Instaprint Mixes Instagram, Polaroids and Printers

via Hyperallergic

LOS ANGELES — The Polaroid is dead. Long live the Polaroid. They used to be a staple at any gathering, and then one day, they weren’t. Those tangible remembrances of fine times had soon turned into cell phone camera snaps and then Facebook and Flickr albums. And now they’re Instagram pictures.

Enter Instaprint, a new Kickstarter project which aims to bring back something like the Polaroid, with a physical document of your photos.

Instaprint is a location based photo booth that can transform parties and events by putting a camera in everyone’s hand. By setting Instaprint to look out for specific locations or hashtags, any Instagram tagged appropriately will automatically be printed out on inkless paper. Get one for your next party, event, wedding, fiesta or anything you like.

Unlike Instagram, which is free, Instaprint has a hefty starting price of $399. Which is why Breakfast studio is aiming to raise $500,000 on Kickstarter to launch the product. They also have a live feed of an actual Instaprint that will take your photos and print them, showing just how easy it is once it’s set up.

I could see this being most fun when implemented at a gallery opening or afterparty. On weekends, I’m already transported to a half dozen parties around the world thanks to Instagram. It’s great to see a product that makes photos local again and gives us something tangible to take away.

So far, the Instaprint Kickstarter project has raised $155,000 of its $500,000 goal with 39 days to go. You can see this project, along with others on Hyperallergic’s Kickstarter page.