The Polaroid Zip is a pocket-sized printer that prints 2×3 inch photos from any smartphone or tablet. The mobile printer is approximately the size of a smartphone. It is 2.91” x 4.72”, just under one inch thick, and weighs less than half a pound (186g). The only physical control is a power button which has been seamlessly integrated into the unit’s boldly simple design.
The Polaroid Zip Instant Photo Printer uses the revolutionary ink-free Zero Ink Printing technology developed by ZINK Imaging. The key to the ink-free system is the patented ZINK Paper, an advanced composite material embedded with cyan, yellow and magenta dye crystals and with a protective polymer overcoat. Before printing, the dye crystals are colorless making ZINK Paper look like regular white photo paper. The ZINK-enabled Printer uses heat to activate and colorize these crystals. The result is full-color, high quality, long-lasting and smudge-proof images without ink cartridges, ribbons or toner.
The 2×3 inch photo prints in just under a minute. Additionally, because ZINK Paper is adhesive backed the photo can be used as a sticker as well. The Polaroid Zip photo printer includes an internal, rechargeable lithium-ion battery that’s capable of printing up to 25 ZINK photos on a single charge.
The Polaroid Zip photo printer features a free app for iOS and Android and connects to mobile devices via Bluetooth 4.0 or NFC. These dedicated apps are full-featured and give users the ability to express their creativity and enhance their prints. Users can capture a photo or select and edit an image from their gallery, applying a wide range of creative filters, effects and controls, including:
- Enhancements to brightness, contrast, saturation and tint as well as 12 color filters including sepia, retro and HDR.
- A collage mode that allows users to feature up to 9 images on one single print.
- The ability to draw in various colors using the paint mode as well as the use of frames, stickers, stamps, emojis and animations make the image distinctive.
- A unique business card creator allows users to choose from several templates and add in their image and personal info for a creative leave behind.
- The option to make edits private and only viewable using the app’s secret view mode. Secret view will print the original photo with an individual QR code that, when scanned, will reveal the final image complete with add-ons and creative effects.
The Polaroid Zip was designed by the renowned design firm Ammunition, which is led by industrial designer Robert Brunner. Ammunition is the design studio behind many award-winning consumer products such as the wildly popular Polaroid Cube, the Beats by Dr. Dre line of headphones and speakers, and the Square Stand from Square.
Price and Availability
The Polaroid Zip photo printer is currently available for pre-order for $129.99 in the US at Photojojo.com, bhphotovideo.com, and internationally on Amazon. It will begin shipping May 1, 2015.
