Last Updated on November 12, 2026 by Sam Thompson
You’ve just scrolled back through last summer’s holiday shots, and they look fantastic on your phone. Shame nobody will ever see them there. A print fixes that, but choosing among the best photo printers is trickier than it looks, because a pocket sticker printer and a gallery-grade machine barely belong to the same species. This roundup covers seven well-known options, from a portable photo printer that slips into a bag to wide-format models built for serious work, and explains who each one really suits.
The best photo printers at a glance
- Best for 4×6 prints: Canon SELPHY CP1500
- Best for party snaps: Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2
- Best pocket-sized option: HP Sprocket
- Best for square prints: Canon SELPHY Square QX10
- Best for family photos and scanning: Epson Expression Photo XP-8700
- Best for big prints with refillable ink: Epson EcoTank ET-8550
- Best for gallery-style output: Epson SureColor P700
1. Canon SELPHY CP1500
Picture a family get-together where someone says, “Can we have a copy of that one?” and a few minutes later a finished print is in your hand. That’s the SELPHY appeal. It’s a compact printer that sits happily on a shelf and behaves more like a tiny photo booth than a piece of office kit. Scrapbookers, grandparents and album lovers tend to adore it.
The CP1500 is a dye-sublimation printer from Canon, so it works with ink-and-paper sets rather than separate cartridges, and the prints get a protective finish. It connects over Wi-Fi and USB, and a small screen on the unit lets you choose pictures without reaching for a phone. It’s built around small formats, mainly 4×6, so it suits snapshots rather than wall art.
2. Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2
This one is all about the moment. You take a photo at a party, tweak it in the app, and a few seconds later you’re handing a little credit-card-sized print to a friend. There’s something about a physical picture that gets people laughing and passing it around. If your photos mostly end up on fridges, in wallets or pinned to a board, this fits.
The Instax Mini Link 2 is a smartphone printer from Fujifilm that connects over Bluetooth and prints onto Instax Mini instant film. You send pictures through Fujifilm’s companion app, which has creative extras for layouts and effects. The prints are small and film-based, so it’s best if you want charming keepsakes, not detailed enlargements. Film packs are an ongoing purchase, and prices vary by seller and region.
3. HP Sprocket
Small enough to vanish into a jacket pocket, the HP Sprocket is for people who’d rather print on the go than wait until they’re home. Think festival weekend, student dorm, a travel journal in progress. Out come little prints with a sticky back, ready to be slapped onto a laptop lid, a notebook or a wall. It’s playful, quick and refreshingly low-fuss.
HP’s Sprocket uses ZINK paper, which means no ink cartridges, and it prints at about 2×3 inches. It pairs with your phone over Bluetooth through HP’s app. If you’re after a portable photo printer that stays out of your way, it’s among the best photo printers for pure pocketability. Colours are softer than you’d get from dedicated dye-sublimation or inkjet machines, so treat it as a fun extra rather than a main printer.
4. Canon SELPHY Square QX10
Square prints have a cheerful, retro-gallery look, and the SELPHY Square QX10 leans right into it. Your phone pictures suddenly feel like a little exhibition on the bedroom wall. It’s compact, tidy and rather charming on a desk, which helps if you’d like your printer to look like part of the décor rather than hide in a cupboard.
This model comes from Canon’s SELPHY line and uses dye-sublimation printing with Wi-Fi connectivity and a companion app. As the name suggests, it focuses on small square prints, so it’s best for social-media fans, card makers and anyone building a photo wall. It’s less suited to people who want traditional 4×6 or larger formats. Consumables come as ink-and-paper sets, with prices varying by seller and region.
5. Epson Expression Photo XP-8700
Not everyone wants a dedicated photo gadget plus a separate office printer. The XP-8700 is the “one machine, many jobs” answer. Print holiday pictures on Saturday, a school form on Monday, and scan Grandma’s old photographs in between. It’s a handy pick for a busy household that likes a printed picture now and then but still needs the everyday stuff handled.
