Mobile Technology

Pocket printer makes stickers of smartphone photos

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The Hi-Print produces credit-card-sized, adhesive-backed prints from smartphone images in under a minute
Polaroid
The Hi-Print produces credit-card-sized, adhesive-backed prints from smartphone images in under a minute
Polaroid
Each all-in-one cartridge contains 10 sheets of photo paper, with the Hi-Print able to print 20 before its battery needs a recharge
Polaroid

Polaroid has today launched the Hi-Print, a pocket-friendly photo printer that can turn smartphone snaps into 2.3 x 3.4-inch prints in less than a minute, which can then be stuck on lockers, laptop lids, backpacks, or scrapbooks.

Digital image technology has not been kind to instant film photography, with Polaroid finally stopping production in 2008. But a group of fans stepped up to save the last Polaroid factory, and has been producing cameras and film ever since. The Impossible Project became Polaroid Originals in 2017, and then just Polaroid back in March of this year.

Now the company has released its first product since the latest rebrand – the Polaroid Hi-Print portable dye-sublimation printer. The pocket printer is loaded with all-in-one print cartridges, paired with an iOS/Android mobile app over Bluetooth and a digital image selected.

Filters, overlays, frames, text and more can be added via the app before the Hi-Print transfers the image to the credit-card-sized sheet of photo paper, seals it in using heat and spits out a water- and smudge-resistant print with an adhesive back in under a minute.

Each cartridge is home to 10 sheets of 2.3 x 3.4-in (54 x 86-mm) photo paper, and the printer's battery should be good for 20 prints per charge.

The Hi-Print is available now for a suggested retail price of US$99.99, a pack of two cartridges costs $16.99.

Product page: Polaroid Hi-Print

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3 comments
David V
Great to follow the Polaroid re-birth ! Big fan when younger and I still have one that works and I have bought packs from the Impossible Project before. But not often. Because the question is : is there a need or a demand still for this kind of product ? I might buy the printer but how many packs of stickers will I buy ? It's not cheap. How often do I need stickers ? I'm thinking that they're hoping to make money from the consumables but I'm not sure that there is enough demand. They would have to produce a more office-based software to push up the quantities. If I could print address labels or stamps on this on maybe a cheaper paper, it would be more flexible. Wish them luck though and hope I'm wrong. Used to ride past the Polaroid building in St Albans everyday when I was a teen...
Catweazle
This is visually identical to a Polaroid printer marketed almost a decade ago that produced identical output with the advantage that it didn't use cartridges, it used a very clever thermal printing process to print full colour pictures on special paper. I still use mine occasionally.
Fabrizio
That's just an inkless printer, nothing new. XiaoMi has been making and selling the same thing for quite some time, for much much cheaper. I bought one for my daughter's birthday last year: it's quick and good for kids, but not comparable to inkjets.