polaroid

The success of The Impossible Project has shown that demand for the nostalgia of capturing memories via instant photography is strong. Years ago we mourned Polaroid's decision to stop producing instant film and cameras, but today's announcement that the Z340 Instant Digital Camera is finally available promises to breathe new digital life into one of our favorite mediums.

Polaroid's Z340 Instant Digital Camera ($300) integrates a 14MP digital camera with a ZINK-enabled printer directly in one gadget. The printer uses classic Polaroid-size three-inch by four-inch paper with ZINK's ink-free technology, which embeds the paper with cyan, yellow, and magenta dye crystals. The paper looks like normal white photo paper before printing, but the heat of the camera causes the crystals to activate and print the captured image. Within the camera itself you can choose to print using the basic Polaroid border or download additional photo borders.

The digital aspects of the Z340 include the 2.7-inch LCD screen and the auto saving of photos to the included SD card. Settings can be configured to automatically print each image as it's taken, or store pictures in the camera and wait to print until just the right frame is captured. Use the LCD screen for in-camera editing and cropping before storing or printing photos. Thirty sheet refills of the ZINK three-inch by four-inch paper are $20, a relative bargain considering old Polaroid film packs cost the same for much fewer prints.

January's CES brought Lady Gaga's Grey Label to fruition, as she announced a number of Polaroid products that would be available for purchase this year. First up is the Polaroid GL 10 portable printer, which is now up for preorder on the Polaroid site for $170.

Hitting virtual shelves in June, this Bluetooth-compatible printer will print pics wirelessly from most mobile phones, and connects to PCs and digital cameras via USB. The good news is, the printer is small (weighing 15 ounces), and spits out Polaroid-like, 3-x-4-inch photos in about 45 seconds. Mother Monster says that you'll take this with you wherever you go, but I'm not so sure photo geeks will want to tote yet another gadget in their bags. I'm more likely to use it for house parties, a la the Instaprint.

You love your Instagram pics, but there's nothing like an old-school Polaroid to add an analog touch to your photography. If you were lucky enough to snap up a Polaroid 600 camera when they were cheap (now prices are well above $100), you can put it to good use with the latest offering from the Impossible Project. Called Color Shade PX680, this film produces amazing colors when used properly.

You should know by now that the old saying "shake it like a Polaroid picture" is a myth. In fact, this film should be shielded from light for at least four minutes after ejected, and left to develop on its own without the aid of shaking. It's a sensitive kind of film, but when developed (and it could keep changing for days after development) it produces fantastically retro images like the ones you see above. Each pack of eight shots will cost you $22, but is a fun buy for photo aficionados.

I love using Instagram, mostly because it can turn ordinary images into something accidentally awesome. But there are those times I wish I could easily print my images, without needing to email or send to a printing service. Enter Instaprint — a photo printer currently being beta tested, which will automatically print your Instagram images when tagged with a specific location or hashtag.

Instaprint will be positioning itself to take over the SXSWi festival in Austin this week, as there will be a select number of parties and events with Instaprint machines set up for attendees to use. If you're interested in seeing how Instaprint works now for yourself, you can watch a live stream of photos being printed at Instaprint.me. Bonus — snap some pics of your own with Instagram and tag them with #Instaprint to see them pop up on screen! Keep your fingers crossed for these babies to be made available to the public soon. I'd love to have one for my next house party — talk about an awesome photo booth!

• Rachel Zoe confirms she is having a baby boy — PopSugar
• "Visionary" Lady Gaga unveils her new Polaroid collection — People
• Alber Elbaz doesn't have email, but his Pre-Fall collection for Lanvin was born from the Internet — The Cut
• Dennis Freedman named Barneys creative director, Simon Doonan bumped to "creative ambassador-at-large" — Stylelist
• Behold: the Viktor & Rolf "It" bag — Nylon Blog
• Happy 1.11.11! Designers share their favorite numbers — Vogue Daily
• Fab looks from the Stella McCartney Autumn collection — FabSugar UK
• Vogue.com celebrates its 15th anniversary — Vogue UK
• Watch Karl Lagerfeld's latest Chanel short film, "Window World" — Fashionologie
• Alexander McQueen 3D Leaves Knuckle box clutch — Bag Snob
• Outfits under $100: stylish and comfy travel clothes — College Fashion

The one and only Lady Gaga took to the stage at CES today (in full black wedding garb, no less) to announce three new Polaroid products in partnership with the company's Grey Label project.

When Polaroid named Lady Gaga its creative director last January, we were excited to see what possibilities the two icons could come up with. A full year later, we finally know: camera glasses, a portable photo printer, and a new Polaroid camera.

Learn more about these just-announced products after the break!