Key Points
- Smart photo printers allow you to convert your favorite moments into printed photos, preserving your memories in a tangible form.
- Smart photo printers offer high-quality photos with vibrant colors and sharp images, eliminating color bleeds that were common with traditional printers.
- Smart photo printers are portable and travel-friendly, making them convenient for printing photos on the go.
- Smart photo printers come with intelligent features that allow you to edit and manipulate your photos, unleashing your creative side.
We all have memories of our best trips and get excited recalling what we saw and who we met. Unfortunately, these memories may get a bit fuzzy as time passes! Well, that’s where smart photo printers come to the rescue, allowing you to convert your favorite moments into printed photos.
Packed with multiple intelligent features, a smart photo printer has revolutionized the photography industry. Moreover, most of these devices are portable, which is something you cannot say about the bulky photo printers we have in our offices.
So, if you’re still not convinced that a smart photo printer deserves a spot in your tech collection, here are five reasons why they are essential keepsakes.
5 Must-Know Facts About Smart Photo Printers
- Most smart photo printers support Wi-Fi connections, so you can print wirelessly from your phone.
- Get a smart photo printer with above-average printing quality to ensure your photos are crisp and clear.
- Buying a lightweight photo printer makes it easier to carry it around than a bulky one that you must leave in your room when heading out for site seeing.
- Most smart photo printers do not require prior knowledge of printing to use them.
- In a world dominated by high-performance devices, printing speed is essential when shopping for a smart photo printer, especially when printing several pictures at a time.
History of Smart Photo Printers
Before diving deep into smart photo printers, we must understand their journey through history. We can trace the invention of photo printing to the 19th century when people used to rinse and dry their pictures for better clarity. With such a cumbersome printing method, it would only be a matter of time before someone invented a more efficient printing option. Spoiler alert! They did in the 1990s, ushering in the digital printing era.
Following the invention of smart photo printers, electronics companies scrambled to manufacture these devices and get a share of the new market niche. HPRT beat everyone to the punch when they announced a compact photo printer with multiple innovative features. The CP4000 desktop printer was the first localized photo printer. HPRT came out on top again in 2020 when they launched the MT53 pocket photo printer, a smart and portable printer that outshined the bulky devices we use in our offices.
Most notably, HPRT is known for the Z1 photo printer, which also won them an innovation award and paved the way for other manufacturers to attack the market with their devices.
5 Reasons to Buy a Smart Photo Printer
You can never go wrong with owning a smart photo printer. It allows you to turn your experiences into tangible memories. A smart photo printer is convenient if you are always on the road and want to create an album of your experiences.
Below are some of the very best reasons to buy a smart photo printer today!
It Instantly Brings Your Memories to Life
The most compelling reason to buy a smart photo printer is that it brings your experiences to life. You can print your photos immediately after experiencing beautiful scenery during your vacation and hold the picture in your hands to cap off the moment. You can even share physical photos with people you meet as keepsakes, making everyone their own copy.
The instant gratification you feel when taking a photo and printing it immediately as a tangible souvenir cannot be rivaled by storing them in your phone gallery.
They Deliver High-Quality Photos
Most traditional photo printers cause color bleeds all over the paper after many printing sessions. The color bleeds were an eyesore, often taking away from the depth of the captured memories.
Thanks to modern technology, color bleeds are a thing of the past. Modern smart photo printers utilize various advanced features and technologies to ensure your photos are lifelike. For example, you must not worry about photo clarity, as most smart photo printers have decent print resolutions, delivering clear and sharp images.
You will enjoy rich and vibrant prints that perfectly depict your captured moments, thanks to the range of colors these printers support. Some modern photo printers are also designed to produce deep blacks in the dark areas of your images, making the captured memories more life-like. Overall, you don’t have to worry about the quality of the printed photos if you own a decent smart photo printer.
They Offer Unmatched Portability
Most smart printers have boundary-breaking designs irrespective of their intended use. However, the weight of smart photo printers sets them apart from their bulky document-printing counterparts.
Whether going on a trip or attending an event, you can easily fit a smart photo printer in your pocket or squeeze it into your travel bag. You also do not need additional cables and cords to connect them to your phone or laptop, making them portable and travel-friendly.
You only need to connect the smart photo printer to your smartphone and print your photos wirelessly. Nevertheless, depending on your intended use, you may buy a large smart photo printer for office use.
Unleashes Your Creative Side
The “smart” in “smart photo printers” means they come with multiple intelligent features. As such, you get more than just printing your pictures, as was the case with traditional printers.
Many smart photo printers have editing tools that help you manipulate your images to make them more realistic. For example, you may adjust lighting, color contrast, and background color before printing the photos. Conversely, you may manipulate the photos to make them more sensational. An example would be converting your photos into caricatures before printing them.
Owning a premium smart photo printer may feel like having access to a photo editing studio at your fingertips, even while traveling!
Saves You Money in the Long-Run
Investing in a photo printer may seem like a far-fetched idea initially. However, it is a worthwhile investment in the long run, especially for photo enthusiasts.
An example of the financial feasibility it brings to the table is that you don’t need to incur printing costs every time you need tangible mementos of your trips or encounters. Moreover, you have control over the editing and printing process. For example, you can print a photo as many times as possible until it comes out as you want. This avoids unnecessary costs that you would otherwise incur to reprint photos at a professional studio.
