Insert Coin: Impossible Instant Lab makes iPhone photos tangible

_In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you'd like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with "Insert Coin" as the subject line._

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Going back to a physical medium isn't just for [vinyl](http://www.engadget.com/tag/vinyl,record) lovers. The Impossible Project (TIP) wants to make our iPhone photos equally concrete through its extra-simple Impossible Instant Lab. Don't worry about setting up [AirPrint](http://www.engadget.com/tag/AirPrint/) or otherwise jumping through software hoops: the Lab captures the screen and prints it to [Polaroid](http://www.engadget.com/tag/Polaroid/)-compatible instant film as a keepsake. The design is even collapsible and battery-powered in the event you'd like to hand out hard copies on the spot. It's no hobbyist effort, either, with a Leica designer and a former Polaroid factory both involved in making the Lab a reality. TIP is planning to move beyond its initial iPhone 4 and 4S support to include [future iPhones](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/04/apple-announces-presumed-iphone-5-launch-event-for-september-12t/) and, if all goes well, more commonplace Android hardware.

Investing in this [Kickstarter](http://www.engadget.com/tag/Kickstarter/) project sidesteps novelties like t-shirts in favor of the real product -- and provides a very strong incentive to buy early. Backers quick on the trigger can pay as little as $149 for a Lab with a voucher for free film, or about half the $299 retail price. Pay the full cost and you'll get a special black version with an extra voucher, while $2,000 will provide both a gold edition and a trip to the ex-Polaroid factory in Enschede, The Netherlands. Cameras could be in retro photographers' hands as soon as February, but only if TIP reaches its $250,000 funding goal by October 8th. If your parents would like a little more than a Facebook photo gallery as a souvenir, or [Instagram](http://www.engadget.com/tag/Instagram/) just isn't nostalgic enough, you can hit the source link to show support and make the Instant Lab real.

[Continue reading _Insert Coin: Impossible Instant Lab makes iPhone photos tangible_](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/10/insert-coin-impossible-instant-lab-makes-iphone-photos-tangible/)

Filed under: [Cellphones](http://www.engadget.com/category/cellphones/), [Cameras](http://www.engadget.com/category/cameras/)

[Insert Coin: Impossible Instant Lab makes iPhone photos tangible](http://www.engadget.com/2012/09/10/insert-coin-impossible-instant-lab-makes-iphone-photos-tangible/) originally appeared on [Engadget](http://www.engadget.com) on Mon, 10 Sep 2012 15:59:00 EDT. Please see our [terms for use of feeds](http://www.weblogsinc.com/feed-terms/).

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