Print your pictures on Polaroids now. A smartphone with the screen facing down is placed on the top of the Polaroid Lab. A lens system is used to project the photo shown on the display onto the Polaroid film located in the lower area. After the development, the user has an analog copy of his digital photo. In order to ensure correct alignment, the Polaroid Lab helps the user with various alignment symbols in the smartphone app matching the device, as CNET reports. This app also selects and displays the photo to be copied. The Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals, and the Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals. The Impossible Project resumed production of discontinued instant films a few years ago, and they are now marketed under the Polaroid Originals brand. Both the i-Type and the 600 film are so-called integral films, which do not have to be separated after shooting.
Print your pictures on Polaroids now. A smartphone with the screen facing down is placed on the top of the Polaroid Lab. A lens system is used to project the photo shown on the display onto the Polaroid film located in the lower area. After the development, the user has an analog copy of his digital photo. In order to ensure correct alignment, the Polaroid Lab helps the user with various alignment symbols in the smartphone app matching the device, as CNET reports. This app also selects and displays the photo to be copied. The Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals, and the Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals. The Impossible Project resumed production of discontinued instant films a few years ago, and they are now marketed under the Polaroid Originals brand. Both the i-Type and the 600 film are so-called integral films, which do not have to be separated after shooting.
Print your pictures on Polaroids now. A smartphone with the screen facing down is placed on the top of the Polaroid Lab. A lens system is used to project the photo shown on the display onto the Polaroid film located in the lower area. After the development, the user has an analog copy of his digital photo. In order to ensure correct alignment, the Polaroid Lab helps the user with various alignment symbols in the smartphone app matching the device, as CNET reports. This app also selects and displays the photo to be copied. The Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals, and the Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals. The Impossible Project resumed production of discontinued instant films a few years ago, and they are now marketed under the Polaroid Originals brand. Both the i-Type and the 600 film are so-called integral films, which do not have to be separated after shooting.
Print your pictures on Polaroids now. A smartphone with the screen facing down is placed on the top of the Polaroid Lab. A lens system is used to project the photo shown on the display onto the Polaroid film located in the lower area. After the development, the user has an analog copy of his digital photo. In order to ensure correct alignment, the Polaroid Lab helps the user with various alignment symbols in the smartphone app matching the device, as CNET reports. This app also selects and displays the photo to be copied. The Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals, and the Polaroid Lab uses the i-Type and 600 film from Polaroid Originals. The Impossible Project resumed production of discontinued instant films a few years ago, and they are now marketed under the Polaroid Originals brand. Both the i-Type and the 600 film are so-called integral films, which do not have to be separated after shooting.
Last updated at 08/04/2026 11:55:05
Polaroid Lab - Digital to Analog Polaroid Photo Printer (9019)
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Used Polaroid Lab Instant Film Printer - Excellent Condition
Delivery $42.69
Polaroid I-TYPEFILM Lab Printer - White
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Polaroid Instant Photo Printer - Wireless
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Polaroid Photo Lab - Instant Printer
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Polaroid Photo Lab - Instant Printer
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Polaroid 9019 Lab Phone Printer - White
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Polaroid Lab Camera White
Delivery $42.99
Polaroid Lab Photo Printer White
Free delivery
Polaroid - Originals Lab Photo Printer (9019) | Polaroid Dubai
originally posted on bestbuy.com
This product is amazing! Such a game changer for enjoying those wonderful moments you captured on your phone. Print quality is very good (for polaroids) you may have to adjust exposure and color saturation within the app the get the feel that you like, but it is very easy to do so. It works with color film both I-type and 600. Pretty straight forward on how to operate it. Step by step instructions are given in app that help you very easily print your photos. The beauty of this is being able to have polaroid prints of your digital photos and if they ever get damaged or lost you can simply print another! This allows you to have the best of both worlds. I've used it a ton since purchasing it and have made some fun photo projects with my daughters. Only downside is that ... MoreThis product is amazing! Such a game changer for enjoying those wonderful moments you captured on your phone. Print quality is very good (for polaroids) you may have to adjust exposure and color saturation within the app the get the feel that you like, but it is very easy to do so. It works with color film both I-type and 600. Pretty straight forward on how to operate it. Step by step instructions are given in app that help you very easily print your photos. The beauty of this is being able to have polaroid prints of your digital photos and if they ever get damaged or lost you can simply print another! This allows you to have the best of both worlds. I've used it a ton since purchasing it and have made some fun photo projects with my daughters. Only downside is that the film can get a bit pricey.