©Diego Cervo/Shutterstock.com
The 3 Best Smart Photo Printers Today
A smart photo printer transforms your captured memories into tangible keepsakes. But you need the right photo printer to deliver the best results.
We’ve compiled a list of the best smart photo printers you can buy today, so check them out!
Polaroid Hi-Print
- 2 x 3 pocket photo
- Dye-sub printer
- NOT Zink-compatible
- High-quality vibrant photos in under 50 seconds
- Easily connect to Bluetooth
- Edit and customize photos
The Polaroid Hi-Print epitomizes the convenience of owning a smart photo printer.
Compactly designed, this device measures 26.9 x 149.8 x 79.5mm and weighs 255 grams. It is very portable and can squeeze into your pocket or traveling bag.
What impressed us the most was this printer’s “Find it, Print it, Stick it” feature. It allows you to print self-adhesive photos you can stick on an album or other surfaces like your phone case or wall. However, the Polaroid Hi-Print does not come with printing sheets, meaning you must buy them separately.
This printer connects wirelessly via Bluetooth, but you must have the 2.1 version. Furthermore, it comes with a 620mAh rechargeable battery, allowing you to print 20 photos on a single charge. All in all, the Polaroid Hi. is a decent smart photo printer for any first-time buyer.
HP Sprocket 2nd Edition Photo Printer
- Prints 2 x 3 sticky-backed photos from your phone
- 50 sheets of Sprocket photo paper
- Designed to be small and lightweight
Next on our list is the HP Sprocket 2nd Edition Photo Printer, a unique device with superior printing capabilities and a sophisticated design.
You can easily fit this HP printer into your pocket or bag, thanks to its 3.15” x 4.63” x 0.98” dimensions and 0.38 pounds in weight.
Powered by the ZINK print technology, you can print directly from your smartphone at 313 x 400 dpi resolution for lifelike images. Moreover, you can easily customize your photos when inspiration strikes with the HP Sprocket app.
But where this smart photo printer shines the most is its enhanced connectivity feature. You can pair this printer with your smartphone via Bluetooth for wireless printing. Overall, the printer is quick and connects on both Android and iOS, which is an additional benefit.
Canon SELPHY Square QX10
- Print Color Capability: Color
- Maximum Photo Print Speed: 43 seconds
- Maximum Print Resolution: 287 x 287 DPI
- Wireless Print Technology: Canon Mobile Printing
- For iPhone or Android
- Green
Lastly, we have the Canon SELPHY Square QX10, one of the best smart photo printers in the market.
It offers a near-ideal balance between design and performance. Design-wise, this printer’s 102.2 x 143.3 x 31.0mm dimensions make it one of the smallest and most portable smart photo printers you can buy today. But overall, its design is compact, and you won’t mind carrying it daily when on vacation, given its 0.98 lbs in weight.
We cannot fail to mention this Canon SELPHY’s Dye-sublimation thermal transfer printing method. This technique uses heat treatment to dry the printing ink, making the images permanent. You will also not have to worry about your photos fading over time.
The SELPHY Square QX10 allows you to print images without color bleeds at 287 x 287 DPI resolution. Canon also paired this photo printer with a SELPHY Photo Layout app, which you can use to edit and personalize your photos.
Lastly, you do not have to worry about this smart photo printer’s connectivity. The SELPHY Square QX10 supports Wi-Fi connections, allowing wireless printing. It also supports USB charging, meaning you can use your laptop to boost its battery for prolonged printing.
What to Know Before Buying a Smart Photo Printer
Before buying, you must familiarize yourself with the smart photo printer’s specs. You should compare the specs to the device’s price to ensure you receive value for your money.
Below are several things to consider when buying a smart photo printer.
- Print resolution and longevity
- Print speed
- Connectivity
Let’s break them down.
Print Resolution and Longevity
Most manufacturers sensationalize their smart photo printers to produce archival photos that remain clear and crisp for a lifetime. However, the buyer is responsible for doing their due diligence and confirming that a photo printer checks this box.
Get a smart photo printer that produces archival-quality photos to guarantee that your printouts will not fade over time. Such photo printers usually use long-lasting pigment-based inks that leave your images clear and crisp for years.
Be sure to buy a smart photo printer with a decent printing resolution. Choose a device with at least a 313 x 400 DPI resolution, like the HP Sprocket 2nd Edition Photo Printer, for realistic images.
Print Speed
Pay attention to the smart photo printer’s printing speed, especially if you plan to do lots of printing. Moreover, the printer should keep up with your printing needs because working with a slow printer is annoying.
Professional photographers may have to compromise on size and portability, as they need smart printers with above-average print speeds, which are often larger.
Connectivity
Most smart photo printers connect wirelessly and mainly connect via Bluetooth. Others use Wi-Fi connections for wireless printing, so you must have home Wi-Fi or access a hotspot network when outdoors. But the best idea is to buy a smart photo printer that conveniently connects via Bluetooth and Wi-Fi.
Wrapping Up
You can never go wrong with owning a smart photo printer. You will experience unprecedented fulfillment every time you capture a moment and print it almost immediately!
Most smart photo printers even allow you to edit your photos to your liking before printing, including adding special effects or enhancing the photos. However, we recommend buying at least a mid-range smart photo printer to enjoy its advanced features. Happy printing!
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Kitch Bain/Shutterstock.com.
