7 Top Portable Photo Printers in 2020 – 2021

Portable photo printers available in 2020 – 2021 are compact, easy to use, and transform your clicks into physical keepsakes within seconds.

Portable photo printers vary in size, working mechanism, and print quality. While several portable photo printers use 2” x 3” Zink paper, others can produce 4” x 6” photo prints on the go.

Some printers use specialty instant films instead of paper.

Many professional photographers use portable photo printers to produce small photo prints on the spot for their clients. Some people use these devices to create photo albums, wall art, or vacation journals.

Nowadays, many businesses and individuals also use them to hand out photos during exhibitions, trade shows, conferences, etc.

Whatever your reasons to buy a portable photo printer in 2020 – 2021, you’d want to make an informed decision.

Here in this post, we wish to help you with exactly that.

Top 7 portable photo printers Comparison Chart

Here are our top-rated picks in portable photo printers for creating photo albums, wall art, or vacation journals, and even our favorite budget-friendly options.

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Let’s take a look at the top seven portable photo printers in 2020 – 2021

HP Sprocket Select

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This portable photo printer delivers reasonably good quality for a pocket printer. Since Sprocket Select uses specialty (sticky-backed) paper, it does not require ink/dye cartridges. Loading the 20-sheet role is easy.

This ink-free portable photo printer connects only via Bluetooth. Printing your smartphone clicks is easy and hassle-free.

With a page speed of 1 page-per-minute (ppm), HP Sprocket Select is relatively slow. But you can always create good-quality wallet-size (2.3” x 3.4”) prints on the go. Compared to the original HP Sprocket printer, it can print 30% larger photo prints.

You can use the HP Sprocket app to quickly edit and print photos. Alternatively, you can learn how to process images without learning Photoshop or Illustrator. 

The built-in rechargeable battery is good for producing about 30 prints per charge. A micro-USB port on the device can be used for recharging the battery.

An LED light serves as a battery-status indicator or print-job-status indicator. HP Sprocket Select is a great choice for those looking to buy a portable photo printer for journaling. Running costs, however, are on a higher side.

Canon IVY Mini Photo Printer

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An inkless photo printer like HP Sprocket Select we discussed above, Canon IVY Mini can produce one 3.4” x 2.1” photo print with a maximum resolution of 314 x 400 dpi in about 25 seconds. Weighing just 158 grams, IVY Mini is so small that can fit on the palm of your hand.

The device uses a Bluetooth connection for printing via the Canon Mini Print App. You can directly print photos from your device memory or the Internet; you can also edit or enhance photos before you print them.

Since this portable printer works with your tablet or smartphone, there is no control panel or user interface to speak of. It is powered by a single lithium-ion battery that can be charged by a micro-USB connector. An LED light indicates the charging status.

HP Tango X

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Positioned as a smart home printer, HP Tango X can be your portable printer of choice due to its compact size. A multi-function consumer-grade photo printer, HP Tango X can print, copy, and scan.

This four-color inkjet printer uses two ink cartridges. High-yield HP printer cartridges are optional. Although this printer is HP Instant Ink Ready, it is advisable to buy compatible printer cartridges to keep printing costs under control.

It supports dual-band Wi-Fi and voice-activated printing. This portable photo printer can produce about 8 color prints and 11 monochrome prints per minute.

Kodak Mini 2 HD

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Nearly the size of a smartphone, Kodak Mini 2 HD is highly portable. You can carry it around in your pockets and print 2.1” x 3.4” size photos directly from your Android or iOS devices.

One of the best portable photo printers to buy in 2020 – 2021, Kodak Mini 2 HD produces beautiful-looking and detailed color portraits and B&W photos through dye sublimation thermal transfer technology that dry instantly.

The manufacturer claims that fade-proof and water-proof photo prints made with this portable photo printer can retain their sheen for up to 10 years.

You can use the Kodak Photo Printer App if you want to crop photos or apply filters; adding stickers or using templates is also easy.

The device uses a lithium-ion battery which can be charged through a micro-USB port. It can print about 20 photos per charge. This portable photo printer takes around 50 seconds to print a wallet-size photo.

Canon Selphy CP1300

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Known for its expressive colors and brilliant skin tones, Canon Selphy CP1300 is an incremental upgrade to CP1200. The print quality has improved considerably in this version.

A portable photo printer on budget, Canon Selphy CP1300 is known for its low printing costs in comparison to other portable photo printers popular in 2020 – 2021 such as HP Sprocket.

This portable Wi-Fi photo printer can be used to print high-quality photos from your camera or smartphone anywhere, anytime. You can also print directly from your camera’s memory card or USB.

The device features a 3.2” LCD screen. The battery pack is optional. The battery can print up to 54 photos per charge.

