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Polaroid printers are a great way to get your photos off your phone and into your hands. But with so many different models on the market, it can be hard to know which one is right for you.
The Phomemo M02 pocket printer is our top Polaroid printer. It’s small and easy to carry. It connects wirelessly to your smartphone using an app. And the print quality is the best on the market. It’s a top-quality portable printer.
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Nothing beats a physical photo. We consume tons and tons of digital media these days. But some of us still get a thrill from holding something real. And that’s especially true with photographs.
Polaroid film photography is undergoing a huge revival. People are again looking for physical photos they can hold, display, and treasure. But not all people what to fiddle around with film cameras. That’s why portable photo printers are all the rage right now.
Portable printers allow you to print photos from your smartphone. You don’t need an analog camera. But you still get photos in a physical form.
Here are the best Polaroid printers available. You can take a quick look at each printer in the table below. Then keep scrolling for a more detailed look at each Polaroid printer.
Our Top Choice
Phomemo M02 Pocket Printer
Phomemo M02 Pocket Printer
A compact and convenient printer you can take anywhere
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The Phomemo M02 pocket printer is one of the quirkier portable printers on our list. That’s because it’s mainly a sticker paper printer.
Yes, it’s the type of printer you use to print labels for Christmas gifts and cute stickers for your water bottle. But apart from text and graphics, it can also print images from your phone.
Other portable photo printers can only print on one type of paper. But the MO2 can print on transparent, semi-transparent, gold, silver, and color paper.
The only downside is that it can only print images in black and white. But if that means you can do it on transparent sticker paper, why not?
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Fujifilm is the only company to rival the Polaroid instant print cameras with their Instax series. And the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link smartphone printer is one of the most popular on the market. Fujifilm has its fingers on the pulse when it comes to instant printing.
Like Polaroid cameras and printers, the Instax Mini Link Printer uses instant film. It turns your phone snapshots into physical photos. And it prints glossy photos from a sleek and compact body.
The Instax Mini Link is a completely wireless printer. So you connect the printer and your smartphone using the app or Bluetooth. It’s convenient and super easy to use.
As the photos are printed on photo paper, they need time to develop. But you won’t have to wait long. Your printed photos are ready in 90 seconds. That’s not time at all!
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This capable printer is Kodak’s answer to the HP Sprocket Studio. Like the Sprocket Studio, it also prints photos 4 x 6 inches (10.6 x 15.2 cm).
The Kodak Dock Plus has a receptacle to attach your phone for printing. And your phone charges when attached! But you can also print wirelessly using the Kodak app or Bluetooth.
So what makes the Dock Plus better than HP Sprocket Studio? Well, it’s a few inches smaller than its HP counterpart. We also love the laminated print quality that protects your images, helping them last longer.
The Dock Plus is also smaller because it uses sublimation. And the Sprocket Studio is a legitimate laser printer. Regardless, the Dock Plus can print large photos at a much lower price. This should be enough to persuade you to get this cool gadget.
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The HP Sprocket Studio is a beefier version of the HP Sprocket. It’s physically larger than its portable counterpart. But even though it can’t fit in your pocket, it’s still portable enough to carry around inside your camera backpack.
It even has an optional battery pack. So you can print your images anywhere!
This is one of the best printers on our list because it’s a legitimate laser printer. It produces high-quality photos that no Zink or dye sublimation process can replicate.
The Sprocket Studio also prints photos 4 x 6 inches (10.6 x 15.2 cm), a nice size for displaying photos. That’s the regular picture size you get from the traditional photo labs.
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This printer is called Lifeprint Ultra Slim for a reason. It’s one of the slimmest printers you’ll find. This makes it easy to take with you wherever you go. Despite its size, it produces high-quality photos 2 x 3 inches (5 x 7.6 cm).
This matches—if not exceeds—the sizes of its counterparts. And, of course, like other Zink printers, it also comes with peel-off paper. Plus, it’s also guaranteed to be smudge-proof and water-resistant!
Sure, all the Lifeprint features we mentioned are available in other printers. So what makes the Ultra Slim different? Well, it lets you send and print images to other Lifeprint users.
And did we mention it was one of the first brands that integrated augmented reality with pictures? They were one of the pioneers to let you play embedded video clips in physical prints.
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Unlike other Polaroid printers, the Polaroid Hi-Print doesn’t use film to print pictures. Instead, this instant photo printer is more like the Canon Ivy or the HP Sprocket. It uses a special photo dye. And you still get the same vibrant photos you expect from a Polaroid product.
You can also get sticker paper for this printer. That means you can create stickers of pretty much anything.
The Hi-Print app also lets you add filters and frames before printing. It gives you plenty of fun ways to customize your images. Then you can send the photos wirelessly to print. It’s compact, convenient, and stylish!
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Like the HP Sprocket, the KODAK Step uses Zink technology instead of dye sublimation for printing pictures. And this printer has no ink cartridges. So it’s smaller and lighter than its counterparts.
The Kodak Step app gives you excellent editing options. You can add filters, borders, and text to your images. And you can turn your photos into cool stickers.
For some people, affordability alone can be enough to buy this device. But if you’re not into the bright colors of the other printers, you can always get the wireless mini Step in classic black or white. They look as elegant as they are functional!
