Actual, tangible photos are a rare thing nowadays. Memory storage keeps increasing and so does the amount of photos people take, especially on smartphones. It’s unfortunate, though, that these photos stay digital and run the risk of being deleted or disappearing.
Kodak, a household name in photography and printing, tries to come up with solution with the Kodak Photo Printer Mini (Kodak PM 210); a portable, wireless printer made for smartphones that produces beautiful, quality prints in an instant.
Table of Contents
Design and Construction
The Kodak Photo Printer Mini comes in three colors: Black, White and Gold. All of the printers sport a minimalist design with rounded corners and a simple yellow stripe that runs across it. Kodak’s iconic logo sits neatly at the top. Its plastic construction makes it lightweight; weighing about 250g, and its size is just a little larger than your average power bank making it easy to fit almost anywhere.
Sitting at the top corner of the printer are two LED indicators: one for power/activity status and one for battery status.
On one end of the printer, you will see a USB port for charging and a reset pinhole. The opposite end is the slot where the prints come out. Moving around to the left side, you will see the power button which is the only visible, physical button that is on the printer while on the right is a panel that flips open to reveal the cartridge slot.
The cartridge is an all-in-one cartridge. This means that the ink and paper are integrated into one. This is a great feature that complements its portability as it eliminates the need for a paper feed. Upon purchase of the printer, you are provided with a cartridge that can print 8 sheets.
Connectivity and App
The Kodak Mobile Photo Mini is completely wireless in terms of connectivity. For Apple devices, it connects via the printer’s internal Wi-Fi while Android phones can opt to connect through NFC if the device supports it.
To be able to print, you need to use the Kodak Printer Mini App. Connecting for the first time through NFC will automatically take you to the download page. If not, the app is available for free on the App store or Google Play store.
The app is pretty straightforward. You can access your phone’s gallery to print existing photos or access the camera to take a new one. There’s also a feature that allows you take a still from a video to print.
Other features include being able to connect to various social media platforms and being able to choose a photo from there to print as well as a search feature that allows you to search for an image from the web to print.
The editing studio of the app is limited to simple adjustments. You can tweak basic settings such as brightness and contrast, add filters and stickers, use preset templates, and create business cards, photo collages, and ID prints. Once you’re done editing, all you have to do is press print.
There were some hiccups in connecting via NFC. While there was no problem in finding the printer, the connection took a while and would sometimes disconnect. Wi-Fi on the other hand, connected faster and was more stable.
Despite being made for smartphones, we found we were able to connect to an iMac via Wi-Fi and print directly from it.
Print Speed and Quality
The Kodak Mobile Photo Mini prints 2.1 x 3.4-inch photos that are about the size of the credit card or the Instax mini. Kodak boasts of its “Dye Sublimation Thermal Transfer” that ensures high-quality photographic prints of 16.7 million colors. Photos are printed one color at a time (Yellow, Magenta, Cyan) before a final overcoating layer is placed. The last layer acts as a protection layer that prevents damage and preserves color. Printing took about a minute both via Wi-Fi and NFC.
We tested the printer’s quality by printing two print tests: one for color, one for black and white. On the left are the digital images and on the right are the scanned copies of the print from the Photo Printer Mini.
You can see that that colors are well rendered and are quite vibrant. Skin tones are also faithful to the source. If you look closely, though, you can see some steps in the gradient, especially in the black and white test. Overall, for a portable photo printer, the quality of the photos are quite good.
Battery
The Kodak Mobile Photo Mini houses a 625mAh rechargeable battery that should last you a couple days of intermittent use. It also has a power saving feature wherein the printer automatically shuts down after an idle time of about 5 minutes.
Conclusion
If what you’re after is a wireless, portable printer that produces quality prints that will last a couple of years, then this is would be a great choice. It’s small enough to fit in the palm of your hand and hardly weighs a thing. Though the printing may not be as fast as other mobile printers on the market, the print quality more than makes up for it and the fact that it’s made to last up to 10 years. It also comes at a price that’s not too heavy on the pocket. I personally enjoy having tangible copies of photos and this printer was a great convenience to have around.
The Kodak Photo Printer Mini (PM 210) is available at Lazada for Php5,990 with free cartridge. See listing here.
Kodak Photo Printer Mini (PM 210) specs:
Connection: WiFi, NFC, WiFi Direct
Photo Size: Credit Card Size (2.1in x 3.4in)
Weight: 250g
Power: Built in 625mAh Battery, DC 5V/1.0A
Size (cm): 7.93 X 16.63 X 2.46
Supported File: JPEG(Baseline). PNG
Gradiation: 256 Gradiation, 16.7 Million Colors
Printing Method: Dye Sublimation Thermal Transfer
Pros:
- Small size and lightweight
- Produces quality prints
- Integrated cartridge
Cons:
- Slower printing time
- NFC connection could be better
- Limited editing capabilities of the app
Words and photos by Vikka Abat
Hello Kevin/Yugatech, how much is the cartridge?