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You can't beat the convenience of documents and photos at your fingertips.
If you have a small office or need to print papers while traveling, a portable printer is a worthwhile investment. These days, there are tons of compact, lightweight models are on the market—and most are relatively affordable.
An all-in-one inkjet or a high-quality mini photo printer can cost as little as $100, and plenty of solid midrange models are priced under $500. With more to spend, you can opt for a high-end printer that does a fantastic job turning vibrant photos and documents with a lineup of attractive features. If you need to print labels or receipts, a thermal printer is the way to go. Also, portable printers are typically wireless, and some even run on rechargeable batteries, which is super-handy and saves you from desperately searching for a coveted outlet at an airport or train station.
Whether you're looking for a mini photo printer to take on vacation or need something to quickly generate documents before a client meeting, we've rounded up the best options to suit your needs and budget. Read on for our top recommendations, along with an explainer on portable printer types and other details you should know before shopping.
The type of portable printer you get largely depends on what functionality you need, which boils down to photos and documents.
Portable photo printers are more compact and affordable, and typically use either Zink or dye sublimation technology. Zink, or zero ink, printing uses special paper that holds the ink, which is then released through a pressure-printing process. Dye sublimation photo printers are similar, but use actual ink cartridges (which will have to be replaced) and can make more vibrant images by doing more passes on the photo paper. Another perk of dye sublimation is that the photos are water-resistant and more durable over time.
If you want the flexibility to print more than just photos, there are compact printers for standard text documents, too. Though they might not fit in your pocket, some are small enough to pack up in your work bag, and are relatively lightweight. Most use standard inkjet technology, and factors to take into account when comparing features are generally the same as full-size printers, such as print speed, paper auto feed, and two-sided printing.
In terms of powering up portable printers, some must be plugged into an outlet, whereas other run on a rechargeable battery.
We dug into our own research from previous reporting on the best photo printers to select these models, and consulted expert reviews from reliable sources like Tech Radar, PC Mag, and Tom’s Guide. Because there are several types of portable printers available, we made sure to include a variety of options across a range of price points for printing both photos and documents. We also considered over 20,000 consumer reviews from retail sites like Amazon and Walmart to get a sense of how user-friendly and reliable the printers are from regular users like you, and chose only products with a minimum average customer rating of 4 stars.
Thanks to its small size, light weight, and battery compartment, this HP OfficeJet can really print from anywhere. It functions like a standard inkjet printer, and it can print sheets between 3 x 5 inches to 8.5 x 14 inches, as well as envelopes.
The printer can fit up to 50 sheets of paper at a time, and it’s even Energy Star certified. We also like that instead of replacing batteries, you can charge the printer via USB or an AC charger. There are a few downsides to this printer, however, including that it doesn’t have auto two-sided printing or a scanner bed.
If you’re looking for a compact wireless printer that won’t break the bank, the HP DeskJet 3755 is an unbeatable choice. Unlike many portable printers, this model is an all-in-one, meaning it’s able to print, scan, and copy documents.
It can hold up to 60 sheets of paper at a time, and it supports paper sizes up to 8.5 x 14 inches. The printer weighs just over 5 pounds, but the design is bulkier than other options, making it more cumbersome to travel with. Additionally, keep in mind that this printer requires a Wi-Fi connection for wireless printing.
You’ll be able to quickly and easily print 4 x 6 inch photographs with the HP Sprocket Studio. This compact printer is designed to be used with smartphones, connecting to the brand’s app via Bluetooth.
Thanks to its dye sublimation technology, the resulting photos are instantly dry, smudge-proof, and water-resistant, and you can even download templates to create cards, collages, and more. This photo printer does need to be plugged in for use, but HP also sells a portable battery for cord-free operation.
This mini inkjet printer can print full-size paper documents or color photos from anywhere after charging it up via USB. Epson has managed to pack in most features people need in an inkjet printer without adding to its size or price tag. The main trade-off for going with this portable printer is its slow print speed of 7ppm (which drops to 3.5ppm when it’s operating off its battery)—for comparison, regular home office printers generally print about 20ppm or higher.
The KODAK Step is designed to print images directly from your smartphone or tablet, and it’s incredibly easy to operate thanks to its zero-ink design. The pocket-sized printer charges up via USB cable, and it can create around 25 prints per charge. It uses Bluetooth to connect to both iOS and Android devices, and the KODAK Step app allows you to edit images, create collages, apply filters, and more.
Canon’s Pixma line of printers are known for their ability to produce vibrant colors thanks to extra color ink cartridges added to the standard CMYK inkjets.
The Pixma TR150 similarly boasts a 5-color ink system for high-quality color, whether you use it for photos or other paper documents. Its compact size and optional battery power make it truly portable, though keep in mind that the battery kit is sold separately.
With its dye sublimation technology, the Polaroid Hi-Print can create vibrant polaroid-size prints right from your phone in under a minute. The printer syncs up to your smartphone using Bluetooth, and its images are 2 x 3 inches—the size of a business card. Like HP’s portable printer, Polaroid offers an app for you to apply filters and more customizations to your photos, but you do have to purchase Polaroid’s photo paper cartridges separately.
The HP Tango X is a compact printer that can compete with most all-in-ones. Though it doesn’t have a scanner bed, HP’s smart app can handle the occasional scanning and copying through Bluetooth or Wi-Fi connection. Best of all, it comes in a fabric cover that can fold it up into a book-like package that’ll look inconspicuous on your desk or a bookshelf when not in use.
It’s not necessarily the most capable printer for its price point, but it’s a great option for storing away and pulling back out quickly for convenient, if infrequent, printing.
Super portable, fast, and fun, the Fujifilm Instax is one of the best smartphone printers. It comes in a variety of color options and the Instax app allows you to add fun filters and frames, though it only connects to devices via Bluetooth.
When held vertically, you can print right from your smartphone, while turning it horizontally allows for “Fun Mode” to print from friends’ devices, too. The printer comes in several fun colors, and it offers an extremely fast printing speed of just 12 seconds.
Like other portable photo printers, the Canon Ivy can only connect via Bluetooth, though that shouldn’t be an issue for most smartphone users. Its advantage, however, is its majorly compact size. At only 4 x 3 inches, it fits in a pocket and you can pull out on-the-go to print 2 x 3-inch photos with a peel-and-stick backing. Canon also offers its own Mini-Print app that allows you to add fun filters and effects to your photos before printing and sharing them with friends.
Most portable printers do just that: print. However, if you’re looking for a model that’s a bit more versatile, one of your best options is the HP OfficeJet 250.
This all-in-one portable printer is able to print, copy, and scan documents, and it does it all using battery power, so you aren’t tethered to an outlet. You’re able to print to it from smartphones, tablets and laptops, and it can print documents up to legal size.
If you have a mobile business, this thermal printer from Munbyn will allow you to print receipts on the go. The thermal printer fits right in the palm of your hand, and it connects to both iOS and Android phones and tablets using Bluetooth.
It features a rechargeable battery that can last for up to six days on standby mode, and it prints 55mm receipts from your POS system. However, you’ll want to make sure it’s compatible with your particular POS program, as it doesn’t work with all of them.