Smartphones have completely revolutionized photography, because they allow you to take pictures wherever we are, by the hundreds, without having to worry too much if they are good or bad. The problem with digital photos taken with the smartphone has always been that of not having them in hand. You can therefore have many photos on your PC, which never look at each other or which always require you to turn on the computer. The most obvious solution is to print them, at home with a suitable printer or by going to the photographer. An even faster solution is to print a photo immediately after taking it, so that you can immediately put them in the album of memories, to give it to those who are with us and keep it in a material way, on a piece of paper.
This immediate printing was possible, since the 80s, by buying a Polaroid, the camera model with self-developing films.
While today the new cameras with integrated printing are on sale (in particular the Fujifilm Instax), you can also buy a portable photo printer for iPhones and Android smartphones that allow you to immediately hold the printed photo in your hand as you would a Polaroid, with the advantage of being able to choose which photo to print.
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For starters, it is important to know that portable photo printers for smartphones use zero ink technology .
In practice, the camera does not have ink cartridges inside, because printing takes place on special paper by means of heat pulses. While zero ink printing has the advantage that it can be integrated into a small device and does not require changing cartridges like normal printers, the negative aspect is that photo cartridges, i.e. the film where they are printed, costs a lot, about 10 Euros for 20 photos or even more. In addition, the size of the photo can never be too large and ranges from 2X3 inches to maximum 4X6. All printing cameras work via wifi, bluetooth or NFC connection through a proprietary app to download on your Android phone or iPhone.
On Amazon there are several models of portable and pocket photo printers on sale, small that can be connected via Bluetooth or via wifi, via app, to the mobile phone.
1) Kodak mini printer works with Wifi connection both with an iPhone and with a Samsung, Huawei or any other Android smartphone and costs 100/120 Euros. The color print is 2.1 x 3.4 inches in size. You can also print images from videos and photos with personalized frames and special effects applied by the application of Kodak.
2) Polaroid ZIP is a printer very similar to the Mini Kodak, small and compact, costs 130 Euros, to immediately print photos from iPhone or Android thanks to the Bluetooth or NFC connection.
The print has dimensions 2X3 inches.
3) HP Sprocket Portable Photo Printer is one of the most popular printers, it costs 150 Euros and instantly transforms the photos taken with the smartphone into colored prints. The dimensions of the printed photos are always those of the mini printers, 2X3 inches.
4) Kodak Dock Station is a mobile photo printer that costs 140 Euros and works with a direct connection via micro USB cable. With this photo printer you can get 4X6 inch photos, bigger than the others.
5) Canon Italia ZoeMini is really a small printer that is kept in your pocket and allows you to print photos of your smartphone quickly wherever you go, via Bluetooth connection. In addition to printing 4x6-inch prints, it can also be used to print square photos, postcards, stickers and 2x6-inch photos. The printing technology is also cheaper than the others, with cartridges that cost significantly less.
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