In February 2008 Polaroid announced it would cease production of all instant film. A very sad day for many who love and cherish the ageing analogue format. But not all is lost, as from the middle of 2010 the Impossible Project will start producing film compatible with existences and brand new Polaroid cameras.

The Pogo
In the mean time, Polaroid have released the Pogo Printer to meet all your instant needs. It’s been out for a while now and I loved the idea of having a portable printer with me at all time. When it was released, it cost £99 which is far over priced in my mind. You can now get it from Misco for the jaw dropping £19, It would make a perfect Christmas or Birthday present for someone.

The tiny Polaroid PoGo printer fits in your palm, and the included rechargeable battery handles about 15 prints on a single charge. It can print directly from Bluetooth enabled phones & computers. At the moment, it can’t print from the iPhone because as Apple does not currently have a Bluetooth transfer capability on the iPhone. The Pogo can also connects to PictBridge-enabled cameras via USB.

The Prints
The Pogo holds 10 sheets of 2″ x 3″, sticky-backed ZINK Paper at one time. A pack of 70 sheets costs about £11 from various online retailers.

I wasn’t entirely sure how the Zink paper works, for all I knew, it is created by Harry and his chums down at Hogwatts. In case you want to know, I pulled the info off Poloroid’s website.

The quality isn’t going to be the same as modern ink printers and don’t think it’s going to have the same attributes as the old Polaroid film, but it does have it’s own qualities (Think low-fi for the digital age).
Prints taken from my mobile turned out satisfactory and from my Olympus EP-1 I was pleasantly surprised how well the little credit card size print turned out.

The only disappointment I have with the Pogo is printing in B&W. I seem to get a heavy magenta cast over the photo.

The Verdict
I think it’s brilliant little device, i love the fact it cheap to run and very portable. I always take an instant camera with me when I go travelling, I like handing out prints to people who I’ve taken photos as a thank you. The Pogo would cut back on cost and space and I shall be definitely be taking it on my next big adventure.
The sticky backs are a great idea too, It means I can stick them straight in to my Moleskine Journal on the go and have a permanent record.
I don’t think it was worth the £99 it retailed for at the start of the year. But for £20 you really can’t go wrong, buy one and I bet you’ll get as addicted as me.

Well done Polaroid, I love it, you’ve got me hooked.