originally posted on bestbuy.com
First off, I own two other phone mini-printers and it isn't fair to judge the resolution or sharpness you get from the sheets to how the pictures appear on a smartphone. Or if you do, the smartphone wins every time. While the Polaroid Lab is a touch softer than other printers in terms of sharpness, aliasing is less pronounced. That means less jagged edges. Gradual changes in a blue sky look more natural in the Polaroid for example. Yet because of this some details in a face are lost, even at portrait distance. The majority of the prints I would say, do capture all the charm, nostalgia, and look of old Polaroid photos. While it does avoid the hassle of having to connect via Bluetooth one must set their phone face down in order for the Lab to transfer the image to the ... MoreFirst off, I own two other phone mini-printers and it isn't fair to judge the resolution or sharpness you get from the sheets to how the pictures appear on a smartphone. Or if you do, the smartphone wins every time. While the Polaroid Lab is a touch softer than other printers in terms of sharpness, aliasing is less pronounced. That means less jagged edges. Gradual changes in a blue sky look more natural in the Polaroid for example. Yet because of this some details in a face are lost, even at portrait distance. The majority of the prints I would say, do capture all the charm, nostalgia, and look of old Polaroid photos. While it does avoid the hassle of having to connect via Bluetooth one must set their phone face down in order for the Lab to transfer the image to the photo sheet. It feels like making copies on a Xerox machine. And just like making a copy, any mistake on the original then gets transferred to the copy (a dirty screen, slightly crooked placement). You do get some warnings and reminder screens before it scans the phone to try and remedy any mistakes from happening. When everything is good to go the rainbow light on the front is lit and a nice little jingle plays, that's when you hit the red button and in seconds the Polaroid pops out. Fine tuning requires trial and error, which will ends up costing you a few sheets and a bit of time. While other printers pop out fully finished photos in a few seconds, The Lab gives you legit Polaroids, which take about fifteen minutes to fully develop (monochrome claims to develop in five minutes). This can be time consuming when first tinkering with the settings and how they are expressed to your liking. There are only two adjustments, exposure for brightness and color saturation and neither is shown on the screen before you print. And since I believe they were going for the classic Polaroid feel, you don't get any ability to add stickers, emojis, or drawings through the app. But i guess if you want that, you could add that from another app and print the newly modified photo. Photo ratio can't be changed from what I can tell. You can zoom in and scroll to fit your photo in the square ration but you can't zoom out to fit the entire photo of a 4:3 or a 19:9 ratio. Leaving dead space on a Polaroid is a no go Although there is one work around. Collage mode works of you have a panoramic type photo that you want printed. you can choose anywhere from 1-9 photos to print. Although the process isn't automatic. It requires you to manually readjust the phone for every picture in the collage as they are scanned which can take a bit of time. One feature that is fun is the ability to add videos to your photo. Not literally of course but through the phone app you can add a bar code to any photo and when looking at the photo through the app, it will play the video you designated to the bar code in the square of the Polaroid. I ended up liking this more than i thought I would. I was able to create photos of a concert I attended and then with adding the video, I could see the band perform the song. In another photo I could add a video of us singing happy birthday to my nephew and print out a photo for anyone who wants to take home and hear it as well (provided they download the app as well). To sum it up, I like the look and feel of the prints even if facial details are lost. I think pictures of architecture come out better than portraits. I can tolerate a softer looking photo if it means less aliasing and jagged edges. If you aren't partial to the look of these types of photos, the process of aligning your phone to the scan surface every time and long development time will probably frustrate you. I personally prefer this over my other two mini printers. the pros are: classic Polaroid feel. ability to add videos, larger than most print, no fussing with Bluetooth syncing, minimal artifacts and jagged looking edges, Architecture looks great. The cons are: minimal settings for adjustments, trial and error can waste sheets, long time to develop, facial detail is soft.
originally posted on ebay.com
The Polaroid Lab printer is awesome. It is easy to use and doesn't require any excessive set up. The prints have turned out fantastic and give the feel that they were taken on an instant camera. The only issue that I have had so far is that small lines or patterns in the pictures you are printing (pinstripe on a car or a small checkered pattern on a shirt for example) turn out a little off sometimes. You get the same effect when you would take a picture of a a picture on a screen, which is how the printer works. It has a camera in the base that takes a picture of your phone screen when you set it on the platform. I almost always carry my Polaroid camera with me and put the pictures into photo albums. Sometimes I have gaps in time or events that I didn't have the ... MoreThe Polaroid Lab printer is awesome. It is easy to use and doesn't require any excessive set up. The prints have turned out fantastic and give the feel that they were taken on an instant camera. The only issue that I have had so far is that small lines or patterns in the pictures you are printing (pinstripe on a car or a small checkered pattern on a shirt for example) turn out a little off sometimes. You get the same effect when you would take a picture of a a picture on a screen, which is how the printer works. It has a camera in the base that takes a picture of your phone screen when you set it on the platform. I almost always carry my Polaroid camera with me and put the pictures into photo albums. Sometimes I have gaps in time or events that I didn't have the camera at, but I do have pictures from then on my phone. This printer allows me to fill in those gaps and to make sure that my photo albums aren't missing any events. If you are looking for a fun and easy way to make your photos physical, I highly recommend the Polaroid Lab printer.
| Compatible File Formats | Polaroid 600, Polaroid Originals i-Type |
| Lens | 3 Elements, 3 Groups AR-Coated Acrylic |
| Battery | Rechargeable Lithium-Ion 1100 mAh, 3.7 V, 4.07 Wh |
| Operating Temperature | 40-108°F / 4-42°C |
| Operating Humidity | 5-90% |
Polaroid Lab - Digital to Analog Polaroid Photo Printer (9019)
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Used Polaroid Lab Instant Film Printer - Excellent Condition
Delivery $42.69
Polaroid I-TYPEFILM Lab Printer - White
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Polaroid Instant Photo Printer - Wireless
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
Polaroid Photo Lab - Instant Printer
Free delivery
Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a small commission for purchases made through this link at no extra cost to you. This helps support our site. Thank you!
