Instant photo printers are nothing new. But LifePrint isn’t your average Bluetooth printer. Taking a healthy dose of inspiration from the newspapers depicted in Harry Potter, LifePrint brings to life your still images using an accompanying app and augmented reality.
Initially funded via a very successful IndieGoGo campaign, LifePrint is now available to purchase, exclusively through Apple’s online and retail stores.
Similar to other pocket printers, LifePrint connects to your smartphone (through Bluetooth, instead of Wi-Fi) and lets you immediately print out an image of your choosing on self-adhesive ZINK Paper. Like ZINK printers from Polaroid or LG, heat is applied to the paper – not ink – to develop it. While the print method is the same, what sets LifePrint apart from the competition is its “Augmented Reality Hyperphotos” technology and integrated social network.
When a still image is printed using LifePrint, the print is only half of the experience. Using the dedicated LifePrint app, you can make any still image come to life by attaching a video, animated GIF, Live Photo, Snapchat filter, and more. After the image is printed, you and your friends can hold the still image up to your smartphone’s camera and watch the moment come to life as the accompanying content is overlaid on the print. Printed photos have a LifePrint watermark to indicate there’s an augmented surprise hidden in it.
“Lifeprint was born to bridge the gap between the incredible digital qualities of iPhone photography with the immeasurable emotional value of real analog photos,” says co-founder Robert Macauley.
In addition to the augmented reality experience, LifePrint is also a social network of sorts. Using the dedicated app, you can send Augmented Reality Hyperphotos to friends, who can print them out on their LifePrint photos and experience the moment wherever they are, be it down the street or across the world.
The LifePrint printer is available starting today for $130. LifePrint film will cost $20 for a pack of 30 prints or $50 for a pack of 110 prints. The printer and app will initially be exclusive to iOS devices, but once the exclusivity ends, Android support is expected.
