New Toy



A few days ago I was inspired by Andrea at Indigo Blue (blog) to purchase a
Polaroid Pogo travel printer. This small photo printer is compatible with
digital cameras and cell phones.

This printer requires no ink. The magic is in the photo paper. There are
100 billion dye crystals embedded in the printer paper( PC World July 22, 2008).
Somehow it kinda works like the old Polaroid cameras but their is no shaking the pictures after
printing and there is need to allow for drying time.

The printed picture is small, 2x3 inches. The paper is sold in packs of ten
for around $4.00 and has a sticky backing, just peal the plastic backing off
and you have a sticker.

In a quick search of online stores I couldn't find the Pogo.
 I had hoped to pick one up locally.
I'm thinking maybe they are no longer sold in stores.
I did find lots of Pogos at Amazon and on Ebay. 
Originally they were priced at $150.00,
I found one for $28.00 on Amazon. Considering the mixed reviews
 for the Pogo I've read on-line I would not have taken the chance
and spent  $150 on this product.

Here are a few pictures I printed from my cell phone.
I have a low end cell phone and the camera on it has 3.2 mega pixels.
I have not taken pictures on my cell phone before this and am not tech savy but I figured out how to send a picture from my cell phone
 via Blue Tooth to the printer.


The sun at the top of the picture didn't come out so well but I like the picture quality otherwise.


The picture on the right is of a plant with frost on it's edges. The picture was blurry on my phone too.
One of the major complaits I read online with the Pogo was about streaks in the finished photo.


I did find a review where a woman figured out how to fix the streak problem.
I read about the solution before I ordered my pogo. Of course now I can't find the review.
I think she suggested to use the blue smart sheet that comes with each pack of paper often.
She claims it's dust that causes the streaks. She suggested leaving the printer door open and as the blue sheet is expelled from the printer genitally press down with your fingers to help the cleaning process. She also suggest keeping the blue sheets and using them as weights on top of the white photo paper. Will try to find the review to make sure I got the facts straight.

 The printer was delivered yesterday and
 I have not tried it with my point and shoot digital camera.
My Olympus is a high-end point and shoot. It takes great pictures but I can't stand the time it takes to auto focus. It's a problem with all point and shoots. I bought the Olympus because the size of my Canon makes it hard to lug on trips but waiting for the auto focus on a small camera and missing shots because of it's slowness has left  me with lugging my Canon.

The Pogo has a UBS cord to plug into digital cameras and computers. I read connecting to a computer might be tricky and you may need to contact customer support. I have not tried to print from my Canon SLR yet. My Canon is a D20, which in tech standards is vintage--- 2005. It might be old but it works just fine and I'm happy with it.

Also, the Pogo is NOT COMPATIBLE WITH the APPLE iPhone.
They don't have Blue Tooth.

If you are a serious photographer I wouldn't bother with the Pogo. It's a fun toy. It would be fun at a party or on a vacation. I would not count on the pictures it prints for producing keepsake pictures.
But for art and a travel journal...it could lead to big fun!
I'm thinking with the adhesive backing I'll be using my Pogo prints on mail art.






Comments

  1. Interesting what all they come up with in this electronic age. That could come in very handy.

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  2. Very sweet! My concern would be that if you can't readily find this in the store and they're phasing it ou, will paper still be available and for how long? Or would one have to stock up on paper? :D

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  3. thanks for the review. I've been hearing about these for a while and thinking I might want one. last year I actually hauled my printer/scanner on vacation with me! (short drive with extra room in the car so it's not THAT obsessive). bummer that it's not compatible with the iPhone. still might consider it if it's easy to use with my point and shoot.

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  4. They are pretty sweet. I have seen one in action. I will probably skip it, but it is great for adding photos to journal pages and of course MAIL art. xox

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  5. What a great review on Pogo! I think it's greatest feature is it's novelty and small size of print that's perfect for small scale journals and work. I am glad to be reminded of your mail art swap - it had totally slipped my mind during re-entry back to city life. Do you need my Canadian address?

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  6. Hi,
    Yes you do put the blue card that comes with the printer paper back through the Pogo. It will do this automatically so do not throw the blue paper out. My main reasons for buying was gong n holiday, my sketchbook and ATCs could be a use as well. It is never going to be as good as a full size printer and as you say, it is fun to use.
    I have not heard about it being phased out either but I shall bear that in mind. I have a Canon SLR D40 but I have not tried it with the Pogo yet.
    Have fun with it.
    xx

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  7. Looks like a great new toy! I like these pics. Can't wait to see what you do with it.

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  8. I think this is awesome! You take great photos and having them tangible is really awesome! Looking forward to seeing those journal pages!!!!

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