This product is amazing! Such a game changer for enjoying those wonderful moments you captured on your phone. Print quality is very good (for polaroids) you may have to adjust exposure and color saturation within the app the get the feel that you like, but it is very easy to do so. It works with color film both I-type and 600. Pretty straight forward on how to operate it. Step by step instructions are given in app that help you very easily print your photos. The beauty of this is being able to have polaroid prints of your digital photos and if they ever get damaged or lost you can simply print another! This allows you to have the best of both worlds. I've used it a ton since purchasing it and have made some fun photo projects with my daughters. Only downside is that ... MoreThis product is amazing! Such a game changer for enjoying those wonderful moments you captured on your phone. Print quality is very good (for polaroids) you may have to adjust exposure and color saturation within the app the get the feel that you like, but it is very easy to do so. It works with color film both I-type and 600. Pretty straight forward on how to operate it. Step by step instructions are given in app that help you very easily print your photos. The beauty of this is being able to have polaroid prints of your digital photos and if they ever get damaged or lost you can simply print another! This allows you to have the best of both worlds. I've used it a ton since purchasing it and have made some fun photo projects with my daughters. Only downside is that the film can get a bit pricey.
First off, I own two other phone mini-printers and it isn't fair to judge the resolution or sharpness you get from the sheets to how the pictures appear on a smartphone. Or if you do, the smartphone wins every time. While the Polaroid Lab is a touch softer than other printers in terms of sharpness, aliasing is less pronounced. That means less jagged edges. Gradual changes in a blue sky look more natural in the Polaroid for example. Yet because of this some details in a face are lost, even at portrait distance. The majority of the prints I would say, do capture all the charm, nostalgia, and look of old Polaroid photos. While it does avoid the hassle of having to connect via Bluetooth one must set their phone face down in order for the Lab to transfer the image to the ... MoreFirst off, I own two other phone mini-printers and it isn't fair to judge the resolution or sharpness you get from the sheets to how the pictures appear on a smartphone. Or if you do, the smartphone wins every time. While the Polaroid Lab is a touch softer than other printers in terms of sharpness, aliasing is less pronounced. That means less jagged edges. Gradual changes in a blue sky look more natural in the Polaroid for example. Yet because of this some details in a face are lost, even at portrait distance. The majority of the prints I would say, do capture all the charm, nostalgia, and look of old Polaroid photos. While it does avoid the hassle of having to connect via Bluetooth one must set their phone face down in order for the Lab to transfer the image to the photo sheet. It feels like making copies on a Xerox machine. And just like making a copy, any mistake on the original then gets transferred to the copy (a dirty screen, slightly crooked placement). You do get some warnings and reminder screens before it scans the phone to try and remedy any mistakes from happening. When everything is good to go the rainbow light on the front is lit and a nice little jingle plays, that's when you hit the red button and in seconds the Polaroid pops out. Fine tuning requires trial and error, which will ends up costing you a few sheets and a bit of time. While other printers pop out fully finished photos in a few seconds, The Lab gives you legit Polaroids, which take about fifteen minutes to fully develop (monochrome claims to develop in five minutes). This can be time consuming when first tinkering with the settings and how they are expressed to your liking. There are only two adjustments, exposure for brightness and color saturation and neither is shown on the screen before you print. And since I believe they were going for the classic Polaroid feel, you don't get any ability to add stickers, emojis, or drawings through the app. But i guess if you want that, you could add that from another app and print the newly modified photo. Photo ratio can't be changed from what I can tell. You can zoom in and scroll to fit your photo in the square ration but you can't zoom out to fit the entire photo of a 4:3 or a 19:9 ratio. Leaving dead space on a Polaroid is a no go Although there is one work around. Collage mode works of you have a panoramic type photo that you want printed. you can choose anywhere from 1-9 photos to print. Although the process isn't automatic. It requires you to manually readjust the phone for every picture in the collage as they are scanned which can take a bit of time. One feature that is fun is the ability to add videos to your photo. Not literally of course but through the phone app you can add a bar code to any photo and when looking at the photo through the app, it will play the video you designated to the bar code in the square of the Polaroid. I ended up liking this more than i thought I would. I was able to create photos of a concert I attended and then with adding the video, I could see the band perform the song. In another photo I could add a video of us singing happy birthday to my nephew and print out a photo for anyone who wants to take home and hear it as well (provided they download the app as well). To sum it up, I like the look and feel of the prints even if facial details are lost. I think pictures of architecture come out better than portraits. I can tolerate a softer looking photo if it means less aliasing and jagged edges. If you aren't partial to the look of these types of photos, the process of aligning your phone to the scan surface every time and long development time will probably frustrate you. I personally prefer this over my other two mini printers. the pros are: classic Polaroid feel. ability to add videos, larger than most print, no fussing with Bluetooth syncing, minimal artifacts and jagged looking edges, Architecture looks great. The cons are: minimal settings for adjustments, trial and error can waste sheets, long time to develop, facial detail is soft.
