Las Vegas, NV—Polaroid launched the Polaroid Zip mobile printer, which pairs wirelessly to any smartphone or tablet and uses dedicated iOS/Android apps to enable users to instantly print 2×3-inch color photos from their smart devices.
Sporting a high-gloss finish augmented by the Polaroid Color Spectrum logo, the Zip portable printer is approximately the size of a smartphone, weighing .41 pound and measuring 2.91×4.72 inches.
A free app for iOS and Android connects it to mobile devices via Bluetooth 4.0 or NFC. The apps permit users to enhance their prints by applying a range of creative filters, effects and controls. These include: adjustments to brightness, contrast, saturation and tint; 12 color filters, including HDR; a collage mode that lets users feature up to nine images on a print; and the ability to draw in colors using the paint mode, as well as apply frames, stickers, stamps, emojis and animations. There’s also a business card creator that allows users to choose from several templates and add in their image and personal info.
The Polaroid Zip uses ink-free Zero Ink Printing technology developed by ZINK Imaging. The key to the system is ZINK paper, a composite material embedded with cyan, yellow and magenta dye crystals and with a protective polymer overcoat. Before printing, the crystals are colorless, making ZINK paper look like regular white photo paper. The printer uses heat to activate and colorize the crystals to produce full-color, smudgeproof images without ink cartridges, ribbons or toner. A 2×3-inch photo is said to print in just under a minute. And because the ZINK paper is adhesive backed, the photo can be used as a sticker.
The Polaroid Zip mobile printer includes an internal, rechargeable lithium-ion battery that’s capable of printing 25 ZINK photos on a charge. It will be available this spring with an SRP of $129.99. polaroid.com