Epson’s Expression Photo XP-8700 is an all-in-one inkjet that prints, scans and copies, with a multi-colour ink set aimed at better photo results than a basic office printer. It supports wireless printing, so phones and laptops can send jobs easily. It’s best if you want a flexible home printer with photo capability, while ink cartridges are an ongoing cost worth weighing if you print often.
6. Epson EcoTank ET-8550
If you print a lot, cartridge refills can start to feel like a subscription you never signed up for. The EcoTank ET-8550 takes a different route. You pour ink into built-in tanks, and the printer lets you go big, with wide-format prints that actually look like proper pictures rather than snapshots. It’s a satisfying machine for hobbyists who like making large prints.
The ET-8550 from Epson is a wireless wide-format all-in-one with refillable ink tanks and an ink set designed with photos in mind. It handles prints up to A3+ and can also scan and copy. It’s among the best photo printers for people who print often at home and want larger sizes without a dedicated pro machine. It’s bigger and heavier than typical home printers, so check your desk space first.
7. Epson SureColor P700
This is the one for people who care about the paper as much as the picture. Photographers, artists and serious enthusiasts reach for a printer like the SureColor P700 when a print needs to hang in a frame and hold up under close inspection. Choose a nice fine-art paper, send over a carefully edited file, and the results can be properly impressive.
Epson’s SureColor P700 is a 13-inch wide-format photo printer that uses a multi-cartridge pigment ink system, Epson’s UltraChrome PRO10 inks. It’s a dedicated photo machine, so there’s no scanner or copier, and it needs desk space and a bit of workflow know-how. It’s best if you print regularly and want maximum control over quality, and probably more than you need for casual family snapshots.
Best photo printers compared side by side
| Product | Type | Print size | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canon SELPHY CP1500 | Dye-sublimation compact | Mainly 4×6 | Snapshots and albums |
| Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2 | Instant film smartphone printer | Instax Mini | Parties and keepsakes |
| HP Sprocket | ZINK pocket printer | About 2×3 inches | Travel and stickers |
| Canon SELPHY Square QX10 | Dye-sublimation compact | Small square | Photo walls and cards |
| Epson Expression Photo XP-8700 | All-in-one inkjet | Standard home sizes | Families and scanning |
| Epson EcoTank ET-8550 | Refillable-tank inkjet | Up to A3+ | Frequent large prints |
| Epson SureColor P700 | Pigment-ink pro printer | 13 inches wide | Gallery-style prints |
Buying mistakes that lead to printer regret
Choosing from the best photo printers is mostly about dodging a few classic slip-ups. The first is shopping for the machine and ignoring the consumables. Film packs, ink sets and cartridges are where the running cost lives, and prices vary by seller and region, so look at those before you commit.
The second mistake is choosing size by looks alone. A tiny printer is lovely until you want something for the wall. The third is expecting a pocket printer to match a pigment-ink machine, when each is designed for a very different job. Finally, many buyers forget to check that the companion app works with their phone and operating system. A two-minute look at compatibility can save a lot of frustration.
Getting started: setup tips for your first prints
Good prints begin with a calm first session. Unpack everything, remove all protective tape and packaging, and read the quick-start sheet. Then install the companion app or drivers and check for updates before printing anything important. For wireless models, connect the printer and your phone or computer to the same network, or pair via Bluetooth.
Load paper or film exactly as instructed and handle it by the edges. Start with a test print rather than your favourite photo. Colours on a bright screen rarely match paper at first glance, so try lowering your screen brightness when judging results. Even the best photo printers reward ten minutes of patient setup, and keeping paper flat, clean and dry helps every print that follows.
Which printer suits which kind of photo lover
The right choice depends on how you like to share pictures. For small, quick, social prints, the Canon SELPHY models, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 2 and the HP Sprocket cover different flavours of fun, from 4×6 to square to pocket-sized. For a household that needs prints, scans and everyday documents, an all-in-one like the Epson Expression Photo XP-8700 is sensible. Frequent large printing points to the EcoTank ET-8550, while the SureColor P700 is for people who care about every detail. Which one would you pick? Tell us in the comments.