Photo Printer Review

Comparing photo printers and costs

The best reviews of portable inkjet and thermal-dye (also called dye-sublimation) photo printers feature reprints of actual-size and enlarged prints from multiple printers for comparison. PCMag.com no longer does that, but review site PrinterInfo.com comes close in that regard and provides far more comprehensive photo-printer reviews; unfortunately, PrinterInfo.com covers few currently available portable snapshot printers. Once-prolific CNET provides detailed, comparative reviews but hasn't reviewed any new models since 2008. As with PCMag.com, CNET does not provide sample prints or other visual aids. PC World and ConsumerReports,org both evaluate a lot of photo printers, but primarily limit reports to charted data and opinion.

Dedicated personal photo printers print 4-by-6-inch snapshots directly from your digital camera without needing a computer. Some models, like the HP Photosmart series, print 5-by-7-inch photos and some can also print 4-by-8-inch and 4-by-12-inch panoramic photos as well. All snapshot photo printers are portable to some degree (some can run on batteries and all can be plugged into an outlet), which allows you to take them on vacation or to a family reunion. We've seen them reviewed as portable photo printers, compact photo printers, mini and snapshot printers. If you want a photo printer that can print snapshots as well as 8-by-10-inch photos and text pages, see our separate report on inkjet printers.