Which pocket printer to choose to print your smartphone photos in 2019?

Want to know what is best to print your smartphone photos with? We tested 5 printers on the market available in 2019, the price of which varies between 114 and 169 euros. And not all of them are worth it.

Smartphone cameras today can be of very good quality, so that we are sometimes tempted to print these shots to keep some memories. The good news is that there are plenty of printers, portable or not, designed specifically for this purpose. The bad news is that few really won us over.

We detail here the strengths and weaknesses of each.

For information, all tests were carried out (except when specified otherwise) with photos taken by an iPhone XR, thanks to the 12 megapixel rear camera. Apart from Kodak's Printer Dock, all printers are connected to our smartphone via the Bluetooth system, and work with an associated application.

We also did video tests, available on Numerama's YouTube channel.

The Zoemini. // Source: Louise Audry / Numerama

The Zoemini is a compact printer, and probably the best in its class. However, it has some small disadvantages in terms of printing.

Design, size and weight

The Zoemini is light and compact, convenient to carry on vacation. The design is basic but successful and it respects the same color code as many smartphone printers, namely white and copper pink – also called rose gold. It is also available in black or white.

The Canon Zoemini // Source: Canon

It's made entirely of plastic but, perhaps thanks to a simple matte effect, it looks visually more solid than its competitors and looks a little less "toy".

The mobile app and getting started

Installing the paper refills is extremely simple, just like with the HP Sprocket: just lift the top of the device, insert the plugs, close, and you're done.

The application is refined but very complete. This is the major advantage of the Zoemini. It can connect to our social networks, including Instagram and Facebook or to a Dropbox, which allows us to print photos that are not stored directly on our smartphone. It allows you to personalize these photos by adding filters, stickers, text or frames to rather successful designs. You can also cut each photo into 4 or 6: once printed, all you have to do is glue the mosaics together to obtain a large image (pay attention, however, to the visible separations and the price that this costs, especially with 9 images...).

Excerpt from mobile app // Source: Screenshot / Canon

Print quality

There is no need for ink to print with the Zoemini: it is contained directly in the paper, thanks to a thermal sublimation technology called Zink. It only takes a few seconds to complete the print.

The refills are 5 x 7.6 cm. It is almost identical for the Sprocket and the Mini 2 from Kodak, presented below. And beware: it is very small.

The quality is overall good. The image is sharp, even at the level of details. We can see a few pixels on the flat colored surfaces, but not as much as with the Sprocket which we will discuss later: you really have to take a magnifying glass to see it.

On the other hand, the color is missed. Our image taken under a bright sun becomes strangely dark when printed, which very clearly spoils the colors and the photo as a whole. It is especially noticeable here on the nearest chimney.

Louise Audry / Numerama

The price of the device and refills

The Zoemini costs 139 euros. Refills cost 11 euros for 20 sheets or 26 euros for 50 sheets, or about 50 cents per sheet. This price is lower than that of its competitors, which offer refills up to double.

Verdict

The Zoemini is very convenient to carry and use. Its mobile application offers many customization possibilities and can connect to social networks, the photos are clear, the refills are quite inexpensive. The main drawback remains the dark aspect of the photos, which we can sometimes adjust by adjusting the brightness of the image directly on our smartphone.

Rating: 3.5/5

Instax's printer and camera. // Source: Louise Audry / Numerama

The Instax mini LiPlay is the latest innovation from Instax, the brand specializing in low-cost Polaroid-type devices. As the photo shows, this time it's not just a smartphone photo printer. The object also acts as a camera and even a microphone... but don't expect great quality.

Design, size and weight

The Instax mini LiPlay that we were able to test is (still) a rose gold device. However, there are other more neutral colors available: in black with rose gold details or in "white stone", an elegant white with a little speckling.

The different models of Mini Liplay // Source: Numerama editing

It is a rather inexpensive product and therefore looks a bit like a "plastic toy". It has a screen and more buttons than conventional printers, since it is also a camera. Inserting the photo refills gave us a bit (a lot) of trouble due to a paper jam, but once you get the hang of it, putting in and removing the can that contains the sheets becomes a child's play.

Be careful, the device is the smallest of the Instax but it can be difficult to handle with small hands. It is not recommended for a gift to a child. On the other hand, it will be perfect from adolescence. Its dimensions are 12 centimeters in length, 8 in height and 3.5 in thickness approximately. It weighs 255 grams.

The mobile app and getting started

The camera is easy to use, which is quite logical because it has few options and settings. It is also very easy to connect the device to your smartphone and use the application. We can modify the camera shortcuts from the application, which prints our images in a few clicks and can even print an extract from a video taken with the mini LiPlay. You can also integrate a QR code which will return by scanning it to a sound that you will have recorded at the same time as you take the photo (welcome to the future).

