With every passing year, it becomes more apparent that one of paper’s primary functions in the 21st century is to rescue art, thoughts and images from digital obscurity. The new Impossible Instant Lab – a device that transforms your iPhone images into actual Polaroid photographs – is a wonderful example of that philosophy.
Funded off of a successful Kickstarter campaign, the Impossible Instant Lab does away with connecting your phone to a printer via Bluetooth or cable, and instead rests it on a sort of lightbox, essentially taking a real Polaroid photograph of your phone’s screen. A free app even adjusts your screen’s brightness and color-balance settings to ensure the perfect reproduction.
While a tad on the pricey side at $299 (plus $22 for color of black and white film for making 8 photos), the Impossible Instant Lab is an appealing blend of traditional home photo processing and modern convenience. It also carries with it the sense of being an invention that makes this world a slightly better – if more expensive – place.
