Canon Ivy Mini Photo-Printer (for Smartphones) Review

Today, I’m sharing my review of the Canon Ivy mini photo printer.

I take a lot of pictures with my phone. (Well, I guess almost everyone takes a lot of pictures with their phones.)  Occasionally, I upload those to my desktop. (But honestly, I don’t do that very often.)

Given my current obsession with journaling, a mini photo printer, to print little pictures directly from my phone,  seemed like a no-brainer for me.  I wanted to be able to print off a quick little picture to stick in my journal, without the uploading, the resizing, etc. Just a speedy little 2×3 photo, with no fuss.  These are tiny photos, and just the right size for my journals.

So, when I saw all of the cute mini-printers on the market, and I had a little gifted cash, I was ready to shop.

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I bought this one, the pocket size Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer.  (Mine is the rose gold, but they have mint green and slate gray too.)  It’s really small (almost phone size), and portable, and fun. The photos are 2×3 inches, with a peel and stick backing.

Set-Up and Supplies

There is actually no learning curve to getting this little guy ready to print.  I did watch a video of someone unboxing and setting one up, but it’s so simple,  I really didn’t need to. Charge it, install the Canon app on your phone, load the photo paper, and you are good to go.

It works via Bluetooth, and you can carry it about with you to use anywhere you go.

The printer comes with 10 pieces of the Zink photo paper, but I bought a packet of 20 sheets when I bought the printer.  There are also bundles that include paper, a case, etc. I wanted to choose a different case, though — (see below) — so I bought them separately.

Pros

• It’s tiny! (Smaller than my phone.)  And cute!  And mobile! And, most importantly, it does exactly what I hoped for — It prints little pictures, via Bluetooth,  to stick in my journal.  (It would also be incredibly fun for parties and family gatherings, too.  Send a memory home with each guest, or stick one in your thank you notes. Or make really quick and cute gift tags, photo ornaments, cards, etc…)
• The photos have a peel and stick backing.  They’re so easy to stick right into my journals or cards.
• The printer uses no ink, so there is nothing to refill. The Zink photo paper does the work. I love the simplicity of that!
• The prints are 2×3 inches, the perfect size for my journals. Fast to use, too, because the backing is peel and stick.
• You can edit within the app, and add text and fun effects to the pictures if you want. I added the white border to the peony photo, below. I like that ability to choose which photos have a border.  There are much more fun effects on the app than a white border though!

Photos above: Some recent gifts, my daughter in her new home, a spring peony, my husband and classmates at his recent reunion, and my daughter with her husband

Cons  

• Obviously, a tiny printer like this won’t print as accurately or clearly as a regular size printer.  Don’t expect the same quality as a lab print or an inkjet printer. If you are wanting the detail and color accuracy that you would get from a traditional size printer, you won’t get it. For such a tiny thing, it does what I need it to, though.
• The printed photo will be very slightly cropped and slightly darker than the image on your phone screen, so keep that in mind before you print.  I brighten mine up a bit, within the app, before I print. Very easy to do.
• It’s not designed to work with desktop or laptop computers, but that’s not really a negative, as its purpose is as a mobile printer from a phone.
• The prints cost roughly 50 cents each, which is about average for mini-printers.  As this is not my primary source of photo printing, I’m o.k with the cost. I primarily use the pictures in my journal and for small projects, so I’m not printing out large numbers at a time.

The Case

I purchased a separate hard shell case that houses my printer, paper, cord, etc. ( A case doesn’t come with the printer, unless you purchase a bundle. This particular case isn’t included in a bundle, but I fell in love with it and bought it separately.)   

Mine is the Fintie carrying case.   It holds the printer, cord, paper, etc. It comes in several pretty designs,  Sturdy, functional, and pretty.

I got this one, (but I’m not sure if they still have this Van Gogh one available.) 

For those of you who would like both the camera and printer in one, there is also the Canon Ivy Cliq or Cliq +.  I have not personally tried them, but I’ve heard good things about them.

I’m having a lot of fun with my Canon Ivy, and I recommend it for those of you who would like quick little photos for your journals, notes, parties, crafts, etc.  

Linking to:

Create with Joy, Mostly Blogging, Skip to My Lou, Pretty Pintastic Party, My Wee Abode, Shabby Art Boutique, Home Matters, Artsy Fartsy Link Party, Imparting Grace, Funtastic Friday, The Answer is Chocolate, Life and Linda, Happiness is Homemade, Thursday Favorite Things, Esme Salon, Anything Goes, A Pinch of Joy, Keeping it Real, The Cottage Market, Lou Lou Girls, Wonderful Wednesday, Fluster Buster