The Polaroid Lab printer is awesome. It is easy to use and doesn't require any excessive set up. The prints have turned out fantastic and give the feel that they were taken on an instant camera. The only issue that I have had so far is that small lines or patterns in the pictures you are printing (pinstripe on a car or a small checkered pattern on a shirt for example) turn out a little off sometimes. You get the same effect when you would take a picture of a a picture on a screen, which is how the printer works. It has a camera in the base that takes a picture of your phone screen when you set it on the platform. I almost always carry my Polaroid camera with me and put the pictures into photo albums. Sometimes I have gaps in time or events that I didn't have the ... MoreThe Polaroid Lab printer is awesome. It is easy to use and doesn't require any excessive set up. The prints have turned out fantastic and give the feel that they were taken on an instant camera. The only issue that I have had so far is that small lines or patterns in the pictures you are printing (pinstripe on a car or a small checkered pattern on a shirt for example) turn out a little off sometimes. You get the same effect when you would take a picture of a a picture on a screen, which is how the printer works. It has a camera in the base that takes a picture of your phone screen when you set it on the platform. I almost always carry my Polaroid camera with me and put the pictures into photo albums. Sometimes I have gaps in time or events that I didn't have the camera at, but I do have pictures from then on my phone. This printer allows me to fill in those gaps and to make sure that my photo albums aren't missing any events. If you are looking for a fun and easy way to make your photos physical, I highly recommend the Polaroid Lab printer.
While testing out this product, I attempted a scientific approach as to how I was going to print my pictures. I selected four pictures from my personal pictures on my smartphone, and picked them for specific reasons. The first picture was a stock picture that I saved from a search, that was rich and vibrant in colors. The picture was that of a nearly translucent butterfly, with purples, blues, reds and white colors in its wings. In the background is the picture of a plant, with orange, yellows, purples and greens, which show up a little blurry through the nearly translucent wings. After checking my settings to make sure everything was turned off that needed to be off, I followed the directions to print the first exposure. I set my phone’s timer to 15 minutes and ... MoreWhile testing out this product, I attempted a scientific approach as to how I was going to print my pictures. I selected four pictures from my personal pictures on my smartphone, and picked them for specific reasons. The first picture was a stock picture that I saved from a search, that was rich and vibrant in colors. The picture was that of a nearly translucent butterfly, with purples, blues, reds and white colors in its wings. In the background is the picture of a plant, with orange, yellows, purples and greens, which show up a little blurry through the nearly translucent wings. After checking my settings to make sure everything was turned off that needed to be off, I followed the directions to print the first exposure. I set my phone’s timer to 15 minutes and waited as the picture developed. After the allotted time, I noticed that the colors seemed muted, with the vibrant purples looking very light and almost pinkish (I uploaded the stock picture of the butterfly and the cupcake picture). Then I chose the second picture. It was a selfie that I took on an old Android phone (my current phone is an iPhone 7 Plus). After the allotted 15 minutes, I noticed that the picture was also muted, but in this exposure, I noticed white horizontal bars in the exposure. The bars may have appeared because of the differences between the Android camera and the iPhone camera. The third picture was of some mini cupcakes that I had made one Easter, with pink and light blue tinted buttercream that I piped onto the cupcakes. This exposure was taken with the current iPhone 7 Plus. After the allotted time, I also noticed that the picture was muted as well. With this exposure, I adjusted the settings on the app. I turned the “Exposure” setting to -1/3, and the “Color” setting to 85 (darkening the exposure slightly and adding color). The fourth exposure that I printed was of a cloisonné vase that I own, also taken with the iPhone. This time, I put the “Exposure” setting back to 0, and adjusted down the “Color” setting to 70. The picture was also muted and I noticed a white horizontal band just below the neck of the vase. I began to wonder if I had done something wrong in the process of choosing the picture and placing it onto the printer. I went to the Best Buy website and read a couple reviews to find hints in taking better exposures. One review stated that that person pushed down slightly on the phone and waited for the lights to blink three times. I didn’t notice the blinking for three times in any of the exposures I printed, nor did I press down slightly on my phone, so I decided to take a fifth picture. I selected a stock photo of a person that I saved to my pictures. I also took the advice of the reviewer on the website and pressed down slightly on my phone. This time, I did notice the lights blink three times. It may have also occurred previously, but I failed to notice whether or not it happened because I didn’t know that’s what I was supposed to watch out for. On this fifth exposure, the colors were less muted and a small band appeared on the sleeve of the person in the stock picture. Also, with the first two exposures, I had a very bright lamp with no shade near the printer and when I turned the picture over to prevent light from affecting the print, I turned the exposure over on the underside of the printer’s cover, so light from the lamp may have affected the exposures (there is approximately a 3/16” lip on the underside of the printer cover). For the third, fourth and fifth exposures, I made sure to turn the exposures over on the flat, top part of the printer cover. Also, as more time passed by, all five exposures developed even more, and the prints looked even better than they looked after the first 15 minute development allotment. The white bands were still present, but not as prominent in the selfie and cloisonné vase exposures. The best exposure to turnout was the fifth stock photo, because I turned off the lamp in addition to pressing down slightly on my phone and waiting until I saw the lights blink 3 times. Of course, the colors are still slightly muted, but as more time passed by, the print quality of the exposures improved significantly. The muting also gives the exposures a retro look reminiscent of the old Polaroid camera that I owned many years ago. So if you follow the directions exactly, and press down on the phone and wait for the lights to blink 3 times, then the prints made are exactly the way they should be. Taking another look at the cupcake exposure, that picture developed even more nicely as more time passed by. I purposely waited 15 minutes to print each picture so that I could make adjustments to the next exposure in reference to the previous exposure. Also, in the vase exposure, I believe the band appeared on the neck of the vase due to lighting in the room when I took the picture. you’re looking for DSLR quality prints, you’re not going to get that with this printer. If you’re wanting the convenience of instant prints with a retro look reminiscent of the old Polaroid cameras of the past, then this printer is exactly what you want. Allowing the exposures to develop even further makes me appreciate this printer much more than when I looked at the exposures after only 15 minutes, and I would definitely be interested in this product because of the instant prints it allows you to have.
