Picture This: Guide to Best Photo Printers for Immaculate Prints

If you want a way to save money and print photos of the memories you’ve created at home, then you should get a photo printer. Our team of expert researchers has uncovered various photo printers for you to look at.

Canon Selphy CP1300 Wireless Compact Photo Printer with AirPrint and Mopria Device Printing, White

The wireless Canon Selphy photo printer will help you print photos you’ve captured. When printed, the photos are instantly dry, can last up to a hundred years, and you can print from your phone.

Pros

• Photos are dried instantly when printed
• Can print directly from your phone, USB, or camera’s memory card
• Made with a portable design to allow you to print wherever you are
• Has options to print various sizes

Cons

• Can be difficult to connect to Wi-Fi

Review

This wireless Canon Selphy photo printer will aid you in printing off the memories you’ve captured on camera. We think that this photo printer is one of the best available for any of your photo printer needs.

With normal printers, sometimes you have to be careful once it has finished printing. If you take what you’ve printed and it hasn’t dried yet, you can end up smudging the ink, spoiling the quality of the print. Thankfully with the Canon Selphy printer, the photos printed are dried instantly, so you can handle them without worrying about spoiling the photo.

To be able to use this photo printer wherever you want, it offers a range of different methods to print. You can print directly from your phone, USB, or a camera’s memory card. So it makes it easy for anybody who wants to print using this photo printer.

Because of its size, it’s easy to handle and can be transported wherever you go, so you can print photos on demand.

You would think a small portable photo printer would be restricted in some of the things it can do, such as the size of the photos you can print. Thankfully the Canon Selphy photo printer can allow you to print various sizes of photos.

Some users have reported issues when connecting with Wi-Fi. So if you’re mainly using it at home and have poor Wi-Fi, this is something you should consider if you want to choose this photo printer.

Overall though, this Canon Selphy photo printer is a good choice for being able to print photos on the go and have the option to print photos in various sizes.

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Kodak Dock & Wi-Fi Portable 4x6” Instant Photo Printer, Premium Quality Full Color Prints - Compatible w/iOS & Android Devices

If you want a small and portable photo printer, the Kodak Dock photo printer is a choice for you. It prints out full-colour photos, and you can print up to 120 prints per ink cartridge.

Pros

• Small design makes it portable
• Ink cartridges can print up to 120 photos
• D2T2 technology means no ink mess
• Photos get printed with a protective laminated layer

Cons

• Photos can print off looking dim

Review

If you love to print photos of events and memories that you’ve created, the Kodak Dock photo printer can assist you in doing so. It allows you to print out photos in full colour so you can see the full beauty of any photos you’ve taken.

If you want to take your photo printer out and about, the last thing you want is one with a massive design that can make it hard to carry in your bag. The Kodak Dock photo printer was made to combat exactly that. It has a small design that makes it perfect to be portable and carry with you wherever you go.

It can be frustrating when you want to print something, and the ink runs out, and you’re nowhere near anywhere you can buy ink. The Kodak Dock photo printer thought about this with its design and made the ink cartridges last your to 120 photos, so you can print a lot of photos before you need to change the ink.

Photos, when printed, can be full of ink due to the amount of colour that needs to be printed. And if you’re handling them freshly printed, they can create quite a mess. Thankfully this photo printer has D2T2 technology, which means you can say goodbye to any ink mess.

The last thing you want when printing off your photo is any smudging, or they get damaged simply by transporting them. You really don’t want your precious memories in photo form to be damaged. That’s why the Kodak Dock photo printer prints off photos with a protective laminated layer so you can be confident your photos won’t get damaged.

The only issue with this photo printer is that if you’re looking for clear and vibrant photos, this may not do the job. Some users have reported that the photo can look dim, so this must be a consideration before buying.

For home photo printing, though, this Kodak Dock is a great option that can print off a large number of photos with one ink cartridge and is compact for transport.

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Mini Printer - T02 Bluetooth Inkless Instant Photo Printer, Small Thermal Pocket Sticker Printer, Portable Mobile Phone Picture Printer, for Students Birthday, Children, White

If you want a cute photo printer that you can get in a range of different colours, consider this budget photo printer from Memoking. You can connect to it via Bluetooth, and it doesn’t require ink.

Pros

• You can get it in a variety of colours
• Prints thermal photos, so it doesn’t need ink
• Can connect via Bluetooth to print
• Can be used for 9 different functions, such as combining text and creating QR codes

Cons

• The sample roll that comes with the photo printer isn’t a full roll

Review

Sometimes you don’t want a large-looking machine to help you print off your memories. You want something with a cute design that is fun and not ugly. This photo printer from Memoking is the opposite of ugly and is designed to be a cute photo printer.