Epson WorkForce WF-110

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A compact mobile printer, Epson WorkForce WF-110 can be easily carried in bags or briefcases for printing photos on the go.

The printer’s built-in lithium-ion battery can be recharged by an AC adapter or via USB. With an additional accessory battery (optional), it can handle even greater print volume.

The device features a 1.4” color LCD and supports hands-free, voice-activated printing. Marketed towards business travelers, Epson WorkForce WF-110 can be used to print 4” x 6” borderless photos, contracts, invoices, PowerPoint handouts, and more.

The printer uses pigment ink and supports resolutions up to 5760 x 1440 (optimized) dpi.

Polaroid Originals Polaroid Lab

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An ideal portable photo printer for on-the-go snapshot printing, Polaroid Originals Polaroid Lab produces instant photo prints from your smartphone screen.

The optical lens and smartphone screen are used via the Polaroid App to expose an instant film for producing the print. You can also print images stored on your phone.  

The film, however, is pricey. If you love Polaroid prints, you might just love this portable printer, available in 2020 – 2021

How to Choose the Best Portable Photo Printer

If you need to print many pictures, you will need a printer with a larger ink capacity. You can also think about how much money you want to spend on your printer.

If it is a lot of money, then a good idea would be to get a printer with more ink.

If you want to print high-quality, large-sized prints for presentations, you will need to buy a printer with an autofocus feature. The best printers can create good-quality prints that are crisp and appealing.

If you want to print many photos at one time, make sure you look at the options of photo printer models before buying anything.

If you need to print many pictures, you should buy a printer that has good printing resolution. If the printer is terrible, then pictures might not print out, or they could be blurry.

You also need to think about the size of the printer. Some printers can hold many pictures and others only have room for one or two prints.

The best way to find the best portable photo printer is to take time and think about what you want. If you plan on using your printer for creative artwork, then get one with a high resolution.

If you want to print photos for personal use, your camera should have an auto-focus feature. It will make it easier for you to adjust the focus when you move the camera around.

After that, you will be able to find a printer with great features. The printers may last a long time and produce good-quality photos.

How Does a Portable Photo Printer Work?

Portable printers are a good idea. They can print photos from your computer or the printer if you don’t have space for a big one.

There are two types of portable printers: those that use a card reader and those that connect to your computer wirelessly. You need to make sure that the printer is compatible with the type of photo you want to print.

The type of printer you have changes what kind of pictures you can print. Some printers are connected to your computer with a USB cable. Other printers need to be plugged into the computer with a serial port cable and then hooked up to the printer. When you send a picture from your digital camera to the printer, it is stored on the computer until it is ready to be sent.

Some printers have a card reader that lets you scan the card before sending it. Receiving a photo used to be on paper, but now it is usually done with the internet.

A woman who has her own home business benefits greatly from having a printer because she doesn’t want to waste time going to different places looking for an ad.

Inkjet Printers

Inkjet printers print on paper with droplets of ink. They are easy to use and the most popular type of printer. They come in many different sizes, such as small and inexpensive consumer printers or expensive professional printers.

Laser printers

Laser printers are the best way to print. They are newer and more popular than other ways of printing. Laser printers can do high-quality work for all sorts of things, like pictures and text on paper.

3D Printer

When you compare price and quality, it might be a good idea to consider 3D printers. They are new, but there are many advantages compared to old technology. For example, the printer is only for one-time use, which means your operating costs go down.

You can also replace them less often because they do not break as easily. The main advantage is that the cost of buying 3D printers is low, which means you will get more for less money with this type of printer.

How We Tested

We tested portable photo printers by researching them. When you compare other printers and these, you will find many differences. One is the portability factor. It’s essential to have a portable printer, especially when you are taking photos on the go.

The benefits of these devices are that they are small, easy to transport, and can be taken with you on trips. They are also easy to set up.

As you can see, portable photo printers have several advantages. They are like standard printers with everything, including toner and paper. But there are some downsides too. We’ll show you how we tested the different types of portable photo printers that we found in this guide.

Conclusion

Portable photo printers are helpful for many reasons. They are perfect for people and small businesses. For example, they often want to do something other than talk or laugh when people get together.

You can use a portable photo printer to make cards and invitations with the same style and feel as your regular ones. This way you can send lots of different invitations to many people all at the same time!

Not all mobile photo printers are the same. Some are not very good or have problems that you do not want. When looking for a portable printer, it should be easy to transfer photos from one device to another.

If you want to print a document on any computer, you need a portable photo printer. It will save space and time. Some models print more pages than others.

Make sure that your printer can handle the number of copies or other prints that you need to make quickly enough that it doesn’t get in the way of your work.