp
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Adjustable lenses ensure the developed photo is sharp
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Here's a fun little toy that might be of interest to playful photography enthusiasts and tinkerers. The Enjofer, described as a "portable smartphone photographic enlarger," is a stand that lets you create good quality black and white photographic prints directly from your smartphone, though you'll need your own darkroom set up to do it.

It's a simple case of finding the image you want to print and displaying it (after making any desired edits in the accompanying app) on your phone's screen. You then insert it into the Enfojer's enclosure screen side down. Adjustable lenses focus the image from the screen onto photographic paper placed underneath, and, at the push of a button, development commences. The Enfojer is compatible with any smartphone under 141 x 71 mm (5.55 x 2.80 in) in size.

The team says that the stand can be used to enlarge smartphone pictures (or traditional photographic negatives for that matter) up to 6 x 6 format. It takes 6 minutes to expose a photograph onto the silver halide photographic paper, and every print will be unique, albeit in the detail, due to imperfections in the paper and the chemistry of the development process. The Enfojer app walks you through the steps involved.

The Enfojer app lets you edit images, and walks you through the development process
The Enfojer app lets you edit images, and walks you through the development process

Most of the equipment you'll need to develop photographs is included in the Enfojer kit, including a battery-powered red light returning hotel bathrooms into makeshift dark rooms. Chemicals for developing photographs and not included due to the complexities of shipping chemicals overseas. However, once you've all the gear, the team maintains this is a cheaper way to print photographs than using a standard home printer.

The Enfojer team has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise funds for production. An Enfojer stand can be secured from US$200, and the early bird kit (with useful extras included) for $250. Though the team is hoping to raise $100,000 this is a flexible campaign so production should go ahead if the target isn't reached. The first wave of Enfojers is due to be shipped in February if all goes to plan.

You can see more details in the campaign video below (which is a cut above the usual, so far as entertainment value goes).

Source: Indiegogo

Enfojer

FOJO from Fojo on Vimeo.

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2 comments
2 comments
Vincent Bevort
I already smell the photo chemicals again Could be really fun
Can it handle all kind of Smartphones
Satweavers
You can have beautiful prints that match the quality of your smart phone screen protection film. (You should see mine!)