To make things fun and cute, this photo printer lets you buy it in different colours, so you can express your personality rather than just having a dull-looking photo printer.

Ink cartridges can be expensive, depending on the types that you’re looking at. Thankfully this Memoking has managed to engineer a different way to print photos off. It comes with a thermal design rather than traditional ink, so you only need to buy the specific paper for it to work.

A portable photo printer would be useless if you didn’t have any means to print when you are outdoors. Memoking thought about this problem and integrated Bluetooth into the photo printer so you can connect to it via a smartphone app and print directly from your phone.

The smartphone app that comes with the Memoking photo printer also has 9 different functions, so it not only prints off photos. Some of the functions allow you to combine text and pictures and create QR codes, which are great added features.

One of the problems with this photo printer is that the sample roll that comes with it isn’t a full roll, so you could get disappointed when using it for the first time and can hardly print off any photos.

If you look past that, though, this Memoking photo printer is great for showing off your personality with the different colour options and great for an on-the-go printer due to its functional smartphone app and Bluetooth connectivity.

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Epson EcoTank ET-2750 Wireless Color All-in-One Cartridge-Free Supertank Printer with Scanner, Copier and Ethernet, Regular

If you want a photo printer that you know will print great photos, you should consider this premium photo printer from Epson. It allows for 2-sided printing and has easy-to-fill ink tanks.

Pros

• Designed with a 1.44” colour display
• Connects to a smartphone app for printing off your phone
• Prints up to 6500 pgs
• Comes with up to 2 years of ink

Cons

• Isn’t portable

Review

Printing a photo with a premium look is easy to do with this Epson photo printer. It offers the ability to do 2-sided printing to help with saving paper and has been designed to make refilling the ink tanks super easy.

It can be a pain to navigate menus if you don’t have a way of seeing what your options are. This is why this photo printer has a 1.44” colour display. You can select what options you want when printing your chosen photo.

If you don’t want to connect this printer to a computer when you want to print, you don’t need to worry. The Epson photo printer has a smartphone app, so you can send whatever you need to print to it without turning on a computer.

To make sure that you have enough ink to print off what you need, this photo printer comes with enough ink for you to print off up to 6,500 pages in black and 5,200 pages in colour, which is the equivalent of 30 ink cartridge sets, so it will be a while before you need to replace your ink.

If you print off an average of 150 pages a month, then the ink that you are supplied will last you up to two years, so you get great value for money when buying this premium photo printer.

However, if you want a photo printer that you can take on the go and print when you’re away from home, this isn’t the photo printer for you. It doesn’t have its own battery supply and is quite bulky.

But if you don’t mind this, the Epson photo printer is a great machine that comes with plenty of ink to last you a while and is easy to use with its smartphone app.

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HP Sprocket Portable 2x3" Instant Photo Printer (Lilac) Print Pictures on Zink Sticky-Backed Paper from your iOS & Android Device.

If you want a photo printer that can fit in your pocket or bag, then the HP sprocket photo printer is for you. Prints photos on sticky-backed photo paper and comes in options of different colours.

Pros

• Compact to carry in your bag or pocket
• Prints photos onto sticky-backed photo paper
• Comes with its own rechargeable battery
• Has a sleep mode option to save battery

Cons

• The photo printed have a grainy quality

Review

The HP Sprocket photo printer is a handy photo printer to have because of its size. It has been designed to be small and compact, so it will easily fit in your pocket or bag so you can print photos and hand them out as a gift if you desire.

Rather than having to select a photo printer with boring colours, this HP Sprocket has a selection of five different colours you can pick, so you can choose one that matches your personality or your favourite colour.

To let you put these photos wherever you want, the photo paper that is printed on is made with sticky-backed photo paper so you can stick them into a book, to your favourite items, or make a collage out of your best photos.

To help save you from having to buy batteries for this photo printer, the HP Sprocket comes with its own rechargeable battery that you can charge up with a simple USB cable. So there is no need to have to connect it to a power supply and be stuck having it use it wherever it’s plugged in.

Because it has its own rechargeable battery, to help prevent the battery from draining down too fast, this photo printer has a sleep mode. This turns it off when it’s not in use, saves battery, and wakes up immediately when you need to print to it.

Maybe due to its size, it does have a limited function with the quality of photos. Some users have reported that the photos have a grainy quality to them, which might not be what you require.

If you don’t want super-quality photos, however, the HP Sprocket photo printer is a great mobile option for a photo printer that can fit in your pocket and let you stick your photos wherever you want.

