I’m looking for a birthday gift for my wife. I’m currently looking at these instant cameras: Instax mini 90, But probably a Fujifilm Instax sq6

For Bluetooth photo printers, I’m looking at Kodak Step, HP sprocket, Fujifilm Instax Link 2, Fujifilm Instax SP-3, but I’m mostly looking at the Fujifilm Instax Link Wide.

Honestly I’m not sure the quality of instant printers printing iPhone pictures, vs instant cameras. I think the ability to print multiple copies of previously taken pictures is sweet, but I doubt it feels the same.

Anyways if you have a different suggestion or want to weigh in, please comment below. Thanks

TLDR: I am trying to decide on a mini photo printer for use in my personal bullet journal. I compared Canon Ivy, Canon Selphy, HP Sprocket, Instax Mini Link 3, and Lienne and am leaning toward the Canon Ivy for overall photo quality and price.

Hi guys! I am currently attempting to pick out a mini photo printer to use in my bullet journal for pictures, book and movie covers, little stickers and decals, etc. I spent some time comparing some of the popular options I often see and compiled everything here in case it might be helpful to someone else :) Please feel free to leave suggestions in the comments or if you think any of the info I found isn't accurate!!!

Background About Me and What I Was Looking For:

-i use bullet journaling as a way to combine my journaling hobby and need for a planner. I keep everything in one book and dislike having too much structure (I find having really elaborate themed months or trackers makes me not enjoy the hobby as much). I mainly have my tasks, grocery lists, reading trackers, movie reviews, travel journal, calendar, birthdays, etc. in my journal.

-I usually start off every year with a new Leuchtturm 1917 with the dotted paper in A5 and use it to make my own pages to serve as a planner throughout the year. I have been using this method through college and medical school and still use it in my career today.

-My main goals for the mini printer was to have something I could use to print out small photos from the day or special events and other fun stickers to add some color and whimsy to my pages since I'm not that artistic. ;)That being said the top concerns for me when finding a printer was overall print quality (not absolutely perfect since it is a mini printer not a professional printer), price, and having an app with options for collages.

Table For Comparison
Here is a table detailing the main findings for each printer.

Specifics for Each Printer

~Canon Ivy 2 Mini Photo Printer ~

Price and Retailers

• Canon Website - $119.99

• Amazon - $119.99 (sale for $99.99)

• Best Buy - $109.99

• Walmart - $109

• uses ZINK paper

  • Canon Ivy Specific Refills on Amazon - $29.00 for 50 sheets

  • Canon Ivy Specific Pre-Cut Circle Sticker Papers - $45 for pack of 20 sheets with 2 circle stickers each sheet

  • ZINK Paper Refills (non brand specific) - $24.99 for 50 pack

Print Quality and Size

• 2”x3” prints with adhesive back

• uses up to 10 sheets of ZINK paper at one time

• print resolution up to 313 x 512 dpi

• good quality prints overall

  • slightly desaturated in color - most people advice turning up the saturation on the photos in the app before you print them to help combat this

  • photos print a bit washed out and warmer toned than the original

• takes about a minute per print

• prints about 20 prints per charge

App Compatibility and Customization Options

• photo quality is good

  • some posts reference a blue tint and low saturation on photos and advice people to increase brightness and saturation and decrease contrast before printing to combat this

• compatible with iOS 12.0 or later and Android 6.0 or later

• app with options for collages so you can print multiple photos on one sheet

  • also decorative options including text, borders, frames, filters, decals, etc.

  • can rotate images and adjust zoom, brightness, saturation, contrast, etc.

Additional Notes

• uses a USB-C charging port (same as most recent iphones) to charge a rechargeable lithium ion battery (no batteries needed)

• there are refills available specific to canon but it can use film from other cameras and other zink paper as well (Ex: it can use the zink paper from HP or just generic packs on amazon)

• comes in blush pink or white

• no memory card capability

• couldn’t find exact dimensions but definitely portable

~HP Sprocket~

Price and Retailers

• HP Website - $89.99

• Amazon - $99.99 (sale for $89.99)

• Best Buy - $89.99

• Target - $89.99

• HP Brand Specific Sprocket Refill Paper - $25 for 50 pack

• ZINK Paper Refills (non brand specific) - $24.99 for 50 pack

Print Quality and Size

• uses ZINK paper for printing

• 2”x3” prints with adhesive back

• printing resolution up to 313x400 dpi

• I found a lot of posts saying that the Sprocket has a slightly lower quality in prints when compared to the Canon Ivy and Instax Mini

• takes about a minute to print

• one charge lasts for around 25 prints

App Compatibility and Customization Options

• connects to your phone via the mobile Sprocket App

• app is compatible with iOS 10.0 and above and android 4.4 and above

• App has collage capabilities as well as borders, frames, overlays, filters, and decals

