Yeah I was excited about such a project concept until I saw it was thermal printer. Would love a little Polaroid type camera with inexpensive film for my kids to play with, but I don’t want them playing with thermal paper, kids put literally everything in their mouths.
It's been regulated since 2020 in Europe at least.
> As part of the EU’s REACH Regulation Annex XVII, a restriction banning Bisphenol A (BPA) content in thermal paper above 0.02% by weight came into effect on January 2, 2020. This prohibition was implemented due to health concerns associated with BPA exposure
bpa free thermal paper is pretty easy to source from anywhere now because of this.
Note it's just a 3D printable stand for tiny printer labels (16mm wide). It was a literal 5 minute project but I liked the retro and restrictive aesthetic enough to share..
Such printer as shown is an absolute bargain at £15
Looking at all ready-made options on Amazon and elsewhere - anyone who will roll out an adult-oriented well-made single-button camera that takes in standard thermal paper rolls will make a fortune. This is such a great thing to have for get-togethers and parties. But it's essential to not being bound by $2/shot proprietary cartridges and be able to shoot and snap without thinking. Mementos for everyone!
* ... without thinking of costs involved. $2 per polaroid with half of them not even developing properly is a bit too high for spontaneous photography urges.
I bought such a thing for my daughter and it's great fun but this old codger will never cease to be amazed at how much tech is available for such a small amount of money - the digital camera functions normally, takes video too, the system has basic games and a vivid LCD screen and there's a thermal printer - all in a cute moulded package. £25 ours cost.
> As part of the EU’s REACH Regulation Annex XVII, a restriction banning Bisphenol A (BPA) content in thermal paper above 0.02% by weight came into effect on January 2, 2020. This prohibition was implemented due to health concerns associated with BPA exposure
so unless you're buying old rolls, or from non reputable sources, it shouldn't be an issue in the EU at least.
Do thermal prints still use materials that are endocrine disruptors, I don't know. But something to consider. https://www.eea.europa.eu/en/analysis/publications/human-exp...
Yeah I was excited about such a project concept until I saw it was thermal printer. Would love a little Polaroid type camera with inexpensive film for my kids to play with, but I don’t want them playing with thermal paper, kids put literally everything in their mouths.
Fuji Instax Mini is probably the closest you'll get right now. But, the film isn't exactly cheap.
It's been regulated since 2020 in Europe at least.
> As part of the EU’s REACH Regulation Annex XVII, a restriction banning Bisphenol A (BPA) content in thermal paper above 0.02% by weight came into effect on January 2, 2020. This prohibition was implemented due to health concerns associated with BPA exposure
bpa free thermal paper is pretty easy to source from anywhere now because of this.
Note that this is an existing product category, usually cheap too.
Lots of examples here: https://thermalprintcameras.wordpress.com
Of course one can still want to hack something like this yourself for fun or other reasons.
Nice project!
But this is definitely NOT for a poor man. Poor people buy a $20 camera on Amazon.
A time-rich person can afford this camera.
Polaroid film costs about 1 euro for them, and a thermal image costs about 1 cent. After enough photos, it cancels out
If you're using mobile, there's an "English" button in the menu.
Note to website owner - it could be nice to have a permalink to the English version.
The English seems to be "cleaned up" compared to the English translation.
"I forgot to take a photo before I started humping one of printers"
Hey, I enjoyed reading about the spausdintuvu and power banko.
Funny, it's not two days that I've published what I called 'we have Polaroid at home' https://www.printables.com/model/1622259-14mm-label-tape-pic...
Note it's just a 3D printable stand for tiny printer labels (16mm wide). It was a literal 5 minute project but I liked the retro and restrictive aesthetic enough to share..
Such printer as shown is an absolute bargain at £15
Looking at all ready-made options on Amazon and elsewhere - anyone who will roll out an adult-oriented well-made single-button camera that takes in standard thermal paper rolls will make a fortune. This is such a great thing to have for get-togethers and parties. But it's essential to not being bound by $2/shot proprietary cartridges and be able to shoot and snap without thinking. Mementos for everyone!
* ... without thinking of costs involved. $2 per polaroid with half of them not even developing properly is a bit too high for spontaneous photography urges.
The whole ‘shoot with thinking’ is one of the values to me. On top of, of course, the direct printing.
Sveikinimai lietuviskam projektui HN pirmam puslapy ;) dziugu geras projektas
Retas LT W :D
This is a really inspiring project and exactly the type of content I'm looking for on Hacker News.
A bit surprising that so many people in the comments would rather see links to cheap temu polaroid knockoffs.
Reminds me a lot of https://mitxela.com/projects/thermal_paper_polaroid
Fun project. But if you just want the end result, you can buy one of these thermopaper toy cameras on Amazon for like $20.
I bought such a thing for my daughter and it's great fun but this old codger will never cease to be amazed at how much tech is available for such a small amount of money - the digital camera functions normally, takes video too, the system has basic games and a vivid LCD screen and there's a thermal printer - all in a cute moulded package. £25 ours cost.
One should know that thermopaper contains Bisphenol A aka BPA.
Unless you're in Europe.
> As part of the EU’s REACH Regulation Annex XVII, a restriction banning Bisphenol A (BPA) content in thermal paper above 0.02% by weight came into effect on January 2, 2020. This prohibition was implemented due to health concerns associated with BPA exposure
so unless you're buying old rolls, or from non reputable sources, it shouldn't be an issue in the EU at least.
You can buy phenol-free thermopaper if you are concerned
this is a great idea and wonderful execution, inspiring others(me) to build one!
The use of thermal paper was surprising. Great idea, indeed.
Too bad the thermal prints may not last very long.
There are actually cheap pocketable good quality bluetooth photo printers one can buy.
This is already available on online shops.