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Photo printer buying guide

This buying guide will go through everything you need to know about photo printers before getting one for yourself. That way, you will know key things to look out for and, thus, purchase the perfect photo printer that meets your needs. So, let’s get to it.

What is a photo printer?

Photo printers are photo printing devices mostly meant for single use. Inkjet printers can be used for the printing of high-quality pictures. However, when compared to real photo printers,  they are less versatile and print lower-quality pictures. There are three types of photo printers which we have discussed below

Dedicated photo printers

This kind of printer is meant for amateurs. This kind of printer will print photos at near-professional quality. Most dedicated photo printers are smaller in size when compared to the likes of inkjet printers. However, they still allow you to print photos instantly and, thus, its usefulness. Below are some of its advantages and disadvantages.

Advantages

• Useful apps that help you edit pictures
• Fast printing
• Usually portable
• It is convenient

Disadvantages

• Not enough power ( batteries)
• They are not water-resistant
• They are fragile

Dye sublimation printers

Dye sublimation printers are meant solely for printing. A few of them are portable, and the ink of the printer and paper finish simultaneously. Printers that use dye-based ink can produce perfect results for an ultra-glossy print. Dye-sublimation printers use a technique that utilizes heat to transfer dye to various materials such as paper, plastic and fabric.

Advantages

• It gives a continuous tone
• No dry time
• It is not messy
• Uses minimal energy and no water

Disadvantages

• It is slow
• Recycling problems
• Uses a lot of ink

Snapshot printers

Snapshot printers are portable or pocket-sized that allows you instantly convert your smartphone into a camera. Snapshot printers are designed to print only small photo prints. The Snapshot printers are also referred to as instant portable photo printers. This kind of printer often uses thermal transfer technology to create crisp 24-bit colours. However, as mentioned earlier, photos are small and do not exceed 4 by 6 inches.

Advantages

• It is portable
• Easy to use
• Instant photos
• Not expensive

Disadvantages

• Prints only small pictures

What to consider before buying a photo printer?

In this section, we have provided you with a run-down of the key features you should consider before you buy a photo printer, as it will be a determining factor as to whether you will be satisfied or not.

Monochrome or colour photo printing?

Several photo printers that have colourful cartridges will produce wonderful photos. However, they will give an unnecessary tint to monochrome photos. Provided you have plans to print black-and-white pictures regularly, it is advisable that you go for a monochrome-only printer or any high-quality printer that has the ability to handle black-and-white printing without hassle. Monochrome printers also have higher printing speeds compared to colour photo printing. Obviously, colour printing will use more toner for the printing of coloured images compared to monochrome printers that print in just black and white. Colour printing looks wonderful but is more expensive.

Printer size

The size of the printer you want to purchase is of critical importance. You wouldn’t want one that is too big. You have no room for it or one that is too small doesn’t meet your needs. Compared to larger printers such as desk printers, portable printers are the epitome of convenience. Portable printers are lightweight and compact, making them easy to carry around until you have use for it. Portable printers also have fewer moving parts and are considerably cheaper than larger printers. However, if you need photo printing of the highest quality, heavy-duty or larger printers will do a better job as they are more versatile.

Print size

Naturally, you would assume that the print size will be dependent on the printer size. However, that isn’t the case, as larger printers can print small-sized pictures if the need arises.  When printing a photo, you want to consider the number of pixels per inch (Ppi) in that photo, as it will determine just how sharp or dull it will be. The most common printing sizes are 5 x 7 inches, 8 x 10 inches, 8.5 x 11 inches, 12 x 18 inches, 18 x 24 inches and 24 x 36 inches. Depending on the kind of picture and what it contains, one of these sizes will be a perfect size.

Connectivity

Most printers have two connectivity options-wired connectivity or wireless connectivity. Depending on how you use it, the wired or wireless connection may be better from a distance or close by. If you want to avoid cables, it means that you will use the wireless connectivity option more often. Below we have an overview of some of the connectivity options available for you.

1. USB

For printers with a USB port, you will need a USB AB cable for connectivity. The letters “AB” stand for the plugs on each end. The USB-B goes into the printer while USB-A goes into your computer.

2. Ethernet

It is a traditional technology that you can use to connect devices in a wired local area network abbreviated as LAN. An ethernet cable is an encased wire used to transfer data. This allows the devices to communicate with one another through a protocol.

3. Bluetooth

It is a short-range wireless technology that uses UHF radio waves in the ISM bands, from 2.402 GHz to 2.48 GHz, to transfer or exchange data between fixed and mobile devices.

