Canon - SELPHY CP1500

Seconding the Selphy. It’s sick.

I’ve got both the cp1500 and the qx20. The latter went to Canada with me from the uk and worked really well. The cp1500 prints are better but it’s a bulky beast to be lugging around on airports etc. mine came in my hand luggage, on the Canadian and was great to write and capture photographs as the trip happened.

Canon Selphy 1500 photoprinter, print about 10 a month. A couple of larger prints a year for the office or at home. And every trip I make ends up in a photoalbum

I have the Canon Zoemini, the ZINK paper is super convenient for traveling plus the printer is tiny! Canon CP 1500 offers the pest print quality but it’s size make it better suited for desk use Canon QX20 is the good middle ground.

I would buy a canon Selphy printer (CP1500) and print out like 2 or 3 of his favorites as an appetizer for what he can print with it. And on top of that, get one larger print from a company to hang up on the wall.

Canon Selphy CP1500 works really well. Love it!

I love the Canon Selphy CP1500 for printing some favorites every few weeks or two.

No way. I love printing. I have the Canon Selphy CP1500

You're asking about price per print, *including* the amortized cost of the printer. In the long run, ink and paper costs always dominate. Short term however, the price of the printer dominates. A more expensive printer, such as the Epson ET8550, will have very good long term cost, but the initial investment is steep. A less expensive printer, such as a Canon SELPHY, will have a modest initial price, but price per picture adds up much faster. The least expensive printer is Walgreen's, with no up-front cost, but high ongoing cost. A second consideration is quality. The more expensive the printer, the higher the print quality. The ET8550 will outperform Walgreens, producing richer colors and more detail. A professional printer such as the Canon Pro 1200, will be even better. The SELPHY does not match Walgreens. And then there's effort. Walgreens takes your JPEGs and prints them. SELPHY does, too. But a dedicated printer will require some fiddling with a computer to get good results. On the flip side, you get to play with various paper types and sizes. But make no mistake, this is extra effort. Personally, I went with a Canon Pro 200, which is roughly equivalent to the Epson ET8550, but cheaper to buy and more expensive to operate. It's all a matter of how much do you intend to print. I also have a much cheaper Epson XP8500, which prints better photos than the SELPHY, for less money, but can't match the Pro 200. I also have a SELPHY, which is nice for what it is, but can't match Walgreen. And I have an INSTAX printer, which fits in my pocket and prints adorable little polaroids. But quality can't match even the SELPHY. Depending on your needs, all of the mentioned printers are a good purchase. In your case, I'd probably recommend the Epson XP8800 as a cheap, good quality photo printer. You'll be able to buy six full ink replacements before you'll reach the cost of the ET8550, which should take several years. If you'd like to splurge, the ET8550 is definitely the better printer, with lower ink costs. And keep in mind that ink is only one part of the running costs. It's easy to get swept up in the marketing that an ecotank printer makes printing "free". But that's ignoring paper costs, which in my experience dominate printing costs in the long run. First party paper is reliable and good, but offers only limited variations. Third party paper requires matching printer profiles, which can be hard to come by for non-professional printers such as the XP8800 (but some paper manufacturers (Photospeed) profile for free, and there are cheap services for creating bespoke profiles).

Essentially, there are 4x6 dye-sub printers like the SELPHY CP1500, the mini dye-subs like the QX10, Zink printers, and INSTAX printers. Stay away from the mini dye-subs. My QX10 broke twice in two weeks, and and each time wasted an entire ink cartridge. They are trash. The other options work well. The big SELPHY is decent quality and large, but slow and loud and not really all that portable. Zink is faster and portable and prints on paper. INSTAX is much faster, least good quality, but with analog charm.

Only 4x6? Canon has you covered, my friend, with the Canon CP1500. It's a dye sublimation printer, not an inkjet, but it'll do the job. It's also the same technology as many photo labs use for 4x6 prints, just in a smaller housing. A proper inkjet photo printer with archival ink would be something like the Canon Pro-200s that's at like $550.

Just got one and really liking it. The aftermarket ink cartridges also seem pretty affordable, so I don’t feel bad being a bit loose with trying prints out.

I use Canon Selphy CP1500 and am very happy with it. Best purchase!