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The ink set and the paper sizes matter more than the engine

The best photo printers for 2026

A photo printer is bought for a page size and fed for years, so the running specification matters more than the purchase one. The technology divides the shelf: inkjet printers lay dye or pigment ink and cover everything from a postcard to a large sheet, while dye-sublimation units transfer dye through heat and produce a sealed, handled-without-marking print at one or two fixed sizes. Within inkjet, the ink set is the real difference — a machine with a handful of cartridges is an office printer that prints photographs, while one with a larger set including several greys renders neutral tones and black-and-white work without colour casts. Pigment and dye inks behave differently on the page and are described differently for permanence, and makers publish their own longevity estimates under stated display conditions rather than a universal figure. Maximum paper size is the physical ceiling, and borderless support is stated per size rather than in general. Media handling decides what can actually be printed: a rear straight-through path for thick fine-art papers, a roll holder for panoramas, a tray for discs. Then connectivity — network, direct-from-card, or from a phone — and whether the maker publishes colour profiles for its own papers. We compare technology, ink set and cartridge count, ink type, maximum paper size, borderless support, media paths, connectivity and profile availability.

The bodies and lenses we compare here

  1. Nelko PP01, inkjet, 272 g, 100 sheets

    COLOUR INKJET — the only inkjet on this shelf, the three others are dye-sublimation · ONE ink cartridge, fitted in step three of the setup · ink type not further specified · maximum paper size NOT published; the paper is self-adhesive and described as dirt-proof, waterproof and tear-resistant · borderless support not stated · one media path, from the app over Bluetooth · Bluetooth to iOS and Android through the Nelko app · no colour profile availability mentioned · 272 g · 100 sheets supplied

    The only inkjet on this shelf — 272 g, one cartridge, a hundred sheets of self-adhesive paper, driven from a phone app for 80 €.

    Best for: Stickers for a journal, a planner or a scrapbook, printed from a phone on the spot.

    ≈ 76 €

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  2. KODAK Mini 2 Retro, 4PASS sublimation, 55 seconds

    DYE-SUBLIMATION, the original 4PASS process: three colour layers plus a transparent protective LAMINATION · ribbon-and-paper consumable, 38 sheets supplied · dye ribbon rather than ink · print size 5 by 7.6 cm, published in the title · borderless support not stated · one media path, Bluetooth from the KODAK Photo Printer app · iOS and Android · no colour profile availability mentioned · print time PUBLISHED at about 55 SECONDS · prints claimed resistant to fingerprints, water and fading

    Four-pass sublimation sealing every print under a laminate in about 55 seconds — the fastest published time on this shelf, at 80 € with 38 sheets.

    Best for: Small prints handled, posted and stuck into things — where the laminate matters more than the size.

    ≈ $80 / £80 / 80 €

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  3. Liene Pearl N200 Pro, 300 dpi, 67 seconds, 340 g

    DYE-SUBLIMATION, 4PASS, with automatic sealing · FIVE RIBBONS and 50 self-adhesive sheets supplied · dye ribbon · print size 5 by 7.6 cm · borderless support not stated · one media path, Bluetooth 5.2 from the Liene app, with MULTIPLE DEVICES PAIRED AT ONCE · iOS and Android · no colour profile availability mentioned · RESOLUTION PUBLISHED AT 300 DPI — the only resolution figure on this shelf · print time 67 seconds · 340 g with an 880 mAh BATTERY giving up to 30 prints

    Three hundred dpi published, a battery good for thirty prints and several phones paired at once — the only printer here that says how sharp it is.

    Best for: A festival, a hike or a party where prints are made away from a socket and more than one phone is sending them.

    ≈ $120 / £104 / 100 €

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  4. Canon SELPHY CP1500, postcard to 22 by 17.3 mm, card slot

    DYE-SUBLIMATION · ribbon-and-paper cassette, a POSTCARD-FORMAT cassette supplied · dye ribbon · MAXIMUM PAPER SIZE PUBLISHED: postcard 100 by 148 mm down to mini-stickers of 22 by 17.3 mm — the widest published range on this shelf · borderless support not stated · FOUR MEDIA PATHS: wireless from a phone, USB-C from a computer, camera or USB stick, and an SD, SDHC or SDXC CARD SLOT · an 8.9 cm LCD screen on the body · no colour profile availability mentioned · a hundred-year permanence claim in the title · supplied with a postcard cassette, a CA-CP300 B compact mains adapter and a power cable

    Four ways in — phone, computer, USB stick and memory card — with a screen on the body and sizes from postcard to mini-sticker, for 119 €.

    Best for: Printing at home from a camera card at postcard size, without a phone in the chain.

    ≈ 119 €

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Each amount in a write-up is what the listing showed when that page was written. The figure next to the product is pulled in as you read, and it is the one that counts.