Taking Polaroid films

Never mind in Italy - I think you will find that right from your first airport in the US, every security check will refuse to "hand-check" that film - the TSA will X-ray it despite your protests. Putting it in a lead-lined bag (you know that's gonna be a little heavy...) won't work, either - they just crank up the X-ray power and do it repeatedly. They will tell you that it won't damage your film (unless it's hi speed film - ASA 1600 or above).

Back when I shot film, I told them it was all ASA 3600, please hand-check, etc., and they just x-rayed it every time (and sometimes you have to clear security several times). Now, in fairness, they are (at least partially) correct that x-rays won't damage low-speed film much but the effect is cumulative - every time it goes through, it gets damaged a bit more. That said, Polaroid...not exactly "National Geographic quality" to start with...maybe your daughter won't notice or care if her shots are all fogged a bit?

Best solutions I can think of:

1. Go digital.
2. Buy your film in Italy - surely it's sold there (might require some searching and might be stunningly expensive)
3. Stop worrying about it and just accept that it's not going to look perfect - it's a Polaroid, after all.

Thank you @david. I am taking my SLR. My daughter wants to take her Polaroid camera as well. I will buy films there only.

And whatever you do, don't put the film in your checked luggage. They use much more high powered Xrays on those than the ones for carryons.

David gave sound advice. I used to travel with the lead bags and request hand checking, etc., but thankfully those days are over. I spent my entire 12-hour flight home from Italy in 2003 worried because they declined to hand check my 30+ rolls of film and I watched them all go through the x-ray machines. I still remember the anxiety I felt as if it were yesterday. LOL. As David said, Polaroid film is not great quality in the first place so I probably wouldn't worry and your daughter probably won't notice if there is some slight degradation from going through the X-ray machines. But, the best solution would be if you could convince your daughter to take a small digital point & shoot. Then she won't have to worry about sclepping all the film/prints around.

If nothing else, I'd buy her an inexpensive digital as a backup in case tracking down film ends up to be a time-consuming exercise in frustration?

Searching Italian stores for Polaroid film will take the rest of your life - it's an obscure product. There are only two realistic choices: 1. Bring it with you. It's more likely to be harmed by the heat in a parked car than the mini dose of airport X-ray. 2. If you can predict where you'll be, order it on amazon.it and have it delivered in Italy.

Yes. I didn't want to spend time to find stores. I've ordered the films from Amazon Italy to our airbnb host.

I work for TSA in Oakland. We will hand check film. We would prefer for it to go thru X-ray. What other airports do, I don't know. I'm talking about carry on not checked luggage. Checked will be X-rayed.

Not sure about the screening in Italy, but my daughter has taken her Polaroid camera and film thru security twice in the US and both times TSA hand checked the camera and film when she asked them to. The second time was just last night.

@Janean was right. My daughter has asked TSA members in Portland and Venice airports to hand check the film and camera and they did. But in Chicago, they hand checked the film but asked her to keep the camera in the tray to go thru x-ray scan. She had 3 o 4 shots left.

Why not use a cell phone camera?