4. Wi-Fi

Wi-Fi is a wireless networking technology that makes use of radio frequencies for data transfer. The abbreviation “Wi-Fi ” was gotten from the word “wireless fidelity. ”

5. Wi-Fi direct

As the word “direct” suggests, it allows peer-to-peer wireless connection without having to connect to an access point, internet connection, or router.

6. NFC (Near field communication)

For devices over a distance of 4 cm or less,  the Near Field Communication (NFC) is perfect. It is a set of communication protocols for communication between two devices. It allows wireless connectivity between any device with this feature so long as they are within proximity.

7. Cloud printing

This service allows you to print directly from any internet-connected device. This is done by sending print jobs between your smart devices or computer and sending them to a printer connected to the internet.

8. SD cards

Provided that your printer has an SD card slot, this option will allow you to print directly from your SD card without needing a computer or smart device.

Resolution

The higher the printing resolution of your printer, the sharper, crispier and better quality printed photos will be. For optimum photography printing, a resolution of 4,800 x 1,200 dpi or higher will do the trick. You wouldn’t want to get one with a low resolution as its prints may be too dull or even dark. It would help if you did not overlook this when purchasing a photo printer.

Inks and gamut

Ink quality and outcome from a particular ink differ whether you choose pigment ink or dye ink. Dye ink enables you to have a richer and more contrasting colour thanks to its ability to diffuse light. Dye ink is best for office printing as they are not tolerant to humidity and pollution. Unlike dye ink, pigment ink won’t penetrate your paper, rather it will sit on it. This allows it to have better water resistance and UV protection. Pigment ink is used for high-quality printing and, by implication, is more expensive than dye ink. Gamut refers to the variety of colours that a colour device can print or display. Colours that may be shown on your screen in RGB may or may not be printable in your CMYK printer’s gamut. For example, light blue might be displayed on your screen and ends up being printed out as purple. Inkjet printers are known to have a wide colour gamut.

Media support

Support is never a bad idea for any product or device. Depending on the media type you are going to print, you should look for the media types the printer supports and the maximum thickness and feed method for the media, as they will determine what media you can print on.

• Fine art feeder: works with both thin and thick media
• Rear tray
• Straight-feed path: rare but suitable for thick media that can be damaged when bent.

This goes without saying that you should get a printer with all the support required. That way, you can print any kind of media without any trouble. Wireless connectivity such as Wi-Fi will also go a long way as a media support feature to increase convenience.

Photo printer maintenance

Like all products and devices, your printer must be maintained. Maintaining your printer will not only let you print quality photos continuously, but it will also increase the life of your printer regarding how long it will last. Below we have provided you with some maintenance tips for your photo printer.

• Place on a level surface
• Clean regularly
• Avoid clogged ink nozzles
• Fix any mechanical issues as soon as possible
• Avoid keeping in a wet environment

Filling and replacing cartridges

Depending on the cartridge capacity, the ink in ink cartridges should last an average of one to two years. In order to increase its lifespan, you should store cartridges standing in an airtight container. It would be best to wrap it in a moist paper towel to maintain a humid environment to prevent crusting. As for cartridge replacement and filling, you should do that when necessary. This means that you should constantly monitor the cartridge so that you will know when to change or refill them. It takes an average cost of $8 to $10 for a cartridge refill.

Media refilling

Depending on the photo paper size and quality, the price ranges from $10 to $20. For Snapshot photo paper, depending on how often you use them, you may find snapshot photo paper to be more expensive in the long run when compared to regular or traditional photo printer paper.

Best photo printer brands

The best photo printer brands are Kodak, Epson and Canon. These brands are known for the durability and efficiency of their photo printers. Below we have provided you with an overview of the mentioned brand.

Kodak

Officially known as the Eastman Kodak Company, the Kodak brand is an American company specializing in print systems, Enterprise Inkjet Systems, Micro 3D Printing, Packaging, etc. The company has its headquarters in Rochester, New York, founded in 1892 by George Eastman and Henry A. Strong.

Epson

Officially called Seiko Epson Corporation, it is a Japanese electronic company and a leading computer printer manufacturer. It has its headquarters in Suwa, Nagano, Japan, and was founded in 1942.

Canon

The Canon brand is a Japanese multinational specializing in industrial products such as lenses, cameras, scanners, printers, etc. It was founded in 1937 and has its headquarters in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan. The Canon brand distributes/markets its products worldwide.

Conclusion

After reading this buying guide, getting the perfect photo printer that will meet your photography needs should be easy as pie. So, why wait? How about you get that photo printer you’ve always wanted?