Step5 Polaroid Print Holder

I love using my Polaroid Land Cameras. Instant photography is the drug that brought me to shooting film. As much as I enjoy it, there are two problems when shooting peel-apart 100-series Fujifilm (FP-100C Color or FB-3000B Black & White). The first issue is dust and debris that can stick to a freshly peeled image. The micro particles don’t appear on the slightly wet print, but will appear when the image is scanned. The solution is to place the print in an environment so it can dry, dust and hair-free. The second issue with peel-apart film is what to do with the print. When I’m shooting, I’m always looking for a way to keep my photos from being damaged; folded, wrinkled, or sticking to other prints.

The Step5 Polaroid Print Holder is a 3D printed film holder that can store ten Fujifilm instant photos securely. Inside the holder are small groves that allow each print to slide inside. The spacing of the groves prevents prints from touching each other during storage. The print holder is small enough to fit anywhere in a camera bag. And it’s strong enough so prints won’t be crushed or folded.

Pros: The Step5 Print Holder keeps prints protected. Photos are evenly spaced and don’t come in contact with each other. The print holder is 3D printed at high density making the plastic strong and crush-proof. As a bonus, the gray coloring of the holder matches vintage Polaroid accessories. I’m not sure if this was done on purpose, but it works.

Cons: Because the holder is 3D printed, the open end of the holder is rough plastic. I found that I couldn’t insert my prints into the holder smoothly. To resolve this, I took some fine grain sandpaper and inserted it into each grove and that was enough to remove some of the plastic burs. This wouldn’t be an issue if the holder was created using plastic injected molding.

The Step5 Polaroid Print Holder is now available for $30.00 (USD) plus $6 for shipping ($15 international) from PhotOle Photography. They also have a new negative holder for photographers like me that keep our peel-apart negatives for bleaching (color) and scanning. The larger groves provide additional space to keep negatives from sticking to each other. It’s now available for $40.00 (USD) plus $6 for shipping ($15 international).