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Have you ever wanted the convenience and instant gratification of a Polaroid, but with the high-resolution clarity of the photos you take on your smartphone? It might be time to take a look at a mini photo printer. These convenient little devices are compact enough that they can be thrown in a backpack, so you can bring them wherever you want with minimal hassle. They’re a lot of fun for weddings, birthdays, parties, or any other events you might want to remember.
There are several kinds of mini-printers out there. Some are designed to print stickers or even temporary tattoos, but a majority of them are for printing photos. Several of the biggest photo and printer brands in the world have started making these little appliances. Not all of them are created equally, however. Some offer superior image quality, while others offer more convenient features like mobile power, wireless connectivity, and ink-free printing. One of the best ways to find a new printer is to search for the best-selling and highest-rated models on the market, then compare their specs and check independent reviews. Here are five of the best mini photo printers that are on the market in 2024.
Polaroid Hi-Print Pocket Photo Printer (Gen 2)
It’s hard to think about instantaneous photo development without thinking of the name Polaroid. The company was founded in 1937, and while its instant film cameras have gone in and out of fashion several times over the years, Polaroid continues to maintain a presence in the photography industry.
One of the ways Polaroid has continued the legacy of its iconic cameras is with its Hi-Print Gen 2 Pocket Photo Printer. This is a fully portable printer that comes with a built-in 640mAh rechargeable battery, so you can use it even while camping or in any other situation where you might not have a power outlet readily available. It prints 2″x3″ onto sticky-backed photo paper. It connects to both Apple and Android smart devices via Bluetooth and comes with an app that allows you to “Add filters, stamps, and text to customize your digital shots before printing and sticking in analog.”
William Harrel of PC Mag gave the Hi-Print 4 out of 5 stars in his review. Harrel did note that he would prefer if it could connect to your PC as well as your phone, and he held that the operating costs for the little printer were comparatively high — but he still seemed to think it was worth the price. “The Polaroid Hi-Print’s exceptional print quality is reason enough to choose it over some of the others,” he said. “If the small output size is just [what] you’re after, and top-quality printing is not negotiable, the Hi-Print is among the best of its kind.”
Kodak Mini 2 Retro
Kodak is another one of those brands that was once so popular that it managed to work its name into the photography vernacular. If you’ve ever heard the term “Kodak moment,” you’re probably familiar with the sway this brand once had over the public consciousness. That isn’t just good advertising, though — Kodak is known for making quality products for amateur and professional photographers alike.
In fact, Kodak actually makes a couple of different mini printers. The Dock Plus currently holds the top spot as the best-selling desktop photo printer on Amazon. That said, the Kodak Mini 2 Retro is the higher-rated of the two. Like the Dock Plus, the Mini 2 Retro uses Kodak’s patented 4 PASS printing method. “The printer uses thermal transfer technology, which shows an almost conventional photo and color quality.” This also adds a layer of lamination, which protects the printed photo from water, dust, and fingerprints. The Mini 2 Retro can print both bordered and borderless pictures and use the Kodak Photo Printer app.
Harrel reviewed this printer for PC Mag as well, and it also earned 4 out of 5 stars. He pointed out that this printer was also iOS and Android exclusive and would not connect to PCs, but he liked that it had a low cost per print. “The Mini 2 Retro’s photos are not only attractive but quick and inexpensive,” he said.
Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2 Smartphone Printer
Next up on our list of mini photo printers from big-name brands is the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2. Fujifilm has long been a trusted name in cameras, film, and printers, so it’s no surprise that it makes one of the more popular and highly rated mini photo printers on the market.
The Instax Mini Link 2 is another pocket-sized printer powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. It produces 2″x3″ photos that print in around 20 seconds and develop in a couple of minutes. It can print in two different modes: Instax-Natural and Instax-Rich. As the names suggest, Natural-Mode offers a higher degree of color accuracy, while Rich-Mode offers a more saturated image with higher contrast. It connects via Bluetooth to Android, iOS, and to Fujifilm cameras. By far the most unique feature of this printer is InstaxAir. There is an LED on the side of the printer which can be used by the subject of the photo to ‘draw’ images that appear in the app.
Jim Fischer of PC Mag gave 3.5 out of 5 stars to the Instax Mini Link 2. He liked that it instantly printed photos, that it had two printing modes, and that it came in several finishes. Fischer docked points for its use of a micro-USB charging port, and its inability to print from Mac and PC, though he also admitted that he might not have been the right demographic for InstaxAir, which he described as “gimmicky.”
HP Sprocket 200 Portable (2nd Edition)
Unlike most of the other brands on this list, Hewlett-Packard is better known as a computer company than as a photography company. Even so, its printers are often listed as some of the best on the market – and its miniature photo printers are no exception.
The HP Sprocket 200 is a small, portable printer that is designed to work with your smartphone over Bluetooth. It’s one of the few mini printers that gives you the option of either printing 2″x3″ photos or stickers. It also uses color thermal paper instead of ink, making it cheap and convenient for those who want to be able to print a lot of images.
Harrel gave this printer 4 out of 5 stars for PC Mag as well. He was impressed by the machine’s print quality, affordability, and colors, as well as the editorial functionality of the Sprocket App. “The previous Sprocket’s major shortcomings — flaky connectivity and so-so output — are no longer issues, and several new features have been introduced (even though some of them, like the three-user network and print-queuing features, are half-baked),” Harrel said. “Plus, the Sprocket 2nd Edition costs less to buy and use than the previous Sprocket and several competing models.”
Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer
Of course, no list of popular photo printers would be complete without at least one product from Canon. The company is often ranked alongside HP and Brother as one of the best printer manufacturers, and it frequently trades blows with Sony and Nikon in the world of professional-grade mirrorless cameras.
The Ivy 2 Mini is an affordable pocket-sized printer that is powered by a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. You can use the Canon Mini Print app to customize and produce 2″x3″ sticky-backed, water and tear-resistant photos in 50 seconds or less. RTINGS found that Canon’s other mini printer, the Selphy, produces higher-quality images, however, the smaller size and the convenience of the Ivy 2 Mini’s inkless printing have made it the more popular option among consumers. This is why it has an almost perfect weighted review score on both Amazon and Canon’s own store page. It connects via Bluetooth 5.0 and is compatible with iOS and Android.
Harrel also reviewed this one for PC Mag, and he gave it yet another 4 out of 5 stars. He commented that the printer itself was a bit pricier than some alternatives, and once again pointed out the lack of PC compatibility, but mentioned that the cost of running it was lower and the quality was unquestionable. “You won’t go wrong with the IVY 2 Mini if quick little snap prints from your phone are what you’re after.”
Our methodology
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I’ve been working in photography and videography for four years, and in that time I’ve developed a fundamental knowledge base for the crucial elements of image composition. With that experience in mind, I examined the best-selling and highest-rated photo printers on the market. I checked their specs and compared them, searching for which ones offered the best image quality, the most convenient portable options, affordable printing paper, and distinctive feature sets. Once I had a few names in mind, I looked up independent reviews to find out which of them performed best in real-world testing.
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