Screenshots / Instax

Print quality

The first thing that can be said about printing is that the format is different from other printers. It is faithful to the brand identity of Instax since it is small polaroids. It's very nice, especially if you plan to display the photos on a wall or as a gift, but it also has some disadvantages. A classic photo on a smartphone will have to be cut on the edges: the paper refills are about 8.5 cm by 5.5 but the image itself only extends over 6.2 by 4.6 cm. Also, the result is less nice when you want to print a horizontal shot. The large white band (there are also colored or black sheets) classic of a Polaroid appears on one side.

The image quality is good. The photo is clear, the contours are faithful to the original image. Colors are a bit less saturated as the device prints with a somewhat aged Instagram filter effect – which isn't unpleasant, provided you like it. Warning: do not put your fingers on the photo before it is fully developed. Otherwise, like us, you will see a small white spot (visible at the top right of the photo).

Louise Audry / Numerama

What is the camera worth?

The LiPlay mini is the only printer on this list that also doubles as a camera. This is a basic digital, with few adjustment features. You can simply adjust the brightness and the focus. The automatic settings did not really appeal to us. The quality with the iPhone was far superior to that obtained with the device, even after the adjustments were made. You can also add color filters for black and white or more or less saturated images, activate or deactivate the flash and put a self-timer. This does not make up for the low quality of the sensor, only 4.9 megapixels, against 12 for our iPhone.

The device finally offers a dozen filters (rather frames, in reality) to enhance your photos. They are easy to activate thanks to three small dedicated buttons but as the saying goes, they do not break three legs to a duck – it must be said that we expected a lot from such an Instagram-friendly device.

The price of the device and refills

The device costs 169 euros (the same price at launch as its direct competitor, the Sprocket 2-in-1 from HP). Refills cost 11.99 for 10 or 18.99 euros for 20, i.e. between 0.9 and 1.2 euros per photo.

Verdict

The Instax mini Liplay isn't the printer that will give the most natural looking result, but if you like the Instagram filter look, this is the one for you. The result is nice and clean, which is not the case with all its competitors. For the camera, it's a bit of a miss. We almost regret that Instax did not just release a printer, a little cheaper.

Rating: 4/5

The Sprocket from HP. // Source: Louise Audry / Numerama

The Sprocket is one of the most popular smartphone printers on the market. It is distinguished by its ease of use and its associated mobile application, which offers a whole host of possibilities. It fishes on the other hand on the quality of impression.

Design, size and weight

The Sprocket is a lightweight printer that you can carry anywhere in a handbag. It is white with coppery pink details. It also exists in black and white or burgundy red.

Screenshots / HP

It is a little heavier than its competitor the Zoemini but you hardly feel the difference. It weighs 172 grams and measures approximately 11.5 centimeters long, 7.5 wide and 2 thick.

The mobile app and getting started

Here again, we have a printer that is very easy to connect to your smartphone via a Bluetooth system, a paper that can be inserted in 10 seconds tops and a very aesthetic application.

The application is the major asset of the Sprocket. First, you can connect it to its social networks: Instagram, Facebook and Google. Then, it contains a "photo ID" mode that promises to take conforming photos (maybe not for a passport, but it avoids spending an hour looking for change to go to the photo booth and being disappointed with your three tests). Finally, the application has a "tile" mode that cuts your photo into 4 or 9.

Screenshots / Numerama

Print quality

The Sprocket's big weakness is clearly its print quality – which works like the Zoemini with Zink inkless technology.

The landscape photo we released is much less saturated. Sky blue looks bland, brick red becomes an unattractive rose-red. Above all, we see that the image, of good quality at the start, comes out very pixelated in places. The sky at the top left is not quite clear. This is not noticeable on surfaces full of details, which are very clear, but only on flat areas of color.

Louise Audry / Numerama

The price of the device and refills

The Sprocket costs 119 euros. Refills then cost 12.90 euros for 20, or 0.6 euros per print.

Verdict

The Sprocket is very similar to the Zoemini, in terms of the mobile application and its size in particular. To choose, we will prefer the model from Canon: it suffers from a low quality impression, with a pixelation effect and a saturation that leaves something to be desired.

Rating: 2.5/5

Louise Audry / Numerama

The Kodak Mini 2 is a slightly larger portable model than the Zoemini and Sprocket. It is distinguished by its printing method, but unfortunately not by its quality.

Design, size and weight

The Mini 2 from Kodak looks a bit like the Zoemini or the Sprocket. It is a little larger and heavier but it can still be easily transported. It measures 7.6 cm by 15.2, for 2.4 cm thick. It weighs 238 grams.

