Got an instant camera? This product could save your Instax and Polaroid photos from deteriorating over time

So, you've shelled out your money on one of the best instant cameras – but no matter how good your shots, unlike digital images, your physical photographs will deteriorate over time.

But Ashisei, a manufacturer of film preservation products, unveiled a new solution at CP+ 2026 to help protect Instax and Polaroid prints from discoloration and warping due to the effects of age and atmospherics.

After a brief period of exclusivity at Amazon, the catchily-named Siglo Instant Film Deterioration Prevention Agent has gone on sale at retailers across Japan – and I suspect may make its way overseas before long.

For ¥1,100 (approximately $7 / £5 / AU$10) you get a pack containing 4 sachets of mixed polymer, good for 20 sheets of instant film. This protective agent rapidly dehumidifies your photographs and offers long-lasting humidity control.

Ashisei showed off some samples of Instax Mini prints stored in different conditions, both with and without the Siglo agent, to demonstrate things like 365 days of ageing, 21 days sat on a car dashboard, the effects of 122°F / 50°C and 70% humidity and so on.

The effects were quite pronounced, with the Siglo-treated photographs exhibiting far less physical warping to the print itself as well as far less fading to the colors.

The below graph illustrates the change in color difference for the CMYW tones with (the left of each pair of color bars) and without (the right bar) the Siglo treatment.

As you can see, magenta and cyan fade rapidly without the chemical protection. While yellow and white don't deteriorate as much individually, they are mixed to express other colors – so Ashisei says that the overall image is still likely to fade without being treated.

As somebody who still has boxes of 40-year-old Polaroids from my childhood, I can assure you that instant prints really do fade and deterioriate. Storing photos in a cool, dark place is the best way to preserve them, but that obviously isn't ideal if you want to actually look through them or display them.

So personally, while there are a whole lot of Instax and Polaroid accessories that are just junk, this Siglo Instant Film Deterioration Prevention Agent is something I would actually use – even though it has a daft name!

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