why EVERY photographer needs a tiny printer!
I love a tiny camera. I love a tiny lens. And yes, I have a soft spot for a tiny printer too.
I genuinely think every photographer should see their work in print. I personally find the idea of big expensive wall art really intimidating, but these little printers are ideal for informal, low pressure fun.
I’ve collected a fair few different tiny printers over the years, and these are my top 3 picks!
#3. Instax Mini Link smartphone printer
This is the tiny Instax printer I have had for years. So long, in fact, that the newer version has had a full cosmetic makeover and a different name, but the idea is the same.
it was white once, I promise…
The Instax Mini Link is battery operated, so you can chuck it in your bag and take it anywhere. You pick a photo on your phone, send it through the app, and it prints immediately.
What you get are these teeny tiny Instax Mini prints. They are brilliant for:-
sticking in your wallet
putting on your desk
giving to friends and family at a get together
It’s a really cute, informal way to have your photos out in the world instead of buried in your phone or hard drive.
Now, yes, you can do this the old fashioned way with an Instax camera. I have several of those too… I even did a daily Instax challenge in the Faroe Islands with my dad, because the cartridges give you 10 prints, I was there for 10 days, so it was a “picture of the day” sort of thing. It worked really well!
But here is what I’ve found over the years. With the camera version, you get misses. Flash might not be right, you might miss the moment, composition is slightly off etc. etc. and because it spits out a print every time you press the shutter, those mistakes can be a bit costly.
With the printer, you can take the photo on any camera: A blummin’ expensive full frame camera, a 10 year old camera, or your phone. If you like the photo and it is a memory you actually want to keep, you can print it. And you know it will turn out fine.
Cost wise, Instax Mini paper works out at about £1 a print currently. Whether that feels good or not is personal, but I will say, they do stand the test of time. I have prints from years ago that are still absolutely fine, no fading.
Check the Instax Mini on Amazon here!
Why it is number three though? Well… The prints are so small that image quality is not as good as some other options. It’s great for informal memories, but you do lose detail if you are trying to print landscapes or anything with fine texture.
Which brings me neatly to number two…
#2. Canon SELPHY CP1500
This printer is a delight.
The Canon Selphy does proper lab quality photo prints and it is still teeny tiny. It comes in a few colours too, but I opted for the black one while it lives permanently by my desk. The pink one might have been a bit mad.
When I want to print something, I can just send it over and it gives me a proper photo print. You can also stick your SD card in directly too if you prefer. This little printer is probably the most iconic, most popular one in the tiny printer world because it just does everything seamlessly.
tiny!
A practical thing I love: You buy the paper and ink together as a set, so you never run out of ink unexpectedly. The cartridge runs out when the prints run out. Love that.
Image quality is excellent, and Canon says the paper is certified for long lasting prints, up to 100 years fade free. If you are the kind of person who wants to start a family album, this is a really strong option.
This is how I use it: I come home from a trip, I edit my photos, then I pick my favourite three. I try to be picky. Then I print them and pop them in a little album on my shelf. It is a lovely way to be like, here are my favourite photographs from this trip, this month, this year.
Cost wise, if £1 a print made you wince, this is much cheaper. It works out around 28p a print depending on the pack size you get. You get loads at a time, so you are not doing the Instax thing of rationing 10 prints like they’re gold dust.
Also, completely irrelevant but worth saying. It is almost hypnotic to watch it print because it lays down the colours one by one. It comes out looking a bit strange, then it all comes together at the end. Very satisfying.
it all works out in the end I promise!
If you want something to print day to day family memories and actually use it without feeling scared of the cost, this is the one I would probably recommend to most people.
Amazon here :)
#1. Instax Square printer
The printer I’ve been using way more recently is the Instax Square printer, and I absolutely love it!
It solves most of the issues I have with the smaller Instax Mini prints because the square prints give you way more real estate. That means group shots look better, landscapes look better, and you keep more detail.
It’s powered by USB-C, which is so convenient. I can leave it in my bag and take it out whenever.
I took it on my husband’s birthday trip and it was such a cute setup. Anyone at the party could send prints to it, and I had a sharpie so we could write little notes on them about what we were doing. It was really fun and such a nice way to capture the weekend.
It comes with this cute little leatherette pouch thing with a strap. A lot of these products can look a bit… plastic fantastic? But this accessory makes it look much more premium.
The image quality is about as good as it gets for this style of printing, and it is incredibly easy to use.
My favourite combo at the moment: Instax Square + the Pentax MX-1
I appreciate this is niche! haha but I love shooting the Pentax MX-1 because it stamps the time and date on the photo. Then you print it on Instax Square and it becomes this little Polaroid-esque print with the date on it. Super cute.
I have loads of these little prints around my office. A couple live on my desk at all times and I rotate them. It is just a really nice way to look back at memories without digging through folders.
The travel notebook trick
One other thing I do with the Instax Square prints is keep a little travel notebook. I take it everywhere when I travel. One page a day, I write what I did, and I stick in an Instax print.
It is such a nice way to document trips because the prints are big enough that the quality is excellent, but not so big that you can’t fit them into a tiny book.
A handy bonus accessory: the tiny USB-C card reader
This is an accessory I’d recommend to every older camera enthusiast.
It’s a tiny USB-C card reader that plugs straight into my phone or tablet and takes SD and micro SD. So if I’m out with a camera that doesn’t have an app or Wi-Fi, I can still get the files onto my device and then to the printer.
It’s ideal for cameras like the MX-1 which is much too old for WIFI… And honestly, sometimes doing things “the old fashioned way” is much easier than dealing with certain camera apps either way!
Giftable, and yes, you can also just treat yourself
All these printers are relatively affordable as photography gear goes, so they make a good gift for a photographer in the family. Or you know… You could also just buy one for yourself. No judgement here!
Check out the full video here if you’d like to see these printers in action!
Instax Mini on Amazon