[HN Gopher] Poor Man's Polaroid
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Poor Man's Polaroid
Author : ZacnyLos
Score : 191 points
Date : 2026-03-05 07:44 UTC (15 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (boxart.lt)
(TXT) w3m dump (boxart.lt)
| ivanvoid wrote:
| this is a great idea and wonderful execution, inspiring
| others(me) to build one!
| qwertox wrote:
| The use of thermal paper was surprising. Great idea, indeed.
| ashdnazg wrote:
| 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.
| h2zizzle wrote:
| Hey, I enjoyed reading about the spausdintuvu and power banko.
| projektfu wrote:
| 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"
| slysnuk wrote:
| One should know that thermopaper contains Bisphenol A aka BPA.
| mwidell wrote:
| You can buy phenol-free thermopaper if you are concerned
| echoangle wrote:
| Is there a way to actually verify that? I still don't trust
| that just because it says it on the label.
| ninalanyon wrote:
| Is it free of all phenols or just free of Bisphenol A? I ask
| because there are very similar Bisphenols (S and F) that are
| at least suspected of being just as bad as BPA and they are
| not banned or limited by REACH Annex XVII.
| igniuss wrote:
| 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.
| VladVladikoff wrote:
| I thought that it was just replaced with similar molecules
| such as BPS, which has been shown to have equally bad
| effects.
| retired wrote:
| I'm fairly certain that a large percentage of people who buy
| thermal printer for fun do so from China, which has no
| regulations on thermal paper.
| mwidell wrote:
| Fun project. But if you just want the end result, you can buy one
| of these thermopaper toy cameras on Amazon for like $20.
| detritus wrote:
| 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. PS25 ours cost.
| sen wrote:
| One of my kids just got a $13 "smart watch" which has a touch
| screen, camera with filters/editor, microSD storage, plays
| MP3s, records voice memos, has games, and more I'm probably
| forgetting.
|
| It absolutely blows my mind how cheap tech is these days.
| baxtr wrote:
| 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.
| voidUpdate wrote:
| Polaroid film costs about 1 euro for them, and a thermal image
| costs about 1 cent. After enough photos, it cancels out
| numberwhun wrote:
| Sure, but what about other costs. You can pick up a poloroid
| for about $50-75 on ebay. With this one, you will need to buy
| things like a 3D printer (and the necessary accessories, like
| filament), the rasperry pi, battery pack, printer, etc. Yes,
| the thermal paper is cheaper over all, but the cost will be a
| lot more up front, even if it work out over time. Don't get
| me wrong, this is a cool toy, but the title is definitely a
| bit off.
| IsTom wrote:
| There's plenty of services that 3D print for you.
| voidUpdate wrote:
| This comment is sponsored by JLCPCB
| y-curious wrote:
| While I did just buy a 3D printer, I want to enlighten the
| community: many public libraries now have maker spaces. I
| recommend checking those out if you want to do one off
| stuff
| voidUpdate wrote:
| The printer is about 20 euro, raspberry pi zero is
| currently 10 euro, pi zero camera is 14 euro. I don't know
| how much 3d printing services cost, since i have my own
| printer. Powerbank depends on which powerbank you choose.
| Cost difference is probably less than you'd expect
| felixr wrote:
| You can buy a camera with an integrated thermal printer for
| 20$ or even less.
| qsera wrote:
| This is already available on online shops.
| thih9 wrote:
| 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.
| voidUpdate wrote:
| Reminds me a lot of
| https://mitxela.com/projects/thermal_paper_polaroid
| cluckindan wrote:
| Too bad the thermal prints may not last very long.
| Gravityloss wrote:
| 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...
| igniuss wrote:
| 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.
| conception wrote:
| From my understanding, BPA was just replaced either a similar
| chemicals https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S
| 259018262...
|
| If the law calls out BPA exclusively and not a more general
| description, it's just a false sense of safety.
| ninalanyon wrote:
| Yes it specifically limits the sale and use of Bisphenol A.
