Thanks to the wonders of Google Reader, a review of the Polaroid PoGo portable printer came across my monitor this afternoon, courtesy of the Digital Photography School feed.  I’d never heard of the PoGo.  Frankly I haven’t given Polaroid any attention at all after they stopped making their classic instant film (which is a real shame, since Polaroids helped define an entire era of photography).

Polaroid PoGo Instant Mobile Printer

The premise is simple, and one that various companies have toyed with over the past few years: how to make a small, inexpensive, mess-free photo printer that photographers can carry with them.  The results have likewise been varied, everything from 4×6 printing ink jets to micro-thermal printers.

The PoGo is the newcomer in the latter line.  It is a micro-sized, inkless, battery-powered printer barely bigger than many P&S cameras.  The whole unit is built around Polaroid’s ZINK paper (stands for Zero Ink), which has dye crystals embedded within it.  The printer spits out 2×3 inch prints that are dry to the touch, water and tear resistant, and sticky-backed (if you peel off the covering).

Best of all, it prints directly from the camera; connect the printer and camera via USB, select the photo on the camera, and print.  Of course, a Pict-Bridge enabled camera is required, but these days that’s pretty much all of them.

Very, very cool.  Certainly on a gadget level, but also on the level of the traveling photog who wants to be able to give out some sort of print on location.  One of the primary complaints against the PoGo is the small photo size; granted, 2×3 inches is quite small – think credit card size – but in my opinion it’s still better than nothing.  And the small size of the unit makes it highly portable.  I’m thinking, stick it in my photo vest pocket, hook the USB to the camera when it’s still around my neck, and print away.

The other complaints are image quality and battery life.  Reviews are mixed, but it seems that less than ideal images result in less than ideal prints (imagine that).  It also seems that the battery is only good for about 10 prints, which does make the whole print-from-my-pocket idea less practical.  Plugged into the wall, however, and all’s well again.

So of course I hit the web and ordered one from Walmart.  $63 shipped, and comes with an extra 80 sheets of ZINK paper for free.  Hopefully it will be here before the weekend!