Mini photo printers are one of the trendiest gifts of the year, according to Google. As a photographer, I think these are the best deals on top-ranked options

The Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 3 mobile photo printer on a gray background with instant photos

(Image credit: Hillary K. Grigonis / Future)

Using its wealth of search data, Google has compiled a list of the trendiest gifts of 2025 – and tucked in among the gift idea gems is the mini photo printer.

Google Trends’ list of top gift ideas for 2025 contains a few obvious choices, including new tech like the Nintendo Switch 2. But the search engine giant also says that searches for “photo printer” have increased by 65 percent this year.

As a photographer, I happen to agree that mini photo printers make fantastic gift ideas – I carry one around in my camera bag so that I can share instant film prints in person. I don’t think you need to be a photographer to appreciate a tiny photo printer though. Sharing on Instagram is great, but there’s nothing like sharing a tiny print in person.

Portable photo printers are compact devices that allow you to print photos straight from your smartphone. But two key types of tech make it possible to pack a printer into a portable device: inkless printing, or Zink, and instant film.

Zink printers look more like a traditional printed photo, just tinier, often in a 2x3 format. One of the things that I love about Zink is that the photos typically come with sticky backs, which makes them great for scrapbooking and doubling as photo printers.

My personal favorite, however, are the printers that use real instant film. This mixes the portable printer trend with the retro trend, exposing digital images onto real instant film. That essentially turns a smartphone – or any camera – into an instant camera.

Here are some of the top deals right now on trendy photo printers. For more ideas, browse the list of the best portable photo printers.

US Deals 🇺🇲

The Polaroid Hi-Print uses Dye sublimation rather than Zink paper – and with excellent results. One key feature of this option, however, is that it's pocket-sized and pretty small for everything it's able to do.

<p>This deal makes the printer much more affordable than the bundle with film, so be sure to also gift <a href="https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=8430&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.com%2FPolaroid-Hi-Print-Paper-Cardridge-Photos%2Fdp%2FB0CVNC4RRG%2F%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-20%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-20" target="_blank">a paper pack ($16 for 20 photos).

UK Deals 🇬🇧

The biggest downside to portable photo printers is that the images tend to be small. The Instax Wide Link, however, prints a little larger on film with a photo space of 99xx by 62mm. This printer uses instant film, so prints have a retro feel to them.

<p>Gift this with <a href="https://target.georiot.com/Proxy.ashx?tsid=8430&GR_URL=https%3A%2F%2Famazon.co.uk%2FINSTAX-WIDE-instant-white-border%2Fdp%2FB0DPQMWFZM%2F%3Ftag%3Dhawk-future-21%26ascsubtag%3Dhawk-custom-tracking-21" target="_blank">a pack of Instax Wide film.

US Deals 🇺🇲

UK Deals 🇬🇧

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