Additional Notes

• comes in Luna Pearl (white), Blush Pink, and Lilac

• uses a micro USB charging point

• no memory card compatibility, standard memory of 64MB

• dimensions 3.15” x 4.63” x 0.98” - definitely portable

• there are refills available specific to HP but it can use film from other cameras and other zink paper as well (Ex: it can use the zink paper from canon ivy or just generic packs on amazon)

~Liene Portable Photo Printer Pearl K100~

Price and Retailers

• Liene Website - $99.99

• Amazon - $109.99 but on sale for $99.99

• Walmart - $109.99

• Liene Brand Specific Zink Photo Paper on Amazon - $24.99 for 50 sheets

• ZINK Paper Refills (non brand specific) - $24.99 for 50 pack

Print Quality and Size

• uses ZINK paper

• prints 2”x3” prints with adhesive backing

• printer resolution 313x400 dpi

• about 30 prints per charge

• takes about 50 seconds to print a photo

App Compatibility and Customization Options

• compatibility with iOS 9.0 and above and android 7.0 and above

• not much decals or frames for images but you can adjust brightness, saturation, et. and add filters

Additional Notes

• comes in white, green, and pink

• USB-C charging cable

• does not require wifi for printing

• dimensions are 4.13”(W)x5.71”(L)x1.85”(H) - slim portable design that fits in your pocket

• fits 10 sheets at one time

~Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 3 ~

Price and Retailers

• Instax Mini Link 3 - $116.95

• Amazon - $116.95 (sale for $99.95)

• Best Buy - $99.99

• Target - $116.99 (sale for $99.99)

• Walmart - $116.95 (sale for $99.99)

• takes instax mini film (same as the mini polaroid cameras) which is widely available in retailers like Target, Walmart, drug stores etc. and comes in a variety of color and pattern options but is more expensive than the ZINK paper used by other printers

  • Requires brand specific refill paper

• Fujifilm Instax Mini Film Pack 20 sheets total- $23.99 on amazon ($16.98 sale)

Print Quality and Size

• prints are a bit bulkier and may not be ideal for putting in a bullet journal or planner

• takes about 20 seconds to print the image but an additional 90-120 seconds for the image to fully develop like when using a polaroid camera

• printing resolution 318dpi

• print quality is very similar to what you see with a polaroid photo with the slightly blurry resolution, blue/cool undertones, and color saturation

App Compatibility and Customization Options

• IOS and Android compatibility

• allows you to print stills from a video on your phone

• ability to make collages

• options include frames, borders, decals, filters, effects, etc.

• get about 100 prints off of one charge

• has a little number on the app to tell you how many prints you have left with you recurrent paper pack (kinda nice since you don’t have to open the printer to see how many sheets you have left)

Additional Notes

• comes in clay white, sage green, and rose pink

• dimensions are 90mm x 37.3 mm x 125mm (about 3.5”x1.5”x5”) - little thicker and bulkier than the canon ivy and HP sprocket but still portable

• uses film specific to instax and is not compatible with other ZINK paper packs from what I can see

• charges in 1.5-2 hours

• USB Type C

~Canon Selphy CP1500 Wireless Photo Printer ~

Price and Retailers

• Canon Website - $179.99

• Amazon - $179

• Best Buy - $179.99

• Walmart - $174.95

Print Quality and Size

• uses dye sublimation technology and not ZINK paper

  • not compatible with ZINK paper refills

  • refills are more expensive but since its not thermal printing technology less chance for photos to fade over time

• can produce larger prints up to 4”x6”

• most expensive but also best photo quality with the colors being the most true to the original image of all the printers

• has a full color display on the printer itself so you can view photos before you print them

• takes about a minute to print one sheet

• 300 x 300 dpi

App Compatibility and Customization Options

• app has a lot of collage and layout options

  • options with 4, 8, or even 20 photos per one sheet

  • can edit each photo individually on the grid

• decals, borders, frames, etc. are available

Additional Notes

• not compact or portable really

• can print from phones, cameras, and USB drives

• comes in black and white

• USB-C port to connect to laptops and computers but not compatible with charging

• requires wifi to operate

Hopes this helps someone thinking about getting one of these printers! <3

Hi there,

I hope this is okay to post here but thought people here might have some experience. I'm looking at getting a phone printer, and have been looking at the Canon SELPHY Square QX10 and the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2. I am curious if anyone has any experience or knowledge of these.

I am rubbish with tech so will probably pick the most user friendly option. Also do the photo's last, I would like to be able to look back over my journals and the photos for years to come.

Many thanks for any help

I’m thinking of purchasing a small printer soon but am unsure of which of these two to buy. I like the portability of the Ivy but I like the print size of the Selphy more.

Also, do these usually go on sale for Black Friday and are the sales enough to justify waiting for them? Right now, the Ivy 2 is 80 dollars from Canon and the Selphy is 120 on Amazon.

I appreciate the advice!