- Dye-sub printers like the Canon SELPHY have predictable per-print costs baked into the paper/ribbon packs — usually $0.25-0.35 per 4x6 print, no surprises.
- Inkjet photo printers have cheap hardware but expensive ink — factor in ongoing cartridge costs before buying. A $650 Epson P700 might cost you $200+ in ink annually.
- For casual 4x6 printing at home, the Canon SELPHY CP1500 is the easiest recommendation — compact, reliable, and the output quality is genuinely good.
- If you're printing anything larger than 4x6 regularly, step up to the Epson P700 or Canon PIXMA Pro-200 — they're professional tools with professional output.
- The EcoTank ET-8550 solves the ink cost problem for high-volume photo printing — refillable tanks instead of cartridges changes the economics entirely.
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I read 200 Amazon reviews before buying my last photo printer. Still got surprised by the ink costs.
That’s the thing about photo printers – the hardware is only part of the story. The ongoing cost of consumables is where photo printer economics get uncomfortable, and it’s the part manufacturers are least enthusiastic about advertising on the box.
So let’s start there.
Dye-sublimation printers use a ribbon that heats dye into the paper. The paper and ribbon come as a kit – you get a set number of prints per pack, and the per-print cost is baked in and predictable. Usually $0.25-0.35 per 4x6 print. No drying time. Water-resistant output. These are great for 4x6 social prints.
Inkjet photo printers use ink cartridges or tanks and print on paper you supply separately. They can print larger formats, produce wider color gamuts, and support fine art paper for archival prints. The per-print cost varies wildly depending on volume and ink prices, but it’s almost always higher than people expect. Ink also dries out if you don’t print regularly – which means infrequent printers pay even more per print than the math suggests.
Neither approach is wrong. They’re just different tools for different use cases. Here’s which is which.
Quick Comparison Table
| Printer | Type | Print Size | Cost Per 4x6 | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon SELPHY CP1500 | Dye-Sub | Up to 4x6 | ~$0.25-0.35 | ~$80 |
| Epson SureColor P700 | Inkjet | Up to 13" wide | Variable | ~$650 |
| Canon PIXMA TR8620a | Inkjet AIO | Up to 4x6 (photo), 8.5x11 (docs) | ~$0.15-0.25 | ~$130 |
| Epson EcoTank ET-8550 | Inkjet (tank) | Up to 13" wide | ~$0.05-0.10 | ~$350 |
| Polaroid Hi-Print | Dye-Sub | 2x3 | ~$0.30 | ~$70 |
| Fujifilm Instax Link Wide | Instax | 3.4x4.25" | ~$0.75-1.00 | ~$100 |
| HP ENVY Inspire 7955e | Inkjet AIO | Up to 8.5x11 | ~$0.20-0.30 | ~$150 |
| Canon PIXMA Pro-200 | Inkjet | Up to 13x19" | Variable | ~$400 |
1. Canon SELPHY CP1500 — Best Compact Photo Printer
Canon SELPHY CP1500 (Black) — ~$80
This is the printer I’d hand to someone who just wants to print 4x6 photos without thinking about it.
The SELPHY is a dye-sublimation printer – which means it uses a color ribbon and dedicated photo paper rather than ink cartridges. The print quality is genuinely good. Colors are vibrant, prints are water-resistant and smudge-proof straight out of the machine, and the whole process takes about 40 seconds per print.
The per-print cost is predictable. Canon’s RP-108 paper/ribbon kit gives you 108 4x6 prints for around $28-30. That’s roughly $0.26 per print. Buy in bulk and it gets slightly cheaper. No surprises, no ink drying out between uses, no clogged print heads.
Wireless printing from your phone via Canon’s SELPHY Photo Layout app. USB, SD card, and USB-A connection for direct printing from camera or phone. AirPrint support for iOS. It’s portable – runs on an optional battery pack if you want to take it somewhere.
The limitation is size. The SELPHY is a 4x6 printer. That’s it. If you want 5x7, 8x10, or anything larger, you need a different printer. But for 4x6 snapshots – party photos, family prints, gift prints – this is the easiest recommendation on this entire list.
2. Epson SureColor P700 — Best Professional Desktop Photo Printer
Epson SureColor P700 — ~$650
The P700 is not a casual photo printer. It’s a professional tool that happens to fit on a desk.
Ten-color ink system. That’s UltraChrome PRO10 pigment inks with separate channels for matte black, photo black, and vivid magenta – colors that budget printers can’t reproduce. Print width up to 13 inches, which means you can do 13x19" borderless prints (A3+ format) on fine art paper, canvas, or specialty media.
Color accuracy is laboratory-level. The P700 uses built-in spectrophotometer support (when connected to Epson Print Layout software) to profile individual papers and achieve color fidelity that commercial print labs match. For photographers who want prints that look like the files they edited – not a shifted, compressed approximation – this is the printer.
Wireless printing, Ethernet, USB. SD card slot for direct camera printing. Borderless printing on all standard photo sizes. Support for matte, glossy, fine art, and canvas media.
The honest tradeoff: ink costs. Ten ink channels means ten cartridges to replace. If you’re printing regularly, you’ll buy ink often. The P700 makes sense for photographers who print enough volume to justify the consumables – probably 50+ prints per month. Under that, you might print less expensively at a professional lab and use the P700 as a creative proofing tool.
3. Canon PIXMA TR8620a — Best All-in-One for Home Photo Printing
Canon PIXMA TR8620a — ~$130
Most people don’t need a dedicated photo printer. They need a printer that can produce good photos when they want them, and handle documents, school projects, and occasional scanning the rest of the time. The TR8620a is that printer.
