Kodak’s Mini 3 Retro Portable Printer ($156.99) is a snapshot photo printer that prints on 3-by-3-inch square media, as opposed to the 2-by-3.4-inch paper of the Kodak Mini 2 HD Instant Photo Printer reviewed here in April 2018. Like the HP Sprocket Studio, the Kodak printers use dye-sublimation (commonly called dye-sub) imaging technology, instead of inkjet or the zero-ink (Zink) process of other Sprocket and competitive models. Dye-sub printers and their four-pass imaging process usually produce photos superior to those of their Zink rivals, and its handsome output and low running costs render the Mini 3 Retro an excellent take-it-anywhere photo printer and our latest Editors’ Choice award winner in the category.
A Compact Design in a Choice of Colors
The Mini 3 Retro measures 1 by 5 by 4 inches and weighs just under a pound. You have your choice of three colors—white, yellow, or black—and two bundles, the kit reviewed here with 68 sheets of media or a cheaper ($141.99) package that comes with only eight sheets.
Versus other pocketable dye-sub photo printers like the HP Sprocket Studio and the Canon Selphy CP1300, the Kodak is small. But then, it prints 3-inch-square images, against those models’ 4-by-6-inch snapshots.
Otherwise, the Mini 3 Retro is a simple device. On the back edge of the printer, you’ll find a mini USB port for powering and charging, and your printed photos roll out of a slot on the front edge, as shown here.
Photo paper and the dye-sub ink ribbon cartridges load into a compartment accessed by opening the side. The printer comes preloaded with enough ink and paper to print eight images. (We’ll look more closely at consumables and running costs in a minute.)
As mentioned, the dye-sub printer makes four passes—laying down cyan, magenta, and yellow ink, plus a clear coat that helps colors pop and protects the image from fingerprints and dust. (Zero-ink printers use special paper infused with colors released by the printer’s application of heat.) Kodak says that, with proper storage, images from the device should last for up to a century.
Connecting to and Using the Mini 3 Retro
The Mini 3 Retro software supports both Android and iOS mobile devices—i.e., smartphones and tablets—but, like many photo printer apps, is designed to run only on handhelds and doesn’t support Windows or macOS laptops or desktops. In any case, you start by pairing the device to your phone or tablet via Bluetooth, after which you can download and install the Kodak Photo Printer app that lets you print images from your device’s storage or your favorite cloud site.
While, as I said, the printer has a mini USB port for charging, Bluetooth is its only connectivity option. According to Kodak, the onboard battery charges in about 90 minutes and lasts long enough to produce 25 prints.
Replacement cartridges are available in packs of 30, 60, and 90 sheets (part numbers ICRG-330, ICRG-360, and ICRG-390 respectively). To change the cartridge, simply open the compartment door, slide out the spent cartridge, and then slide in the replacement.
The Mini 3 Retro and its 2.1-by-3.4-inch sibling, the Mini 2 Retro, are the only pocket photo printers I know of that allow you to print either bordered or borderless images, as shown below.
To my eyes, borderless images look more finished or more professional. There are, however, applications where bordered photos work better, so having the option to print with or without borders is a nice touch.
Competitive Costs, Impressive Color and Detail
With replacement media cartridges available in 30, 60, and 90 prints, buying the last will predictably get you the lowest cost per photo (CPP). Kodak says prints from the 90-pack will run you about 40 cents each, but during my testing I encountered sale prices that push running costs down to roughly 30 cents per print.
Thirty cents is currently the lowest CPP I could find among the numerous pocket photo printers available, but not by much. The Canon Selphy, for example, churns out 4-by-6-inch snapshots for 35 cents each, while the Kodak Mini 2 HD’s 2-by-3.4-inch prints cost 70 to 75 cents. HP’s Zink-based, 2.3-by-3.4-inch Sprocket Select costs about 65 cents per photo, and the dye-sub Sprocket Studio’s 4-by-6-inch prints are about 44 cents apiece.
Besides being relatively thrifty to operate, the Mini 3 Retro is also quite swift compared to its peers. The borderless prints I made averaged 43 seconds each, with bordered prints a few seconds quicker. The HP Sprocket Select took about 76 seconds to produce a snapshot in our tests, while the dye-sub Sprocket Studio’s larger prints averaged 2 minutes and 5 seconds. The Selphy CP1300 was the second fastest after the Kodak, taking about a minute.
While Zink-based pocket photo printers have gotten better over the years, zero-ink technology still can’t match the quality of dye-sublimation imaging. The Mini 3 Retro’s photos looked first-class, with brilliant colors and fine detail. It’s worth repeating, however, that HP’s and Canon’s dye-sub models produce images that are quite a bit bigger. You’ll have to decide whether the 3-inch square format fits your needs.
Solid Value for Small Snaps
The Kodak Mini 3 Retro offers a unique square image format similar to Instagram’s. It prints well, inexpensively, and with a choice of borderless or bordered images. The printer is also plenty small enough to fit in your pocket, purse, or backpack when you’re on the go, though spare media cartridges are almost the same size as the printer, making them harder to carry around than small Zink paper packs. Even so, the Retro meets all the criteria—excellent print quality, relatively inexpensive operation, and a unique media size—to make it an easy Editors’ Choice winner among portable photo printer partners for your smartphone.
