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The Jollylook Eye is a Battery-Free Digital to Analog Instant Photo Printer

Jollylook, a small team of photography enthusiasts, launched a short crowdfunding campaign for the Jollylook Eye, a vintage-styled fold-out instant printer that turns digital photos into instant prints.

While a portable printer that uses instant-style film isn’t an original idea, Jollylook is trying something different. Rather than relying on a digital connection between its printer and a smartphone, the Eye uses its own optics to expose the instant film to a smartphone display and print from the result.

Mega-retro Jollylook Eye converts digital photos to instant prints

Six years ago, Ukrainian startup Jollylook brought us a very retro-looking analog camera that produced instant-print photographs.

The company is back again with the similarly old-school Eye, that converts digital photos into instant prints. Looking a bit like something out of an old-time carnival sideshow, the Jollylook Eye features a body made of wood fiber panels accented with plant-based paint. The device is entirely mechanical, so it doesn't require a power source of any kind.

THE JOLLYLOOK EYE IS THE COOLEST INSTAX PRINTER WE’VE SEEN IN YEARS

Smartphone cameras are so good these days that the compact camera is pretty much reduced to the annals of photography history. Everyone reading this probably has a very capable one in their pockets for most of the day. These photos are great to share on social networks and in chat groups, but what happens when you want to quickly make a print of some? That’s where Jollylook Eye steps in with a quirky and fun solution.

The 'Jollylook EYE' Converts and Prints Smartphone Photos

'Jollylook,' a Ukraine-based team of photography and DIY enthusiasts, today launched a Kickstarter campaign for its upcoming 'Jollylook EYE' mobile phone-compatible photo printer.

The Jollylook Eye is touted as a high-quality digital-to-analog converter and printer. While most mobile phone printers simply receive a digital signal from the phone and print the image directly, the Jollylook Eye takes the conversion one step further.

To use the Jollylook EYE, simply open a photo on your smartphone and place the device overtop of your smartphone, adjusting the fasten to meet the size of the phone.

Then, ensure that the Jollylook EYE's lens is positioned properly above the screen. Lastly, press the shutter release and turn the crank until the photo is developed. This could take up to two minutes, but is often quicker.

NEWS: Kickstarter Launched for the Jollylook Eye – A Mechanical Instax Mini Film Photo Printer

Jollylook is launching its 5th Kickstarter campaign today for a new Instax film photo printer! The new Jollylook EYE has much of the same design elements as their other Instax film cameras, but instead of taking a photo, it prints from images stored on your mobile phone.

The new Jollylook EYE uses Instax mini film to mechanically print photos from a smartphone. Simply bring up a photo on your phone, place the EYE on top and engage the shutter release to expose the film. Afterwards, the manual crank level on the EYE will push the film out of the camera. Then, it’s a waiting game of a minute or two before an image starts to appear, et voilà! Fujifilm Instax film is the most consistent, affordable, and available instant film on the market today so there’s no worry of not being able to find it or have room for it in the budget.