Polaroid makes a comeback in age of digital photography

'Something nostalgic'

"Florian really saw this kind of niche product that would never fade away," says Mark Appleton, head of North American sales for The Impossible Project.

Even Polaroid itself is optimistic about instant photography in the analog form, even though the company discontinued instant film production in 2008.

"We think this category will continue to grow and thrive, and then there will be more products in different formats, different size prints, different types of printing devices - whether they're printers or cameras," says Polaroid CEO Scott Hardy.

A new instant camera licensed under the company name was released last January, with an updated version released in September.

Tom Lewis, who teaches photography at the Kansas City Art Institute, says he is seeing the appeal of instant photography firsthand among a younger generation who is used to digital photos that are somewhat disposable.

Students "seem to be more considered in their approach to the instant film" versus what they do with phone cameras, Lewis says.

Students are framing instant photos as works of art and using them in collages, he says, adding that some "see it in terms of something nostalgic, something they missed out on."