Choosing a mini photo printer: Zink, dye-sub or instant film

Four ways to print a photo

Zink. The paper itself contains colour crystals that the printer activates with heat. So there are no cartridges; you only buy Zink paper. The Canon Zoemini 2 and the HP Sprocket New Edition print on 5 x 7.6 cm (2 x 3 inch) Zink paper with a peel-off sticky back. HP also has the Sprocket 3x4 for slightly larger photos.

Dye sublimation (dye-sub). The printer heats a ribbon of dye so the colour soaks into the paper: first yellow, then magenta, then cyan, and finally a clear protective layer. Canon uses this technique in the SELPHY CP1500; Kodak calls it "4PASS prints" and water-resistant for the Mini 3 ERA. The Polaroid Hi-Print 2x3 and Hi-Print 4x6 work with paper cartridges.

Instant film. Fujifilm's instax printers expose instax film, the same film as in their instant cameras. The photo comes out and then develops, just as you know from an instant camera. The instax mini Link 3 prints on instax mini, the Link Wide on instax WIDE and the SQUARE Link on square instax SQUARE film.

Inkjet. An ink photo printer prints on photo paper in larger sizes, such as the Canon PIXMA iP7250 or the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1100. It sits on a desk and is not portable.

Which size do you want?

The size often makes the choice for you:

• Small and sticky: Zink at 5 x 7.6 cm, for a diary, notebook or small photo album.
• Credit card size with a white border: instax mini.
• Square: instax SQUARE, or a Kodak square printer such as the Kodak Mini 3 Square.
• Wide: instax WIDE, about twice as wide as mini.
• Postcard, 10 x 15 cm: dye sublimation with the Canon SELPHY CP1500, the Polaroid Hi-Print 4x6 or the HP Sprocket Studio 4x6.
• Larger than 10 x 15 cm: an inkjet photo printer.

Paper, film and refills

Each technique has its own paper, and it fits only printers of that kind:

• Zink: packs of Zink paper in your printer's size.
• SELPHY: Canon sells ink and paper together in one set, such as the KP-36IP with 36 postcard-size sheets. The ink runs out at the same time as the paper.
• Polaroid Hi-Print: paper cartridges, for example the paper cartridge for the Hi-Print 2x3. Each cartridge also holds the colour ribbon.
• instax: Fujifilm film packs in mini, WIDE or SQUARE.

To find what one photo costs, divide the price of a refill by the number of photos in it. That number is in the product name.

Phone, app and battery

Mini printers work with an app on your phone. You pick the photo there, crop it and send it to the printer over Bluetooth or wifi. The pocket printers, such as the Zink printers, the instax printers and the Polaroid Hi-Print 2x3, have a built-in battery, so you can use them away from home too. The 10 x 15 cm printers, such as the Polaroid Hi-Print 4x6, run on mains power; for the Canon SELPHY CP1500, Canon sells a separate battery pack. Whether the app works on your phone is stated by the maker; check that before you choose.

A thermal mini printer is not a photo printer

There are also small thermal printers for your phone, such as the Niimbot B21 Pro. They print with heat on special paper, but only in black, like a till receipt or a label. They are made for labels, lists and stickers, not for colour photos. For a label printer, look under label printers; for photos, under photo printers.