Over Christmas, I found an old Polaroid 600 camera in my late grandfather’s belongings. With my grandmother’s blessing, I took it home with me, bought a few packs of film, and started rediscovering the joy and fun of instant photography. Of course, I wanted to share some of these pictures on Instagram but my first scanning attempts were all thwarted by dreaded Newton rings (pattern created by the reflection of light between two surfaces; here the film and the scanner glass).
In order to avoid this issue, one can buy dedicated scan holders for Polaroid film but quality ones are all discontinued and often difficult to find online. There are several DIY solutions online but they often rely on the use of double-sided tape or repositionable glue which often leave nasty marks on the back of the film. In the end, I decided that I would be better off designing my own solution. So… I present you with my first prototype for a Polaroid 600 film scan holder, freshly 3D printed and successfully tested.
The holder is composed of 2 parts: a bottom plate that holds the film roughly 1mm above the scanner glass; and a top plate that presses lightly on the back of the film to keep it relatively flat. Magnets on the 4 corners of each plate ensure a tight contact between the different parts of the holder. They are not strictly necessary but (1) magnets are awesome so why not using some, (2) they make it easier to transport multiple holders at once without risking one opening by accident, and (3) once you’re done scanning, you can use the holder as a nice magnetic frame for your fridge :-)
This is only a first prototype but I am pretty happy with the results so far. The only drawback of this design is that you cannot scan the border of the film entirely (about 2mm are missing on each side of the picture at the moment, 1mm in the next version that I will print next week). However, I personally do not care much about that.
I would be more than happy to take feedback and suggestions to improve the next iteration of the design!
Reference for optional corner magnets: https://www.mcmaster.com/5862K101