Canon - SELPHY CP400

I just came home from 3 weeks in NZ. I loved putting in a tiny sticker picture a day of a highlight of my trip. When I am just living my regular life, I only put in one or two a week. I bought the Canon Selphy printer with the CP 400 cassette and the card size paper (KC 18IS) for the higher quality photos for the archival quality (thermal printer photos last 2 to 35 years).

I have a weird obsession with buying Canon Selphys when I find them in thrift stores. I now have six in total, ranging from a CP400 (which honestly holds up really well. Prints good, is really solidly made with decent materials, and isn't bloated with too many features), to a pair of semi-working CP760s, two CP1200s (one of which was the first one I bought, brand new, full price, and another bought for $30 with a hardcase and extra paper/cassettes), to my best find which was a CP900 (which has all the features of the 1200s, just without a battery slot) for *three dollars*. Still reeling from that last one. And it works perfectly. I don't think they're perfect machines; the cassettes seem kinda wasteful, and the picture quality isn't the absolute best. But they're incredibly useful and fun, especially the portable ones. I take one to conventions with me to make digital art badges, and sometimes print off physical photos for people at as keepsakes.

Some of the old point and shoots did that, but you might need old cables, old printers, etc. Could be even more of a technical nightmare than use current tech. Some fairly recent Canons can still connect via USB to a Selphy printer I think via PictBridge. Instead, i'd look for a current printer that can work from an SD card. Not sure why that's any different than using USB, and you'll have to have some sort of storage IN the camera anyway. The Selphy printers can print from inserted SD cards, maybe others. If you want fast, that might be it. Or maybe try Instax if you can live with their small prints and low resolution.

Selphy It is dye-sub, which prints thermal from ribbon dye cartridges. It's doesn't have the best gamut or color accuracy, but inkjet 'casually' is a recipe for a nightmare of dealing with clogged nozzles every time you go to print until you just want to chuck it in a dumpster.

I'm a clueless German; we have no Walgreens here. Please specify your current workflow and needs. Printing at home is usually far(!) from cost efficient. If I need prints, just in general, I usually wire them to CEWE, for picking them up at my local drug store, after a promised week, to which I can walk, while the rented washing machine in my attic is running. I can also buy some groceries on that trip, so I really have zero extra cost for shipping or commuting. For SRA3 laser prints I'd rely on work. They have two Minolta lasers. I do *own* a Canon Selphy. I haven't unboxed it yet. Imagined use case: To need a postcard (-x) sized color print *NOW(!)*. Dyesubs are great at sitting around unused, while inkjets reguire power and regular flushing routines, that might break my neck over time. - Speed aside the printer offers no benefits and is at least 3x as expensive to operate.

I own one but I haven't even unboxed it. A Selphy is a wonderful machine to once in a blue moon or like every week? print an entire postcard. Dye sub tech is excellent for sitting around and doing nothing; i.e you 'll go through some hassle to revive a fountain pen, you used a year ago, but your Selphy will just fire up. Print quality seems decent and the results aren't overly sensitive / quite abusable. But: Prints *are* expensive. If you are a penny pincher, with all the time in the world: Order from DM. If you are an artist: Print bigger! IMHO Selpys are intended to serve as a Polaroid substitute; bring yours somewhere, give people pictures, right in the spot. (You need to buy an extra battery, to print in the field). A wealthy friend of mine uses his Selphy at home. Mine is intended to serve in a pinch.

How portable do you mean or want? - 30 years ago i jobbed for a company that hauled roll fed inkjet plotters to architects. We were two on the van and the plotters quite light (compared to a 4c Heidelberg of at least 2.8t). An apparently capable A4 desktop color laser weighs just 35kg; i.e. I could move it on my own (but have no clue how results compare to the bigger ones, doing photo books and calendars at work). Just stressing: A big inkjet can deliver awesome quality these days and color lasers are cost efficient. Myself I bought a Canon Selphy dyesub, doing postcards (sadly in 3/0) or smaller. - I'd rather have a 3/1, since my handwriting sucks, but... Operating cost will be comparably horrible, but it can sit around free of cost, unlike inkjets, that need regular flushing routines and aren't cheap to operate either Other niggles: Postcards are too tiny Some users reported issues with dust inside their machines. Its more or less "a Polaroid substitute toy" but a way to produce photos at home or elsewhere.

Canon Selphy forever. I spent years researching mini-printers. If you want your photos to last and be of the best quality for home prints, get a Selphy.

I was gifted a canon selphy last week. Its not bad. I'd compare it to the old school polaroid printouts, but better quality. Definitely would use it to smash out a quick edit and print to give away on the spot as a promo photo, But not the kind I'd frame and put on the wall. And thanks to the other commenter about the batteries, I'll look into those too.

Also love my Canon Selphy!! The photo quality matters to me since I love looking back and rediscovering memories!

I wouldn't recommend any zink printers if the color accuracy/quality is important to you. They are definitely the easiest and most convenient. It's very simple to use and the sheets are small, good for small photos to put into a journal. But, the colors are gonna be off. The selphy is probably what you're looking for but I agree it's pricy. The most cost effective option is to just print your images in bulk ofc, but since you didn't want to do that, I'd lean towards the selphy.

I've owned Canon, Kodak, and HP and the Canon is by far the best of all of them. I have the Canon and the Selphy and love them both.