The design is minimalist. It's a simple glossy plastic on top, matte on the bottom. The printer is available in white or black.

Screenshot / Kodak

The mobile app and getting started

The printer is easy to connect to your phone via Bluetooth, but the connection is of poor quality. Both devices disconnect regularly for no reason. It only takes a few seconds to reconnect them, but it's a bit annoying, especially when it happens between two photos.

The mobile application is not the most aesthetic but it is efficient and practical. This is the one that allows you to make the most adjustments in terms of brightness, framing, etc. We appreciate the search by date in his photo gallery, very practical for easily finding the images of his last vacation. On the other hand, be careful: you have to speak a few words of English to fully understand how the app works, because not everything is translated.

Kodak

Print quality

Unlike most smartphone printers, the Kodak Mini 2 does not print without ink. You must insert a small cartridge, supplied with the paper refills.

The printing works like a classic printing: successive layers of colors are applied to the paper, until the final result is obtained. It is a noisier process and above all, slower. It takes about forty seconds to print, compared to 10 to 15 for other models.

In terms of colors, we can not deny that it is very successful. It is the most faithful printer from the point of view of saturation and colors. On the other hand, the printer has a major weakness: the final photo is a bit blurry. This is barely visible on solid colors (images of the sky for example) but it becomes very annoying on detailed photos. We tested it with two landscape photos and one food photo and the problem came up every time. We see it below at the level of the chimney (while the sky is very successful).

Louise Audry / Numerama

The price of the device and refills

The printer costs 114 euros. The 30 refills (ink included) are offered at 20 euros, or 0.6 euros per refill. The refills are slightly larger than the Zoemini or the Sprocket.

Verdict

The Mini 2 from Kodak made us dream with its real color layer printing system. However, the result is disappointing because... vague. This gives an unnatural shot and not really pleasant to look at. The mobile app isn't the best either. Too bad, because the colors were perfect.

Rating: 2/5

Louise Audry / Numerama

The Printer Dock PD-450 is not a portable printer, unlike others. We naively thought it was better in terms of quality, but it has almost the same flaws as the Mini 2.

Design, size and weight

The Kodak Printer Dock visually has nothing to do with its competitors. This time it's a difficult printer to take on vacation. It only works when plugged into a socket, it measures 16 cm by 10 and 6.8 wide, not to mention a removable piece that must be clipped on each print for it to work and which extends over about ten centimeters. Above all, it weighs 760 grams.

The mobile app and getting started

The mobile application is identical to that of the Kodak Mini 2, presented above.

On the handling side, it takes a little longer: you must first insert the ink cartridge, then the papers, then a removable medium that allows the photo not to fall between each color layer. It's pretty quick once you get the hang of it, but instant printing is sometimes more difficult.

Louise Audry / Numerama

The Printer Dock works via Bluetooth but you can also connect your phone directly to it. Two adapters, for Android and iPhone, are provided. Finally, and this is one of the big advantages of this device, you can connect other devices such as a Reflex and print your photos directly on it.

Print quality

The print format is very different. While the other refills are very small (about 5cm by 7), these are 10cm by 14.8cm. It is a “classic” photo format.

In terms of quality, the Printer Dock unfortunately suffers from the same problems as the Mini 2. The colors are good, but there is a blurring effect that breaks the naturalness of the photos. It is particularly awkward on photos of details such as dishes, where certain contours are barely distinguishable.

Louise Audry / Numerama

The price of the device and refills

The Printer Dock costs 139 euros. The 80 refills (ink included) are sold at 35 euros. Each refill is worth 44 cents.

Verdict

As with the Mini 2, much was expected of this Kodak printer. The blurry aspect that we find on all our photos unfortunately spoils the rendering.

Rating: 2/5

Have you read all the reviews but are still struggling to decide which printer to choose? In fact, it depends a bit on what you intend to use it for:

You want to display photos on your wall to make your room a very instagrammable space: opt for the Instax mini Liplay,

You want to take it everywhere and print photos from your social networks: the Zoemini is for you,

If you are not very convinced by the quality of mini-printers: we advise you to use sites like Cheerz which print smartphone photos in different formats, including Polaroid. The quality is very good, and the prices are lower when comparing the price of the photo to the unit.

Height and weight

Device price

Price per photo refill

Zoemini

11 x 8 x 1.8cm, 160g

139 euros

0.5 euros

Mini Liplay

12 x 8 x 3.5cm, 255g

169 euros

€0.9

sprocket

11.5 x 7.5 x 2.8cm, 172g

149 euros

0.5 euros

Mini 2

15 x 10 x 4.5cm, 250g

114 euros

0.6 euro

Printer Dock PD-450

16 x 10 x 6.8cm, 760g

139 euros

0.4 euros

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