While it’s not entirely gone from the market, instant film holds on mostly as a novelty medium as smartphones have come to dominate the concept of “instant” photography. It’s kind of a bummer. The kitsch appeal of physical instant photographs remains, however, and it’s surprising that no one has managed to get a successful campaign going for a smartphone accessory that could instantly print your digital snaps as physical photos. Prynt is the most serious endeavor to create an instant photo accessory for smartphones.
The French start-up, which is partially based in San Francisco as well, has a wildly popular Kickstarter campaign to get its smartphone case that at time of writing has raised almost $1.4 million. The current models takes 50 seconds to print a photo and holds only one piece of paper at a time, but the start-up plans to release a consumer version that will take fewer than 30 seconds to print and can hold 10-30 sheets of paper. And no need to worry about ink cartridges—the ink is embedded in the paper itself.
Oh, and did we mention the ability to watch video clips with Prynt’s app by viewing a printed photo through your camera lens? When you take a photo with Prynt, it records a short video after the moment you clicked the button for the photo. When you hold up the physical photo to your phone’s camera with the app open,you can play the clip.
You can both take a new picture with the app or select one from your camera roll, Facebook or Instagram. Filters and frames will be introduced in the app as well. The case will only cost $99 when it officially launches later this year. Right now it works with iPhone 5 and iPhone 6 as well as Android Galaxy S4 and S5. A special mount is currently in the works to accommodate larger phones like the iPhone 6 Plus and the Samsung Note 4. Featured photo credit: Photo/Prynt via pryntcases.com