If you're looking at this review, I'm guessing you're familiar on some level with Polaroid cameras. Most of us have become accustomed to taking pictures with our phones, which now come equipped with increasingly more capable cameras. In a world where you can just take out your phone, snap a picture of whatever you're looking at, and then instantly send it to whoever you want, is there room for a tiny, portable photo printer? The Polaroid Lab is around the same size as an actual Polaroid camera, and it shares some of the same design elements. It uses actual Polaroid film (I loaded it with 600 Color) and has an optical lens. The similarities end here because the Lab requires the use of your phone. After downloading the required app, you simply load an image from your ... MoreIf you're looking at this review, I'm guessing you're familiar on some level with Polaroid cameras. Most of us have become accustomed to taking pictures with our phones, which now come equipped with increasingly more capable cameras. In a world where you can just take out your phone, snap a picture of whatever you're looking at, and then instantly send it to whoever you want, is there room for a tiny, portable photo printer? The Polaroid Lab is around the same size as an actual Polaroid camera, and it shares some of the same design elements. It uses actual Polaroid film (I loaded it with 600 Color) and has an optical lens. The similarities end here because the Lab requires the use of your phone. After downloading the required app, you simply load an image from your phone's gallery and place it face down on the Lab, which then detects the picture and adjusts its orientation to match the lens. Then, with the push of a button, it takes a photo of the photo you've selected. This sounds a little strange, but the result is a Polaroid shot that looks... well, like a Polaroid. I found that the results of my efforts came out a little blurry, a little overexposed, and a little washed out. In other words, just like most Polaroid shots. It's a charming sort of vintage aesthetic that I don't think is possible to fully replicate by other means, and I like it. As far as the device itself goes, it's easy enough to use. It plugs into any standard 5v micro-USB charger, and there's a convenient indicator on the front of the device that shows you how much film you've got left in the Lab. The app just works without requiring you to sign up for yet another service, which is fantastic. It's cool to look at, and it's fun to use. I can't envision a situation where I'd want or need to take advantage of its portability, but it's nice to know it's there. I did run into one major issue. I couldn't get the thing to work at all with my iPhone 6 Plus. It would detect my phone, and I could see that the app was re-positioning/orienting the photo to match the lens, but the Lab refused to allow me to take a picture, indicating via rapidly flashing lights on the polaroid "rainbow" logo, that I was to reposition my phone. I spent about an hour or so tinkering with my phone display settings, searching the internet, and reading support documents on Polaroid's website to no avail, and eventually gave up. I had already decided the Lab was simply defective when I tried, as a last-ditch effort, using my wife's phone (an iPhone 7 Plus). It operated flawlessly. For some reason, the Lab just doesn't like looking at my screen, which looks no different from hers in size, color or brightness, and this could easily have been a dealbreaker. If you like the idea of having vintage-style prints to post up on your fridge or elsewhere, the Polaroid Lab offers a quick, simple and easy way to do that at home, and it nails the look. I look forward to using it more around the holidays.
