Canon IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer Review

Zero ink (Zink) portable photo printers don’t quite match the image quality of dye-sublimation models, but the output of the original Canon IVY reviewed here in June 2018 is mediocre, even compared to Zink’s competitors. Canon’s new IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer produces better small format (2 x 3 inch) prints at a similarly low running cost, especially with the current discounted price of $129.99 to $99.99. So it’s a bargain. Our only real complaint about this IVY is that When The discount price is $30 more than the Kodak Step Instant Mobile Photo Printer, which just won an Editor’s Choice Award among Zink smartphone companions.

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One pass, zero ink

Instead of ink, Zink photo printers use special paper impregnated with colors released by the printer’s application of heat to produce an image in a single pass. Canon says that if stored properly, images from the IVY 2 can last up to a century. In contrast, dye-sublimation or dye-sublimation devices such as the Polaroid Hi-Print 2×3 Pocket Photo Printer and the Kodak Mini 3 Retro Portable Printer lay down cyan, magenta, and yellow inks and a clear coat to make the colors stand out. requires 4 passes for Protects images from dust and fingerprints.

The IVY 2 Mini is available in two colors, white and pink, as shown below.

(Credit: Canon)

As pointed out earlier, the size of these pocket cameras is primarily determined by the size of the print media. For example, the IVY 2 Mini measures 0.8 x 3.3 x 4.7 inches and weighs 5.6 pounds, almost identical to his previous IVY and close to many of its competitors. Like many of them, this Canon uses 2 x 3 inch paper, as does the aforementioned Kodak Step and Polaroid Hi-Print, and the HP Sprocket (not to be confused with the Sprocket Select, which uses a 2.3-by) also use -3.4″ stock).

All pocket printers require consumables to be loaded. This is just the paper for the Zink printer, the paper for the dye sub and the ink cartridges. Slide the IVY 2 Mini lid back to reveal the media compartment and load the paper into the IVY 2 Mini.

(Credit: Canon)

Like its predecessor, the IVY 2 Mini holds 10 blank sheets. Printed photos are ejected from the exit at the left end of the machine. The opposite end has a USB-C port for charging the printer’s battery, a charging status LED, a reset pinhole, and a power button.

(Credit: Canon)

(Credit: Canon)

As mentioned earlier, Canon prints a 2 x 3 inch photo with adhesive on the back and also prints a small circular sticker. Connectivity is limited to the Bluetooth peer-to-peer wireless protocol and the bundled software only supports iOS or Android handheld devices. Neither this nor the original IVY can connect to my laptop or desktop PC.

(Credit: Canon)

However, you can access some cloud and social media sites such as Facebook, Google Cloud, Instagram, and OneDrive. The IVY 2 Mini and your phone or tablet are paired via the latter’s Bluetooth control panel. The print resolution is 313 x 512 dpi (dots per inch) and the photos are borderless.

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Canon MiniPrint App

Canon’s Mini Print App is a full-featured print driver, photo editing and enhancement program. With it, you can print from your phone’s photo album or from your favorite cloud and social media sites.

(Credit: Canon)

The app lets you crop images, fix imperfections like red-eye, adjust contrast and brightness, as well as add text, decorative frames and borders, and other enhancements. A unique feature of the Mini Print app is the ability to tile or combine multiple prints at their edges to create a larger image or collage. To compose these large images, the software simply cuts the image into four or nine 2-by-3-inch pieces and glues them together after printing.

(Credit: Canon)

As we mentioned in 2018 for the original IVY (which only offered 4-tile images), tiling is one feature that helps Canon stand out from its competitors.

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IVY 2 Mini test: reasonable speed, nice looking Zink

Canon says the IVY 2 Mini takes less than 50 seconds to print a photo. First his IVY averaged 44 seconds per print. This is slightly faster than the 48 seconds we averaged for the newer models.

Frankly, anything under 60 seconds is fine in this category. 48 seconds is actually relatively fast, but the Kodak Mini 3 Retro wins the race at 43 seconds per print. (I ran the test from a Samsung Galaxy Note smartphone with the latest version of Android.) Note that many things can affect the resolution and size of the image, the speed of your phone and its Bluetooth connection, etc. It is important to Pocket printer performance.

As mentioned above, one of our complaints about the original Canon IVY was that its print quality wasn’t good enough compared to its rivals at the time. Fortunately, the IVY 2 Mini offers brighter, more intense hues, not to mention improved color accuracy and detail. Zink technology has improved significantly over the past few years. Image quality from this Canon isn’t as impressive as prints from similarly sized dye-sublimation devices, but it’s on par with most of its competitors.

As mentioned above, the unique tiling feature allows you to divide your image into 4 or 9 parts to create collages, large images, or both. I don’t know of any other pocket photo printer that can do that.

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Affordable and attractive images

At the time of writing, the IVY 2 Mini’s discounted price of $99.99 included a printer, a USB Type-A-to-C charging cable, and ten 2-by-3-inch self-adhesive Zink papers. Since the printer is new to the market, I haven’t found many bundles with extra paper or other scrapbooking materials like those offered by Kodak Step, but I did find some bargains. For $ you get 20 sheets with 2 round stickers per sheet. Additional 2 x 3 inch media (when purchased in quantities of 20, 50 or 100 for $9.99, $24.99 or $49.99 respectively) cost 50 cents. per photo. Shopping may save you a few pennies. For example, I found a 50 pack of paper for $22.99 instead of $24.99.

(Credit: Canon)

My only gripe with the 2018 Canon IVY Mini is that the prints showed subdued or slightly inaccurate colors and blurry details compared to competitors like HP, Liene, and Kodak. When it comes to imaging, it’s very rare for Canon to fall short of its target in the slightest, so it’s nice to see the IVY 2 Mini catch up with its competitors. am. You can think of this as offset by the image tiling option. Either way, if you want a small snap print from your phone, you can’t go wrong with the IVY 2 Mini.