A mobile printer creates fun sticker photos

The digicam’s transition from movie to digital meant that images not wanted to be printed on paper to exist. However, pictures ought to exist in additional than simply pixels. That is why I’ve began attempting out transportable smartphone printers, compact units that spit out prints on-site with out the wait. The Canon Ivy 2 isn’t just a photograph printer you can take with you, however spits out sticky-back images you can stick virtually anyplace.

Cell picture printers are not exhausting to seek out. Nonetheless, the Canon Ivy 2 differentiates itself with cartridge-free Zink printing, a seamless setup, and the choice to print borderless business-card-sized prints or round stickers. However as knowledgeable photographer, I am choosy about my prints. So how does the Ivy 2 maintain as much as scrutiny?

Advisable

Canon Ivy 2

Utilizing Zink expertise, the Canon Ivy 2 spits out small picture prints or stickers utilizing a smartphone app and Bluetooth. The printer creates colourful, borderless prints with a sticky again. I discovered the Ivy 2 to be simple to arrange and enjoyable to print with. Plus, the alternative paper is extra reasonably priced than many opponents. However, the colours are sometimes a bit of off and the battery life is restricted to twenty prints. Nonetheless, it is a win for anybody who desires to simply flip their images into stickers.

Dimensions

4.7 x 3.3 x 0.8″

Photograph Dimension

2 x 3″

Connectivity

Bluetooth

Model

Canon

Movie sort

Zink

Battery life

20 prints

Professionals

• Simple to make use of
• Borderless prints with a sticky again
• Choice to print round stickers
• Reasonably priced paper refills

Cons

• Low battery lifetime of simply 20 prints
• Colours can usually be totally different from the display screen

Develop

Associated

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Specs, value and availability

The Canon Ivy 2 was introduced within the fall of 2022, with a listing value of $99. The transportable printer makes use of Bluetooth to wirelessly print images from an iPhone or Android system. The Ivy 2 makes use of Zink expertise, which embeds dye crystals into picture paper, eliminating the necessity to purchase or load ink cartridges. Paper for the printer ranges in price from about $30 for 50 sheets to $15 for 20 sheets of circle pre-cut stickers (40 stickers whole).

What I like concerning the Canon Ivy 2

The printer is easy to make use of

The Canon Ivy 2 is a conveyable picture printer sufficiently small to tuck into a handbag and even an oversize jacket pocket. Measuring about 4.7 inches lengthy, it is thicker however shorter than a typical smartphone.

The Ivy takes little or no setup earlier than the gadget is able to print. After charging and downloading the app, the printer related to my iPhone utilizing Bluetooth in just some seconds, with none of the connectivity confusion that wi-fi printers generally convey. The on-screen directions then walked me by way of loading paper, which merely concerned opening the pack and loading your entire stack with the blue calibration sheet face down. The Ivy 2 holds as much as 10 sheets at a time.

The Canon Mini Print app is almost simply so simple as the printer itself. The house display screen is populated with shortcuts for printing a borderless picture, or working with collages, pre-cut stickers, graphic layouts, and even utilizing the printer as a label maker. Earlier than making a print, you should use a few of the easy built-in instruments to crop, add filters, make minor changes, or add stickers and textual content. From there, it’s a easy matter of tapping the print icon.

One of many causes that the Ivy 2 is so compact is that it does not want ink cartridges. As a substitute, it makes use of Zink paper. Zink paper makes use of embedded ink crystals, that are activated by warmth throughout the printing course of. The result’s a water resistant, tear-resistant picture. The Canon Ivy 2 makes use of 2×3 inch paper for enterprise card prints. The again can be peeled away to show the picture right into a sticker. Or, the Ivy 2 can also be appropriate with pre-cut round sticker paper, which prints two circle photos on one sheet.

The sticky-back design and hard-to-destroy nature of the Zink paper is among the largest causes to decide on the Ivy over a printer that makes use of a special course of. The sticky again makes prints enjoyable to embellish with. I even caught some circle stickers on my cellphone case. In fact, there are sensible makes use of as nicely, just like the app’s label designs for duties like labeling all of your children’ college gadgets.

One other key characteristic is that the Canon Ivy 2 is able to spitting out borderless prints, a characteristic that differentiates the printer from choices just like the Fujifilm Instax Mini Hyperlink 3, which makes use of a bordered immediate movie as an alternative of paper.

The price of Zink alternative paper is one other key spotlight. A pack of fifty sheets sells for about $30, making the associated fee round 60 cents a sheet. By comparability, Fujifilm’s immediate movie printers usually price between 90 cents and $1.50 per picture.

What I did not like concerning the Canon Ivy 2

Shade outcomes can differ and battery life is low

As a photographer, one in all my largest struggles is that colours on a photograph differ from display screen to display screen, in addition to from printer to printer. The Canon Ivy 2 is not any totally different. The prints had an inclination to be barely extra saturated and, at instances, a bit darker than the digital file. Gradations and transitions from one colour to a different additionally weren’t fairly as easy, at instances showing textured or noisy when the unique file contained little noise. At instances, the perimeters of the picture or sticker do not fairly line up with the preview on the app, so leaving some wiggle room on the perimeters is crucial.

That is all par for the course on a printer that matches in your pocket, nevertheless, and whereas the print high quality diversified a bit from the display screen, the picture high quality was nonetheless acceptable. Printers that solely print a three-inch picture aren’t going to be very detailed by nature. Textual content printed on the pictures must be saved pretty massive and in a easy font for the highest quality. I might nonetheless readily use the pictures the Ivy 2 spat out for handing out to buddies, scrapbooking, label making, or hanging on the fridge.

As a result of the Ivy 2 makes use of warmth to activate the ink crystals embedded within the paper, the battery life on the printer is short-lived. The specs record the battery life at 20 prints and, certain sufficient, after 15 photos, the remaining juice was hovering round 30 p.c. The battery life is nice sufficient for handing out just a few prints to buddies, however in case you’re planning a marathon scrapbooking session, you may need to pack a charger. Fortunately, the Ivy 2 makes use of a normal USB-C cable to recharge.

Whereas I beloved the simplicity of the Canon Mini Print app, at instances I discovered the app a bit too easy. I might have beloved it if the display screen might record the variety of pages remaining, as there is not any form of indication on the printer or the app what number of pages stay inside. I additionally discovered the app’s built-in digicam mode too easy — I obtained higher outcomes once I used my iPhone’s native digicam app, after which imported the picture from my digicam roll.

Is the Canon Ivy 2 price it?

Purchase it for the sturdy sticker prints

The Canon Ivy 2 is a succesful transportable picture printer very best for handing out prints to buddies, scrapbooking, or adorning your gear with customized picture stickers. The Zink expertise signifies that the printer is able to not simply borderless prints, however sticky-back photos which might be exhausting to break. Few mini printers can print in multiple dimension, however the Ivy 2 can create business-card-sized prints or round stickers relying on the paper you purchase. All that can also be wrapped up in tech that is exceptionally simple to make use of.

Is the Canon Ivy 2 my new favourite picture printer? My favourite continues to be the Instax Mini Hyperlink 3 which converts digital photos to immediate movie, however that is primarily a private selection motivated by my love for the movie’s colours and nostalgia. If neither nostalgia nor retro colours are excessive in your precedence record, the borderless, hard-to-destroy, reasonably priced prints will doubtless make the Canon Ivy 2 a best choice. It is a wonderful gadget for crafters in addition to anybody who desires to print (and stick) images proper from a smartphone.