First the Polaroid Lab was packaged nicely. It was minimal packaging that made the experience quick and easy to unpack, looked great, and was environmentally sound with no Styrofoam. Second, the device looked nice and was easy to set up and charge. The cover over the lens was nice, but failed to clip on so it fell off if the device was turned over. The printed instructions were clear and simple. The App was easily downloaded to my IPhone XR. Instructions on how to load the film were adequate but could have been a little better as how to handle the plastic film that came out with the first black cover that protected the film pack and each subsequent picture thereafter. The app was great. Simple, step by step instructions to walk you through the process of picking ... MoreFirst the Polaroid Lab was packaged nicely. It was minimal packaging that made the experience quick and easy to unpack, looked great, and was environmentally sound with no Styrofoam. Second, the device looked nice and was easy to set up and charge. The cover over the lens was nice, but failed to clip on so it fell off if the device was turned over. The printed instructions were clear and simple. The App was easily downloaded to my IPhone XR. Instructions on how to load the film were adequate but could have been a little better as how to handle the plastic film that came out with the first black cover that protected the film pack and each subsequent picture thereafter. The app was great. Simple, step by step instructions to walk you through the process of picking your picture, making sure color enhancements were turned off on the phone, and other choices. After the app displays your chosen picture on the screen of your phone in a smaller version of the original, you then turn your phone over so the device can take a picture of your phone's screen. That is the awkward part. The device will help you get it all centered and in the right position, then you can push the Red button and snap a picture of your phone's screen to get it to transfer to the Polaroid film. But, having to remove your phone's case before you lay your phone over the lens to take a picture of your phone is a deal breaker. It's because they want a light tight seal between the phone's screen and the lens assembly. I understand why, just a pain to do each time. The Polaroid picture zips out quickly, but you need to turn it over on your table and let it rest for 15 minutes while it "develops" out of direct light. During the wait, you can pick more pictures on your phone and snap those quickly waiting for each to "develop" in their own 15 minutes time frame. The finished pictures are VERY reminiscent of the original Polaroid Land pictures from the past. Small rectangular pictures that are not sharp, not color friendly, and are basically a disappointment. At a cost of almost $2 each for the film, I can't understand why anyone would really want to use this device other than for the novelty. Even Ink jet printing is cheaper than this and you will most certainly get a better picture. If I were to design this thing around Polaroid film, for the ease and simplicity of printing, I would incorporate a wireless connection between my phone and the device. Skip the removal of your Phone's case, skip the lens taking a picture of your screen and hopefully get a clearer picture right from your phone. Just my suggestion. I have included some pictures side by side of the actual picture on my phone and the Polaroid shot that was printed. As you can see, it's not great. Kids might love this thing for the novelty, but at almost $2 a picture the parents will go broke. Because of the poor picture quality, I can't get more excited or recommend this technology.
This is one of the strangest concepts I think I have ever seen. I have used those small insta-print cameras and miniature printer’s that make credit card size images like Polaroids. This is kind of like those, but instead of using it as a camera or connecting to it, you set your phone on top of it and it takes a picture of the image on your phone. So, this takes a digital image, using your digital phone screen and captures it through an analog camera and processes it on original Polaroid film. The end result is that you now have a retro picture of something from the digital age. The images are fuzzy and mostly have a yellow hue to them like the original Polaroids. However, there are many things that can influence the quality of your printed images. For one, it is ... MoreThis is one of the strangest concepts I think I have ever seen. I have used those small insta-print cameras and miniature printer’s that make credit card size images like Polaroids. This is kind of like those, but instead of using it as a camera or connecting to it, you set your phone on top of it and it takes a picture of the image on your phone. So, this takes a digital image, using your digital phone screen and captures it through an analog camera and processes it on original Polaroid film. The end result is that you now have a retro picture of something from the digital age. The images are fuzzy and mostly have a yellow hue to them like the original Polaroids. However, there are many things that can influence the quality of your printed images. For one, it is completely depending on a large enough touch screen phone in the first place. If you have a smaller screen (pre-2015), you will not be able to use it. The fact that it is taking a photo of your screen also means that if you have and flaws, like a crack or smudge, that will be added to the printed image. Large cases that have the built in screen protector can also have an impact. Though I like the novel concept, there are just so many things that have put me against using this. One is cost per picture, since the Polaroid Lab can use the original 600 or i-Type film and there are only 8 per cartridge, you can look them up and do the math. Out of the two cartridges I have used, 5 of the photos came out damaged (See photo). Another is something I had long forgotten and that is the time for them to fully develop. I know back in the day you could at best get a standard photo in an hour from the local drug store, so Polaroids were the fastest way to get a physical photo. Though there are several other ways to get a physical photo quicker, this is the only one that I have seen that is an actual Polaroid. This also isn’t very portable. It is battery operated and on a full charge has printed all 16 pictures I tried without even dropping one dot. However, this is bulky and the dust cover only rests on top of it. Any movement and the cover comes right off, so kind of hard to carry around without the chance of collecting stuff inside of it. To use the printer at all, you must have the Polaroid Originals app installed on your device. The app provides brief tutorials on how to setup the Polaroid Lab and how to get your photos printed. It is fairly simple and straightforward. When you select the photo you can pinch and slide the photo to get the position of the image you want. On the next screen you can create a single image or a collage from two to nine images in various patterns. On the next step you set the phone on top of the Lab and the touch and light sensors detect the angle and position of the phone. This means you don’t have to sit it perfectly on top every time. You will then hear a tone from your phone, the lights on the front of the LAb stop blinking, you press the red button and in a matter of seconds you have a grey Polaroid image. Now you let it sit and wait for 15 minutes or so for it to develop. Another feature with the Polaroid Originals app is the ability to add augmented reality, such as another picture or 10 second video clip. You can keep it private, meaning only your phone that holds the additional media can view it, or public so that anyone that scans the picture with the app can see it. When made public a bar code will be added to the picture. On a Samsung Note 10+ and a Note 9 I had a difficult time trying to view an AR picture, but on an iPhone XS it picked it up every time, even at a distance. Novel concept, if you don’t mind the bar code. Bottom line is that this is a novel concept and will turn your digital photos into physical retro Polaroids. However, at the price per photo and the fact that 1 in 4 of the photos were damaged on print I can’t recommend this.
