Worth being straightforward about this, since we sell one of them: what we make is not instant film.
Our prints are the shape and border people recognise, printed as ink on 300 GSM matte card. Nothing develops in your hand. Real instant film — Polaroid-brand or Instax — is a sealed chemical packet that develops in front of you.
They look similar and behave almost nothing alike.
The difference that causes every other difference
Instant film is a chemical reaction, and the reaction does not stop. The developing chemistry continues to react with light, heat and air for the whole life of the picture, which is why instant photographs shift colour and fade over years — and why they are stored in the dark by people who care about them.
A print is ink on card. It is stable. It fades from light exposure over a long time, the way any print does, and it does not have chemistry inside it working against you. How long do printed photos actually last →
What follows
| Instant film | Printed polaroids | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost per picture | Roughly ₹60 to ₹120 a shot | ₹9 |
| You see it before it exists | No. One attempt | Yes. You choose the photograph |
| Reprints | Impossible. It is one object | Order it again any time |
| Quantity | Limited by film packs | 30 to 1,000 |
| Duplicates | Cannot | Twelve copies of one image, if you want |
| Ages | Shifts and fades. Chemistry | Stable. Ink on card |
| Can be laminated | No | Yes, ₹3 a print |
| From an old photo | No. Only what the camera sees now | Yes. Anything on your phone |
When instant film is the better object
When the moment of it is the point. A wedding, a party, a guest book. The camera passed round, the picture handed over wet, somebody writing on it — that is an event, and no printed pack reproduces it.
When you want exactly one of something. The unrepeatability is a genuine feature.
We do not sell that, and if that is what you want, an instant camera is the answer.
When printed is the better object
When the photographs already exist. Anything from your camera roll, from four years ago, from somebody else’s phone. An instant camera can only photograph what is in front of it now.
When you want thirty of them. ₹270 against roughly ₹2,000 of film for the same count.
When it needs to survive. A hostel wall, a care package, a child’s hands. Lamination on polaroid prints →
When getting it right matters. One attempt versus choosing the best of forty.
Using both
They are not really competitors and the honest answer for a lot of occasions is both.
Instant film at the event. The camera passed round, pictures handed over, people writing on the white strip — that is a live thing that happens in a room and nothing printed reproduces it.
Prints afterwards. The instant photographs are single objects, so the moment they are given away they are gone from everyone else. Photographing them, or printing the digital originals, is how forty guests end up with something rather than one person.
At ₹9 a print, printing the good ones from an event afterwards costs less than one more pack of instant film.
On the name
“Polaroid” is a brand, and the format it made famous is now what most people call this shape regardless of who made it. We use the word because it is what people search for and what the object looks like — not because these are Polaroid-brand instant film, which they are not. What a polaroid print pack contains →
Frequently asked
Are these real Polaroids? No. They are prints on matte card in that shape and border. Real instant film is a chemical packet that develops in your hand.
Which lasts longer, instant film or a print? A print. Instant film keeps reacting chemically for its whole life, which is why it shifts colour and why it is stored in the dark.
How much cheaper are printed polaroids? ₹9 a print against roughly ₹60 to ₹120 a shot for instant film.
Can I reprint an instant photo? Not as an instant photo — it is a single object. A printed pack can be reordered any time.
When should I use an instant camera instead? When the moment of taking it is the point — a party, a guest book, a camera passed around.
Part of our guide to polaroid prints. See also: what a polaroid print pack contains and polaroid prints or a photo book.
₹9 a print: Polaroid Pack from ₹270 · Custom polaroid prints