Printing memories as you make them: choose the best portable photo printer for you

Portable printers are a fun way to keep and share memories and so much more. From printing stickers for personalising your gadgets to scrapbooking, documenting your life or creating postcards to send across the world, Canon's portable photo printers can be used for all sorts of creative tasks.

They offer a range of different sizes, paper dimensions, features and technologies to fit your printing needs, depending on exactly what you want to print and what you want to do with the end result.

Let's take a look at how the models compare and what each has to offer in terms of portability, paper type, print size and more, so you can find your perfect printing partner.

• Ultimate on-the-go-printing
• Long-lasting prints
• High-quality prints
• Easy connectivity

Small enough to slip into a spare pocket and weighing less than many smartphones, the second generation of Canon Zoemini, the Canon Zoemini 2, is perfect for printing on the go. If you're meeting up with friends, you can turn digital photos into physical prints in a matter of seconds, gifting them as a memento of a special occasion. Its weight is kept to an absolute minimum and it's quick to recharge, so it is ideal for festivals, nights out and more – anywhere you might want to capture and enjoy your print straight away.

The Canon Mini Print app gives you full creative control and allows you to get exactly the look you want, with options for adding doodles and captions, as well as for creating multi-print collages. The app also allows you to access photos that you take on your smartphone or tablet, as well as tapping into photo files on your Facebook, Instagram, Google Photos, Dropbox or iCloud accounts.

Wherever you are you can make the most of the sheets of 50 x 76mm sticky-backed paper, which are ideal for putting your favourite shots on everything from the fridge to a drinks bottle. The prints are smudge-proof, tear-proof and water-resistant. There's no mess or fuss, thanks to Canon's ZINK™ (Zero Ink) print technology, and packaging is kept to a minimum. Another neat option with the Canon Zoemini 2 compact printer is that you can create circular stickers as well as conventional rectangular prints, ideal for labelling items around the home and for use in children's school projects.

For superior photo print quality and archival longevity of around 100 years, Canon SELPHY printers use dye-sublimation print technology rather than ZINK. As such, they work with a different kind of specialist photo paper and, while there's still no liquid ink to worry about, they operate with a cassette-based ribbon. Canon SELPHY printers also offer an Auto Image Optimize option for your photos, which detects and corrects image imperfections, adjusting face brightness and colour while reducing unwanted noise.

To create each print, the paper passes through the printer four times, with successive layers of cyan, magenta and yellow dye being added, followed by a protective glossy coating. Unlike with inkjet printers, different colours of dye can be laid on top of each other, rather than requiring ink droplets to be positioned adjacent to one another, so very fine detail can be retained.

The fully-portable Canon SELPHY QX20 has an internal rechargeable battery pack, as well as internal cassettes for the paper and dye-sublimation ribbon. It's therefore ideal for taking anywhere and for producing both high-quality 72x85mm and 54x85mm photo prints wherever you want via Wi-Fi, and both paper sizes include spaces for writing your own captions.

As with Canon's ZINK photo paper, sheets for the Canon SELPHY QX20 have a peelable backing, revealing a self-adhesive surface so that you can stick your prints on to just about any surface and making them ideal for scrapbooks. With built-in Wi-Fi, you can print wirelessly from a smart device quickly and easily at any location, without needing to be in a Wi-Fi hotspot. The Canon SELPHY Photo Layout app enables you to apply a wide range of layout options, stamps, overlays and borders - including borderless printing on the Canon SELPHY QX20 for the XC-20L / XC-60L and XS-20L papers.

With print sizes up to 100 x 148mm, the Canon SELPHY CP1500 is still compact and easy to move around. It's quick and hassle-free for creating postcard-sized prints, complete with a writable reverse side that includes address fields, and it's twice as speedy for making credit card-sized prints.

Like the Canon SELPHY QX20, it features Wi-Fi Direct for wireless printing from smart devices, but adds a USB-C port for easily connecting computers, cameras and USB flash drives, as well as an SD/SDHC/SDXC slot for printing direct from memory cards. It also features an 8.9cm colour LCD screen for enhanced ease of use. Again, dye-sublimation printing ensures lab-quality output with print longevity of up to 100 years ¹ .

The SELPHY CP1500 can print in a range of different sizes including postcard, credit card-sized and sheets of mini stickers, achieved using different paper cassettes. For example, to print credit card-sized (54 x 86mm) photos and labels you'll need the PCC-CP400 paper cassette.

The SELPHY Photo Layout app makes short work of creating customised photos, postcards, mini stickers and bookmarks direct from your mobile phone or tablet, thanks to a wide range of companion paper and dye-sublimation cartridge options available for the SELPHY CP1500. With this model you can also add a QR code to prints, allowing recipients to scan with their smart device and instantly be taken to an online album, video or web page.

It's all too easy for favourite photos to get lost in a huge collection of digital images, tucked away on our phones and other smart devices, never to be seen again. Canon's range of portable printers make it quick, easy, efficient and fun to create physical photo prints, stickers, postcards and more besides, so you can ensure they get the attention they deserve.