Fujifilm’s Instax Printer: The Closest Thing To Polaroids For Your iPhone [MWC2014]

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Fujifilm has announced the Instax SP–1 mobile printer at Mobile World Congress 2014 in Barcelona, Spain. It’s a wireless, battery powered number that spits out 3×2 prints, and is controlled by an app on your iPhone (or Android device).

And while it looks pretty neat, if you can do without the battery power then I have a much better recommendation.

The printer actually works like a camera, using LEDs to print the image onto the same instant film/paper used by the Instax cameras. It’s powered by a couple of removable (and not cheap) lithium batteries (AC power is optional) and the paper comes in packs of ten. You can also add extras to the images before you print – colored frames and caption make them look like little printed Facebook pages. It’ll cost $200.

Or you could buy Canon’s Selphy printer, a dye-sub printer that uses CMYK sheets of ink to print great images onto 6×4 sheets of photo paper. I have one and it really is great. I print pictures to go on the fridge, to send as postcards or just to give to people when they say “Email me that picture you just took.” It’s also around $100 (or less), and works wirelessly with a crappy iOS app.

You decide. The Instax is great for slinging into a bag and taking to parties, but also looks like a novelty whose appeal will quickly wear off.

Source: Fujifilm

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