Photos here and now! TOP 5 mobile photo printers

A suitable alternative to the horde of rapidly reviving instant cameras is the compact printer for printing small photographs, the Xiaomi Mi Pocket Photo Printer.

The model outperforms “instant” cameras in terms of flexibility in processing footage before sending it for printing, and also outperforms the above-mentioned cameras in terms of its tiny size and light weight. The mini-printer easily fits into a spacious jacket pocket - in terms of dimensions, it is similar to the average power bank from Xiaomi.

To communicate with a portable printer via Bluetooth , the Mi Home application is used. It has basic tools for processing images and the ability to create “live” photos - when you point the smartphone camera at the corresponding images, the augmented reality effect is activated and you can see movements in the frame along with pre-recorded sounds. The tools for creating collages, dividing photos into a grid, and printing photos onto documents deserve special mention.

Xiaomi Mi Pocket Photo Printer prints pictures on 2x3-inch (50x76 mm) adhesive paper. Zink cards are formed from a multilayer material coated with microcrystals. Color prints on them are obtained by applying heat to certain areas of the paper. The printed images are resistant to bright light and moisture. However, they are still inferior in quality to photographs printed, for example, on an “adult” inkjet photo printer. Out of the box, the mini-printer is equipped with five sheets of specialized photo paper; in the future, you can purchase it in packs of 10 to 50 pieces.

The Fujifilm Instax Mini Link pocket photo printer can be taken with you on walks, friendly get-togethers and lively parties. The model gives the magic of instantly printing photos from a mobile phone, and in a very remarkable way.

The mini-printer communicates with a smartphone via a Bluetooth wireless network. The Mini Link application leads to the mobile device’s media file gallery - it provides functions for selecting pictures from the collection, applying various frames to them, and instantly printing images. The photo card size for the model is 86x54 mm, and the print area size is 62x46 mm. The printer takes only 12 seconds to print a color print. The mobile program also provides separate modes for creating collages, passing a compatibility test, and printing still frames from videos.

The Party Print printing mode is highlighted as an independent item. “Party” mode allows up to 5 mobile devices to be connected to the printer at the same time, from each of which you can add a photo to create a single collage. The result will be visible only on the final image - before the image is printed, it is impossible to track who chose which photo.

The portable printer is powered by a built-in rechargeable battery, the charge of which is enough to print up to 100 photos. This is enough for 10 packages of photo paper cartridges - each of them contains 10 sheets. Among other interesting features, the model is notable for its function of reprinting the last photo, for which you need to turn the printer upside down and press a button, as well as the ability to control the zoom in the smartphone by tilting the device back and forth.

The tiny Canon SELPHY CP1300 printer relies on sublimation printing technology and is designed for printing photos literally “on the go.”

The model prints full-color photos on 10x15 cm paper, outputs credit card size photo prints (54x86 mm), and can be used to print 50x50 mm or 15x20 mm stickers. The printer takes about 47 seconds to print one image at maximum size. A glossy or semi-gloss “lining” is used to cover the photographs. Photos won't fade over time, and the aforementioned coating protects them from fingerprints and splashes.

The mini-printer is powered from the mains via an adapter or from a battery, which will need to be purchased. You will also have to separately purchase consumables for the device, since an ink cartridge and photo paper are usually not included in the standard package. Canon SELPHY CP1300 supports many wireless printing services over Wi-Fi (Apple AirPrint, Android Mopria, Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY), prints photo materials from USB flash drives, SD cards and even directly from connected cameras.

The model differs from its “cellmates” in the guard of portable photo printers by the presence of a color screen, which made it possible to implement the functions of a built-in photo editor. The user has the right to choose printing methods (with or without margins), image format, create collages, and print photos on documents. In anticipation of sending materials for printing, you can adjust their exposure, color balance, apply filters to remove red-eye, and crop the image. Thanks to this list of tools, images do not need to be pre-processed on a computer or mobile device.

Before the appearance of the Studio model, the “baby” Sprocket on Zink paper was a big hit in HP’s line of mobile photo printers. But the portable “baby” prints cards of a very small size of 2x3 inches, while the copy in question can be used to print 10x15 cm photographs.

The printer uses a dye-sublimation printing method: the paper is passed back and forth through the machine, during which colors are applied layer by layer - first yellow, then magenta, cyan and a clear top layer. The finishing coating plays the role of a protective one - the finished photographs are unaffected by sunlight and water splashes.

HP Sprocket Studio supports only one way to connect to mobile devices - via Bluetooth and nothing else. Photos are sent for printing from the HP Sprocket application, which provides access to the entire photo library and has a built-in photo editor. In the program, you can process the photo before printing, decorate it with stickers or your own drawings. The characteristics of the model state that the speed of obtaining one print is 61 seconds, but in reality, the printer takes up to one and a half minutes to output one full-color image.

The mini-printer operates either from a power outlet or from a special compatible power bank, which adds at least a third to the cost of the kit from the original price. You will also need to purchase replacement cartridges and photo paper separately - they are sold in sets of 80 cards and 2 ink cassettes. In the HP family of “portables” you won’t find a printer equal to the daylight. In general, in the arena of mobile photo printers, the model competes with its close analogue , the Canon SELPHY CP1300, and, frankly speaking, it is slightly inferior to its competitor in terms of the variety of printing methods.

The Canon SELPHY Square QX10 helps you turn your digital photos into prints on paper. Moreover, a mini-printer can print photos anywhere, be it in a relaxed home atmosphere or spending time on a picnic with friends.

Autonomous operation of the model is ensured by a built-in battery, charged via a microUSB connector. The printer “sees” the gallery with images for printing through the SELPHY Photo Layout mobile application for the smartphone. You just need to pair your phone with the device via a wireless Wi-Fi network. The application provides the ability to decorate photos with creative effects - marks, filters, frames, texts, stickers.

The portable printer prints on 72x85 mm paper, with a print area of 68x68 mm. Square photos in the “Instagram” style can sometimes be difficult to crop in order to fit everything you need into the frame, but there is always space under the area with the image to caption the photo. Each resulting print can be turned into a sticker by simply removing the protective layer of paper from the back of the photograph.

Failures in photographs coming out of the printer only occur in the shadows - this is due to the low print resolution of 287x287 dpi. However, bright and light frames are given to the printer with a bang. Printing one photo takes about 45 seconds., in which the photo is shown outside upon completion of the sequential application of each of the three colors plus a protective coating. Canon SELPHY Square QX10 allows you to print valuable frames in the blink of an eye and without unnecessary movements to develop film in the twilight of the red room, well known to photographers (as was done before).