Using the photo lab is a true delight. Setup with the app is easy, the function is straightforward, and getting small real life pictures of images you've taken with your phone is rewarding in a way that scrolling through a phone just can't match. The app is easy to set up and straightforward to use, it has fun options for splitting up your pictures into larger "groups" of prints. It doesn't need any strange permissions like so many apps do. There's no"filters" built into the app, as the lab basically prints the picture from your screen, so if you want a fun filter on your picture you need to have saved it that way. If you have a screen protector on your phone or a dirty screen it will transfer on to the picture - if your screen protector is high quality (IE: glass) ... MoreUsing the photo lab is a true delight. Setup with the app is easy, the function is straightforward, and getting small real life pictures of images you've taken with your phone is rewarding in a way that scrolling through a phone just can't match. The app is easy to set up and straightforward to use, it has fun options for splitting up your pictures into larger "groups" of prints. It doesn't need any strange permissions like so many apps do. There's no"filters" built into the app, as the lab basically prints the picture from your screen, so if you want a fun filter on your picture you need to have saved it that way. If you have a screen protector on your phone or a dirty screen it will transfer on to the picture - if your screen protector is high quality (IE: glass) and clean, it wont matter as we left our screen protector installed and made sure it was clean and the pictures look great. The manual leaves something to be desired as it took a while to figure out how to load the film and turn off the lab, and for the audience that this is aimed at, they will likely have never used a 'classic' polaroid camera before. A couple of minor gripes: It uses MicroUSB to charge, in this world of USB Type-C I dont know why anything has micro USB anymore Turning off the lab was not straight forward (you have to push down on the whole top unit, the power button in turn pops the top upward for use) The film is a little on the pricey side The lab has a way to split your picture into 9 parts for artistic purposes, however the film packs come in packs of 8, so you'd need to reload film while printing pictures If taken for what it is, it is really fun, but that's what it is, this is purely for fun and not a photographer's piece. It's great for the right audience.
Review Summary: The lab is a bit of a niche product, but one that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It is dead easy to set-up, the app is responsive and intuitive, and the polaroid quality is generally very good, albeit sometimes inconsistent. The actual act of taking a photo of your photograph on your phone takes some additional preparation in order to get the best photo quality possible, but once set-up, is quick and easy to do. If you are an individual looking to dip your toes into analog printing, but don’t want to buy a dedicated polaroid camera, this device is a great start. Set-up: The set-up process with the lab is pleasantly simple and straight-forward. The lab comes packaged in a box with instructions, a user manual, and a USB charging cable to ... MoreReview Summary: The lab is a bit of a niche product, but one that accomplishes exactly what it sets out to do. It is dead easy to set-up, the app is responsive and intuitive, and the polaroid quality is generally very good, albeit sometimes inconsistent. The actual act of taking a photo of your photograph on your phone takes some additional preparation in order to get the best photo quality possible, but once set-up, is quick and easy to do. If you are an individual looking to dip your toes into analog printing, but don’t want to buy a dedicated polaroid camera, this device is a great start. Set-up: The set-up process with the lab is pleasantly simple and straight-forward. The lab comes packaged in a box with instructions, a user manual, and a USB charging cable to keep the lab charged. The lab itself is made primarily of a plastic material that feels sturdy and comes with a cover for the camera lens. On the lab are LED indicators which indicate the status of the lab, as well as the number of polaroids you have left in the print tray. Other than that, there is a power button on the side of the lab which extends the lens platform into the “ready” position, and a button on the lab which you use to process your polaroids. The bottom of the lab drops down where you can load in your polaroid prints for processing. In order to use the lab, you’ll need to install the Polaroid Originals mobile app which is clean, simple, and easy to navigate. The app itself contains a few short tutorial videos on how to use the lab, and also allows you to adjust the exposure and color of the image on your phone. This customization is designed to help you tune the picture to how you would like it to look printed, although this can prove a bit difficult to achieve consistently (more on this later). In the app, you can select the image you want to print, and decide if you would like to print it as a single polaroid, or break the image up into a collage among multiple polaroid prints (up to 9). Performance: Overall, the lab performs very well based on what it sets out to do, which is create physical polaroid prints from your digital photo collection. It is important to understand going in that these photos are not going to come out looking bright and detailed like they will appear on a digital screen, or if printed in a traditional digital fashion on quality photo paper. Instead, you’ll notice that the polaroids will tend to skew towards darker colors, with certain fine details being lost and a warmer “vintage” appearance to the print which will appeal heavily to your nostalgia factor. This being said, I had a complete blast finding some of my favorite photographs on my phone and seeing them translated to analog prints. I love mobile photography, and my Google Pixel takes amazing photos, so to see those photos translated onto polaroid prints was very fun to experience. The photos themselves take about 10-15 minutes to develop depending on if they are color or black and white, and should be kept in the dark, but it was always fun to flip the photo over finally and see how the picture turned out. I was very pleased with the quality of the photographs, and despite them not quite being to the level you would