As mentioned, the dye-sub printer makes four passes—laying down cyan, magenta, and yellow ink, plus a clear coat that helps colors pop and protects the image from fingerprints and dust. (Zero-ink printers use special paper infused with colors released by the printer's application of heat.) Kodak says that, with proper storage, images from the device should last for up to a century. Print speed, within reason, isn't really an issue for these little devices. Output quality, on the other hand, is essential, and the Mini 2 Retro joins its 3-inch-square sibling in producing excellent images. Colors are vibrant and accurate, and detail is quite respectable, considering how small these prints are. There’s no charging the Kiipix Portable Mini Printer, nor any need to plug it in. Simply load it with Instax Mini film, place your phone face down on the scanner (with the brightness cranked all the way up – trust us), use the reflective mirror to ensure it’s properly aligned, and then you can manually crank out the prints yourself. We like how simple it is to set up and use the Mini Link 2, although it’s a bit of a shame that it recharges via the slower and older Micro USB port rather than the more widespread USB-C connector. The pros of this little printer are it makes beautiful prints, is intuitive to use and relies on Bluetooth connectivity. On the down side it’s bulkier than its smaller format siblings but it makes slightly larger prints so you need to weigh up your needs.

Setting up the Step was easy. Its companion app (available for iOS and Android) walks you through the process, connecting your phone to the portable printer via Bluetooth. The device is powered by a built-in Li-ion battery that charges via micro-USB, which means you can use it anywhere. The main difference is in the type of printing method. Instax models use the same instant photo paper present in the brand’s instant cameras for a real film look, there are several models out there that use Zink (or “zero ink”) paper tech. This is photo paper that takes on colour in a process that uses crystals and heat, but this is notable for a slightly poorer image quality. The Polaroid Hi-Print is a little different than either approach, using dye-sublimation for accurate colours. Print speed If you’re after a bit of a balance between the larger wide film and the tiny mini film available from Instax, then the square format is the one you’re looking for. This is the most up-to-date printer from the brand, using the widespread USB-C charging port rather than the less common and older Micro USB alternative present in much of the range, and it has the same sleek styling we’re used to from Instax printers.The Hi-Print wasn’t the fastest printer that we tested for this guide. However, it isn’t slow enough to be irritating, either. Although the Hi-Print didn’t offer the best image quality of all the models we tested, its prints were still crisp and largely true to the digital photos we used during testing. The devices we tested a variety of different printing techniques. Three of the printers used dye sublimation, which uses heat to transfer ink from film sheets to photo paper. This process takes time. Each sheet of photo paper passes through the printer four times to lay down each layer of color before the final print emerges. The Zink paper tech in these is a bit different when compared to Instax models. Instead of ink, it uses colourful crystals embedded inside the paper – it’s a little slower to print but pictures don’t need time to develop. They also may look a bit more washed out than instant film, though, and we generally think the “Polaroid” charm is more present in models from Polaroid and Fujifilm’s Instax. All portable photo printers work by connecting to your smartphone over Bluetooth, and you’ll then be able to send your photos to the printer via an app. They may allow you to add effects or text before you print too.

These printers operate wirelessly, using WiFi or Bluetooth technology –or, in the case of the Kiipix, using a mirror! What paper do these printers take?The Instax Link Wide connects to your smartphone or tablet using Bluetooth, and is operated using the eponymous app for iOS or Android. My name is Mike Yawney. I have been reviewing tech products for over 15 years. Most of that time has been spent in front of the camera, talking tech and reviewing everything from smartphones to video games on one of Canada's most popular national morning television programs. If what you want to print isn’t well-sized to your printer paper, you can always crop your photos using apps on your smartphone, including your photo printer’s companion app. Battery Life

Superior Photo Quality: The Kodak Mini 3 Retro utilizes 4PASS technology, which allows you to print flawless photos in just a few seconds. As the photos are printed on layers of color and laminated, they are protected against fingerprints and water. Photos last over a 100 years! Once printed, photos appeared crisp with a surprising amount of detail. However, the color reproduction was not always accurate. Think about why you want to print pictures on the move. Do you want the absolute best image quality? Choose a dye-sublimation printer. Do you want the cheapest prints, regardless of quality? Go for a Zink printer. Do you want the coolest prints? You'll probably want an Instax-based printer. At 4.5” x 3.0” x 1.0”, and 7 ounces, the LifePrint 2x3 Hyperprint was by far the smallest and lightest we tested. It was also the fastest by far, taking around 30 seconds to print a photo. Some of this speed comes from using Zink (Zero-Ink) technology that combines the ink and photo paper. This depends on the printer. The Instax Link series uses actual instant film (the same as you put in Instax film cameras) to produce an authentic instant print. This is a definite stylistic choice, giving you a low-detail, low-fidelity, analog quality that can't be achieved on traditional printers, but comes at a cost –as instant film is pretty pricey.As one of the smallest models we tested, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link is perfect for on-the-go fun. The app lets you customize prints by applying filters and adding fun captions. You can also buy photo paper with designs already printed on it, to add even more character. We also noticed the printer’s companion app was an almost identical clone of the Kodak Mini 3 Retro’s app. The only distinguishable difference is that it was missing the Kodak logo.

Most of the portable photo printers you’ll find also produce images that are pretty tiny so they can remain compact and portable to bring with you on your travels. No, these portable printers are designed to work with smart devices such as your phone –and, in the case of the Instax Mini LiPlay, to print directly from its integrated camera as well. Do I need a physical cable to connect to the printer?The app would see the printer and tell us it was connected. Then, when we tried to print a photo, it produced an error. The problem? No printer was connected.