Among all the dedicated photo printers mainly built as camera-phone accessories, the Polaroid Zip Photoprinter is nearest to getting it right. Unfortunately, the area of which it falls short is the quality of color, which is clearly one of the most critical considerations. But for some people, it’s less necessary for Zip wallet-size photos than for larger output. If you’re happy with that arrangement, the Zip has a lot to offer.
Out of the Box
You’ll get the actual printer, a user manual, a 10-pack ZINK printing paper, and a micro USB charging cable out of the box. The printer weighs around 186 grams, which is very lightweight.
The battery is a rechargeable one with 500mAh of lithium polymer. It takes about 1.5 hours to completely charge the battery, and you can print about 25 images per charge. This one prints on ZINK 2×3 paper, also known as Zero Ink. The mini portable printer comes in four different colors.
Polaroid Zip Photoprinter Usability
It’s quick to load paper on it. Simply open the printer by sliding the back cover. The pack of ZINK paper that you get is going straight in there. You’ll see a blue paper on the bottom of the pack.
That’s the smart sheet, and that goes face down in the printer when a fresh pack of sheets is first opened. When you’ve loaded the paper with the blue smart sheet face down, slip the cover back until you hear a snapping noise.
Press and hold down the button. You’re going to see the light appear on the device. If it doesn’t power on, fully charge the battery. When the device is switched on and you see the light flashing, wait for the Smartsheet to go into the printer automatically.
Image Printing Process
Mobile printers are not that effective when it comes to correctly portray both colors and details. But, due to new technologies, visual output has improved significantly over the last few years.
Images are printed using special paper with cyan, magenta, and yellow dye crystals. Initially, the paper is colorless. But when you start printing, heat is activated and converted into the right colors.
Paper sheets still come out smudge-proof and dry so no ink is involved. You can also peel it back and use it as a sticker. The level and accuracy and color details of the portable wireless system are not bad at all.
Print Speed & Battery Life
The quality of the picture is not something to brag about. I mean, what else do you expect from a printer smaller than your smartphone? The feature that fascinated me the most though, is print speed.
It takes about 40 seconds for a picture to be printed. This is much quicker than the rivals are capable of. When printing pictures with a lot of dark colors, you have to make certain compromises.
The life of the battery is relatively long. They say you can print 25 pictures, but some get up to 30 images per charge. And it can print when charging, and it takes about 90 minutes to completely recharge.
Should You Buy It?
Simple and fun to use the Polaroid Zip is a perfect little accessory to free your pictures from your smartphone. It’s a low-cost, wireless photo printer that transforms your mobile images into 2×3-inch full-color prints. Easy to set up and use no consumables outside Polaroid’s Zink Paper are needed. Print quality is OK all things considered, but do not expect inkjet or dye-sub printer quality.