| The obvious alternatives Bisphenol S and Bisphenol F are
| not mentioned.
|
| https://reach-info.ineris.fr/sites/snar-
| reach/files/pdf/anne...
| VladVladikoff wrote:
| 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.
| alistairSH wrote:
| Fuji Instax Mini is probably the closest you'll get right
| now. But, the film isn't exactly cheap.
| vanderZwan wrote:
| This brand claims to be fully recyclable:
|
| https://www.koehlerpaper.com/en/products/Thermal-paper/TH_Bl...
|
| It supposedly works by using a layer of reflective bubbles that
| collapses when exposed to heat:
|
| https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pc1mlCThevg&t=20s
|
| Of course, I don't know how those bubbles are made or how they
| are made to collapse from heat, so for all I know that layer
| still uses chemicals that currently slip through regulations.
| But I can also imagine that it is doable to create such a
| "functional layer" with safe materials.
| buccal wrote:
| One shop network used blue paper here but changed to white
| some time ago.
|
| Contrast was not great but I guess the price was the reason
| for the change.
| thomascountz wrote:
| Here seems to be some examples of printed images on Blue4est
| paper[1].
|
| [1]: https://thermalprintcameras.wordpress.com/blue4est-
| paper/
| huhtenberg wrote:
| 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
| $X/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.
| rahkiin wrote:
| The whole 'shoot with thinking' is one of the values to me. On
| top of, of course, the direct printing.
| aflinik wrote:
| 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.
| putna wrote:
| Sveikinimai lietuviskam projektui HN pirmam puslapy ;) dziugu
| geras projektas
| nyan-left wrote:
| Retas LT W :D
| roadsidejesus wrote:
| Aciu, gerbiamieji:)
| filcuk wrote:
| 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 PS15
| FpUser wrote:
| There are actually cheap pocketable good quality bluetooth photo
| printers one can buy.
| PaulHoule wrote:
| (1) So many people have told me they thought Polaroid film was
| crazy expensive
|
| (2) There are the BPA concerns other people talk about but
| thermal prints don't age well at all. I made some prints of
| Pokemon characters about 5 years ago like this one
|
| https://safebooru.org/index.php?page=post&s=view&id=1821741
|
| and these are barely legible now. (Pokemon sample art is designed
| on the assumption that their art is going to be viewed on
| horrible screens, I'm going to argue that Lusamine respects Ansel
| Adams' "Zone Theory" really well which makes it work great as a
| thermal print)
| thomascountz wrote:
| Obligatory "be careful with that poisonous paper" warning[1]
|
| [1]:
| https://hn.algolia.com/?dateRange=all&page=0&prefix=false&qu...
| roadsidejesus wrote:
| I made this thing, appreciate the attention and kind words, to
| answer some questions/concerns:
|
| - Paper is BPA free, got it from here
| https://www.amazon.de/dp/B0932QVYBQ
|
| - Photos do have a lifetime, although no idea how long, the ones
| I have for a while seem to do better than the average store
| receipt
|
| - It's not really _poor man's_ polaroid, but as someone else
| mentioned, price difference is not that big, while a single photo
| is a LOT cheaper
|
| And there's a permalink for english language, in case OP or
| someone else can update it -
| https://boxart.lt/en/blog/poor_mans_polaroid
| f1shy wrote:
| > Paper is BPA free, got it from here
|
| For those as paranoid as myself:
|
| Common BPA substitutes, often used in "BPA-free" products,
| include Bisphenol S (BPS), Bisphenol F (BPF), Bisphenol AF
| (BPAF), and Bisphenol Z (BPZ). While marketed as safer
| alternatives, these analogs often share similar endocrine-
| disrupting properties and structural similarities to BPA,
| raising concerns about "regrettable substitution".
|
| I don't let my kids come in contact with anything "BPA Free"
| and we avoid plastics as much as possible.
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(page generated 2026-03-05 23:00 UTC)