I have to be honest with you. When I first heard of these portable printers I thought they were stupid. These mini photo printers that you stuff in your pocket and print out little 2×3″ snapshots of the world we live – what a waste money, right? Smartphone photo printers are all the rage these days, but are they all just HYPE or is there some usefulness to them. 

A Great Idea

A lot of people are using portable printers at parties and family gatherings. I read about a couple that recently used a portable photo printer at their wedding; they took pictures of the guests, stuck them in a book and had each guest write a caption under their photo – I thought that was a brilliant idea. I recently grabbed one of these devices and tried it out, and I must say that they’re quite cool. I can see why people enjoy using them and it does have a flare of creativity to everything that you do. Because the whole world carries their smartphone with them all of the time, these smartphone photo printers become a part of the technology family and a part of your everyday life. 

What Are These Portable Devices?

These portable printers are precisely as the name would suggest. They are compact printers that connect through Bluetooth to any smartphone device. These printers do not use ink to project the image on the paper but instead use ZINK paper technology that has the CYM dye crystals embedded inside the paper.

The great thing about these printers is that they do not need ink. They create full-color photos that are long-lasting, durable and affordable.Naturally, because there are no ink cartridges, the printers are much smaller than a regular printer. This makes these mobile printers easy to carry with you where ever you go.Again, I believe it’s vital to state that these printers only print a 2×3 photo. This makes it great for instant images of memories to create or give away.

Fun Ways to Use a Portable Printer

Here are a few great ideas on how you can use the photos from any mobile photo printer:

• Use the images printed on a portable printer to create nametags
• Use your pictures to create custom Christmas present tags
• Build a homemade photo booth at a Christmas party or a birthday bash
• Use the photos to create a fun scavenger hunt for your family
• Exchange the photos at your next family gathering

There are countless ways that you can use the photos from this small mobile device. I found every day I created a new and inventive way to share the photos I printed. I am sure that when you get your hands on one of these devices, you are going to love it as much as I do.

It’s Not A Dedicated Photo Printer

One thing to keep in mind is that the quality of prints that come from a portable printer is not going to be the same as a dedicated photo printer that uses ink cartridges. There is no way that a mobile printer could ever compete with that kind of quality.

A portable printer was designed to be portable and compact. The ZINK technology is great, but it does have its limitations. I would make sure that you are aware of these things before you purchase a portable printer. Mostly, these printers are for fun and entertainment, not for creating wall-hanging portraits. Yes. There is a lot of hype surrounding these small portable printers, but everyone that I know that owns one absolutely loves them – and that includes me. I have listed below the printer that is my absolute favorite. This is my top choice of all the portable printers that are available on the market.