The Polaroid Lab transforms any digital image on your smartphone into a Polaroid photo in an instant. The Lab is not a printer, nor a scanner; it exposes the digital image on your phone using light from the phone display to make a new picture using 100% real Polaroid chemistry.
The Polaroid Lab works together with your smartphone and the Polaroid app. When the smartphone is placed on the Lab, your digital image is projected onto the instant film by a high-quality 3-lens system. The app controls the exposure time.
Read more about device compatibility with the Polaroid Lab.
During the exposure, the shutter located under the lens of the Polaroid Lab is opened by the app to allow light to be projected onto the film. The image reaches the transparent film cover sheet, creating a latent image on the silver halide emulsion in the negative.
Once the shutter is closed, the image is ejected from the Polaroid Lab using the red button. As it exits the Polaroid Lab, the film passes between its rollers, rupturing the pod within the border of the film. The pod contains a reagent that is squeezed and evenly spread between the negative and transparent cover sheet.
Once out of the Polaroid Lab, the exposed photo starts to develop; essentially the same chemical process as conventional wet-process photographic development. The difference with instant print film is that the chemical process all happens with a single solution, automatically.
Read more about Polaroid films.
After a few minutes, you will have a real Polaroid picture in the palm of your hand. Don’t forget to share it using #polaroid.
Looking to buy a Polaroid Lab? Go to our online shop.