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At first glance, the HP Sprocket photo printer looks much like all the other printers on our list. It’s also slim, but it also comes in bright colors.
Under the hood of this printer is an entirely different machine. It uses Zink technology instead of dye sublimation. And what is Zink technology? Well, “Zink” is a blending of the words “zero” and “ink.”
So unlike its competitors, the Sprocket doesn’t have an active ink cartridge. Instead, it uses paper that already has ink infused in it. When you print, the heat from the printer activates the ink in the paper to produce vivid pictures. Now, how cool is that?
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The KODAK Mini 3 Retro photo printer has one of the most affordable photo papers on our list. They are excellent value. So that allows you to get more out of your portable printer. And the square 3 x 3 inches (7.6 x 7.6 cm) looks fantastic.
The square format might be awkward for some pictures. But it’s perfect for printing Instagram images. That means you can print your favorite photos straight from social media.
Kodak’s paper uses dye sublimation technology to print photos. The paper has a laminate to protect your pictures from the elements. So they’ll last a long time. You’ll be able to treasure these memories for years.
Another great feature of the Mini 3 Retro is its Kodak PrintaCase app. It lets you edit your image on your phone and even slap on emojis and stickers to add some spice to your pictures.
And the app also includes augmented reality features. It lets you try on dozens of filters and animations to your snapshots.
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The Polaroid Lab is arguably one of the strangest photo printers on this list. It’s pretty large compared to other options. And it looks like a futuristic sci-fi prop.
But under the hood of this nifty gadget is a beautiful marriage between modern engineering and analog marvels. I mean, it prints Polaroid photos optically from your iPhone screen! How cool is that?
The Polaroid Lab turns digital images into analog keepsakes. And the app gives you tools and filters for editing your favorite photos before you print them.
Plus, it also allows you to embed video within the Polaroid photos. The printer etches a bar code within the picture. And your Polaroid Lab app can read it to play back a short AR-enabled clip. (AR stands for augmented reality.)
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The Canon IVY 2 instant photo printer is one of the most popular options on this list… and for excellent reasons! First, it looks incredibly sleek and portable. Second, it comes in attractive colors like rose gold, mint green, and slate grey.
Third, it produces photos in a resolution of 314 x 400 dpi using dye sublimation. That’s quite sharp and detailed, considering its size.
The IVY Mini is particularly popular among scrapbookers. This is because its prints have a sticky back you can attach to notebook pages.
Using the Canon Mini Print app also lets you easily create collages. You may want your image to be bigger than its usual size of 2 x 3 inches (5 x 7.6 cm). And you can combine several pictures to create one large photo… a la Chuck Close.
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You already know about Canon IVY Mini and its unique features. But did you know that it has a bigger sister called IVY Cliq+2?
What makes the Canon Ivy Cliq+2 different is it’s a full-fledged compact digital camera with a printer. But like the Ivy, it uses Zink paper with an adhesive that you can stick anywhere.
You can print pictures straight from the camera. But you can also connect the printer to your phone to print images from your gallery.
The Cliq+2 uses the same app as the IVY Mini. It lets you edit pictures and add stickers. In many ways, it feels much like a Polaroid camera, except it’s all digital!
Plus, the Ivy Cliq+2 is the perfect selfie camera. It has a built-in selfie mirror and ring light. You can snap head-turning selfies, and they’re printed in seconds!
5 Features of the Best Polaroid Printers
So what should you look for in the best Polaroid printer? There are tons of options out there when it comes to portable printers.
They vary not just in the printing process. They also differ in quality and affordability. So we created a short guideline to help you choose the best photo printer!
You can get an excellent portable printer for around $50 to $100. Generally, you’ll pay more for better print quality. And usually, the more expensive the option, the more features you get. But you’ll be surprised how impressive some budget photo printers are!
2. Print Quality and Style
This section is where portable printers vary greatly. Some printers use instant film to print photos. This tells you their results will be less sharp than others.
And each brand uses different printing technology. So the strengths of each printer differ from the others. Some may produce punchy colors, while others may boast sharp prints. It comes down to a matter of taste.
3. Size vs Quality
Most portable printers are so small that they can fit in your pocket. But in our experience, the bigger options tend to have the best quality.
Of course, that’s not to say you should stay away from slim printers. There are a few gems on our list that you would love for their size and the high-quality photos they print.
4. Fast Print Speeds
By default, printers that use instant film take the longest. It takes minutes for an image to develop. On the flip side, they also produce the authentic vintage-photo look that many people love.
Other portable photo printers that use photo paper can print pictures in seconds. But they tend to lack the old-photo texture of Instax or Polaroid printers.
5. Photo Paper Availability
It’s a good idea to pick a printer with photo paper you can quickly source. Otherwise, what’s the point of having it if you don’t have any paper to print? Thankfully, you can find zero ink (Zink) photo papers and Instax or Polaroid film at most stores.
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Portable printers allow us to print straight from our smartphones. The printers are heaps of fun for photographers of all ages. They bring us the joy of holding a real photograph. But we don’t need to fiddle with complicated cameras to get them.
The Phomemo M02 pocket printer is our pick as the top Polaroid printer. It’s compact and convenient, and the photo quality is excellent. The Polaroid Hi-Print is another fantastic option if you want a true Polaroid printer. But you can have fun with all the printers on our list!
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