expect from a dedicated polaroid camera, most people are likely to never notice the difference. Overall, the lab does a very solid job of creating genuinely good looking polaroids from a digital source. This all being said, there are a few caveats with this product worth mentioning. Firstly, the lab works by taking a photograph of the photograph on your phone. It works by you placing your phone on the platform above the camera lens (the lab will beep and blink until your phone is properly aligned on the platform) and then taking a photo of your phone screen with the photograph displayed on it. This is probably the most unintuitive part of the lab, and while it generally works well, it can’t help but feel a little makeshift in the age of downloading and printing photos on a printer. This being said, it is not a complicated process, and after the first few times, it is easy to get used to. However, my biggest issue with this process is the fact that the quality of the polaroids is tied directly to the quality of your screen. Before using the lab, you need to turn your brightness up and make sure any color filters, such as night light, are turned off. This ensures your screen is as clear as possible for the photograph to take place. However, you also need to make sure you clean your screen free of smudges or oils which could show up in the photograph. The app recommends removing your phone case and/or screen protector, however this may not always be possible, and so it is important to try and keep your screen as clear as possible. I would imagine this product would not work well for individuals with cracked or damaged screens. All of this together adds up to a minor, but still noticeable level of inconvenience that, while it didn’t bother me too much, may affect others more who have poorer quality phones. Finally, the only other complaint I can level against the lab is the consistency of the photo quality. As I alluded to at the start of this section, this device is not for those looking to create consistent, highest-quality polaroid photographs, due to the fact that information is lost in the digital to analog conversion process. For those individuals, a dedicated polaroid camera would likely be a better solution. However, even knowing this, the photo quality of the printed polaroids tends to vary noticeably (but not drastically) from photo to photo. I struggled to maintain a consistent image quality between photographs, and while none of them looked bad by any means, it can be difficult to dial-in and predict exactly how your photos will look prior to your printing of them. For me this was part of the fun, but for those looking to create consistent image tone prints, you may find the quality inconsistencies more challenging. Overall though, the lab far exceeded the quality expectations I had set, and always produced great results. Conclusion: This is not a product for everyone. It does tend to have a niche appeal, given the technological innovations which have allowed the move from analog to digital photography to occur in recent years. However, for those looking to get the best of both worlds in the form of taking your digital collections and creating analog polaroid prints from them, I have to say I don’t think you will be disappointed. This lab accomplished exactly what it sets out to do, and does so in an intuitive and easy to use manner. The app is well thought out, and the prints, while not always perfect, always looked great. I have been looking to create new decorations to hang in my house, and I fully intend to use the lab to create some interesting polaroid collages to display.
Polaroid in the world of photography is in a class of its own. In recent years Polaroid has been pretty successful in getting their fans interested in their products. The Polaroid Lab is something that I suppose would appeal to Polaroid fans. This gadget enables you to produce polaroid pictures in an instant right from your smartphone. I use Galaxy Note 10 Plus and the android app as my setup. Aside of the manual and quick start guide, the app would also guide you to the whole initial set up process. There’s even an introductory video that you can play from the app just so that you could begin to print pictures right away. Polaroid Lab runs on rechargeable battery and it takes a snap to print picture. The printer uses print cartridge that holds a capacity of 8 films ... MorePolaroid in the world of photography is in a class of its own. In recent years Polaroid has been pretty successful in getting their fans interested in their products. The Polaroid Lab is something that I suppose would appeal to Polaroid fans. This gadget enables you to produce polaroid pictures in an instant right from your smartphone. I use Galaxy Note 10 Plus and the android app as my setup. Aside of the manual and quick start guide, the app would also guide you to the whole initial set up process. There’s even an introductory video that you can play from the app just so that you could begin to print pictures right away. Polaroid Lab runs on rechargeable battery and it takes a snap to print picture. The printer uses print cartridge that holds a capacity of 8 films so you don’t have to load the film everytime you want to print. The thing that I don’t really like is that Polaroid film takes about 10-15 minutes to develop. I was using the Color 600 film and initial print result was somewhat an overly exposed picture. This is not the printer’s fault. High end mobile phones have adaptive brightness feature and the app made the correct suggestion to turn off this feature. You may also want to fiddle with the exposure and color correction option from the app to tune the print result. If you are a fan of Polaroid product, this would be a great product for you to print any picture right from your phone without the hassle of transfering the file. The print result is Polaroid in all its color and glory of the format. As a matter of personal preference, I also do not really like the color of the prints coming from the Color 600 film, which I suppose would appeal more to Polaroid fans. The color that the printer produces with the Color 600 film is somewhat vintagely looking. If only that the photo would take a few minutes to develop. But hey, it’s Polaroid.
| Compatible File Formats | Polaroid 600, Polaroid Originals i-Type |
| Lens | 3 Elements, 3 Groups AR-Coated Acrylic |
| Battery | Rechargeable Lithium-Ion 1100 mAh, 3.7 V, 4.07 Wh |
| Operating Temperature | 40-108°F / 4-42°C |
| Operating Humidity | 5-90% |
