News 

Polaroid, synonymous with instant photos since the 40s, is the first company to release a ZINK technology printer. The Instant Mobile Printer is only large enough to produce 3x2in photos, which take just under a minute to print. The printer itself is tiny, measuring just 120x72x23.5mm - little bigger than a compact digital camera. It's powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery and can be connected to a camera via USB or print photos sent from a Bluetooth camera phone.

Although small, the photos compared well with prints from the best inkjet

ADVERTISEMENT

and dye-sub printers in our recent compact photo printer labs. When we magnified the images, we noticed that edges between areas of different colour looked fuzzy and at times bled into each other, but the level of detail was generally excellent, particularly in intricately patterned areas. Our first impression was that some shades looked slightly dull, but we were particularly impressed by the quality of black tones, which were deeper and more convincing than we expected from composite black (made by combining cyan, magenta, and yellow shades).

The price is also pretty persuasive. The Polaroid Instant Mobile Printer is set to come out in the UK in time for summer, and will cost just £99. ZINK paper will cost £3 for 10 sheets and £7 for 30.

Polaroid ceased production of film for their instant cameras in February to move entirely into digital products. No firm release dates have been set, but with plans to release larger-format printers using ZINK technology, Polaroid could have a chance to reclaim the instant photo printing market.