Five-ink system with a dedicated photo ink – most home printers use four colors (CMYK), which compromises skin tones and smooth gradients. The fifth color (photo blue or gray, depending on the series) fills in the gaps and produces noticeably better photo output. 4x6 prints look genuinely good. 8x10 on photo paper is respectable, though not professional-quality.
Print, scan, copy, and fax (yes, fax is still a thing in some industries). Auto duplex printing. Wireless, AirPrint, and Google Cloud Print compatible. Prints directly from memory cards and USB drives.
The catch: ink costs. Canon’s XL cartridges are more economical than standard, but if you print high volumes of photos, this printer will surprise you on ink spend. Keep it for light-to-moderate use – a few prints here and there, occasional photo projects – and it excels. Run it hard every day and the ongoing ink costs will start to hurt.
4. Epson EcoTank ET-8550 — Best for High-Volume Photo Printing
Epson EcoTank Photo ET-8550 — ~$350
The EcoTank concept is simple: throw away the expensive cartridge model. Fill the ink tanks directly from bottles. Print a lot. Pay very little per print over time.
The ET-8550 applies that idea to a wide-format photo printer. Six-color ink system – including photo black and gray – in refillable tanks that give you thousands of prints before needing a refill. Epson rates the initial ink bottles included with the printer as sufficient for approximately 1,300 4x6 photos. That’s not a typo. The per-print cost at volume is genuinely around $0.05-0.10 per 4x6.
Print width up to 13 inches, same as the SureColor P700. Quality is very good – not P700-class for professional fine art output, but for borderless 4x6 through 13x19 on photo paper, the output is impressive. Built-in scanner. Wireless, Ethernet, USB. Touchscreen interface.
The upfront cost ($350) is higher than a cartridge-based all-in-one. The value case only works if you print regularly. If you’re going to print 50+ photos a month, the EcoTank pays for the premium quickly and keeps paying it month after month. If you print 5 photos a month, start with the SELPHY.
5. Polaroid Hi-Print 2x3 — Best Pocket Printer for Social Prints
Polaroid Hi-Print 2x3 (2nd Gen) — ~$70
Small. Bluetooth. Phone-to-print in about a minute. This is not a printer for people who care deeply about archival quality.
The Hi-Print is a pocket-sized dye-sublimation printer that connects to your phone via Bluetooth and prints 2x3-inch photos. The output is water-resistant and smudge-proof – dye-sub advantages again. The print quality for its size is genuinely good: sharp, vibrant, not the washed-out look you get from cheaper ZINK printers.
The second generation improved connectivity and the companion app. Print directly from your camera roll, or use the Polaroid app to add filters and borders.
Cost per print runs around $0.30 when you factor in the paper/ribbon cartridges. It’s a social print – something you hand to someone at a party or stick on a bulletin board. Not something you frame. If that’s the use case, it’s the best small printer for the money.
6. Fujifilm Instax Link Wide — Best for Instax Format
Fujifilm Instax Link Wide — ~$100
Instax is a format, not just a camera brand. The Instax Wide film produces prints that are 3.4 x 4.25 inches – wider than the mini format, with that specific warm Instax look that Instagram-era social printing made famous.
The Link Wide connects to your phone via Bluetooth and prints through Fujifilm’s Instax Link app. Good controls for layout, brightness adjustment, and collage printing. The printer itself is compact and genuinely portable – about the size of a hardcover book.
The catch: film costs are higher than most alternatives. Instax Wide film runs roughly $0.75-1.00 per print depending on pack size. That’s expensive compared to dye-sub alternatives. What you’re paying for is the Instax aesthetic – that slightly overexposed, contrasty look with the white border – which has a specific appeal for event photography, weddings, and parties where the format is the point.
If you want standard 4x6 prints at lower cost, start with the Canon SELPHY. If you want Instax – and you’ll know if you want Instax – this is the right printer.
7. HP ENVY Inspire 7955e — Best Budget All-in-One with Photo Quality
HP ENVY Inspire 7955e — ~$150
The ENVY Inspire is HP’s attempt at a home all-in-one that produces respectable photo output without dedicated photo ink.
Print, scan, and copy in one unit. Automatic duplex. Wireless, AirPrint, Google Print. Print up to 8.5x11" on photo paper with decent results – not Canon PIXMA quality, but better than basic four-color printers.
HP’s Instant Ink subscription is packaged with this printer aggressively. It’s not a bad deal if you print consistently – HP ships ink before you run out based on your usage. If you print infrequently, it’s cheaper to buy cartridges outright.
The honest assessment: for photo printing specifically, the Canon PIXMA TR8620a does better for about the same money. The HP ENVY Inspire is the pick if you want a solid all-in-one primarily for documents with decent photo output on the side. Priorities matter here.
8. Canon PIXMA Pro-200 — Best Prosumer Wide-Format Printer
Canon PIXMA Pro-200 — ~$400
The Pro-200 sits between the TR8620a home printer and the Epson P700 professional printer – and honestly, for photographers who print up to 13x19" on quality paper, it might be the sweet spot.
Eight-color dye ink system. Maximum print size 13x19 inches, borderless. The dye ink system is optimized for vivid color output rather than the maximum archival longevity of pigment inks (the P700’s strength). For photographers printing portfolio work on glossy and luster paper, the color output from the Pro-200 is stunning. For fine art matte and archival work, the P700 is the better tool.
Wireless, USB, and direct print via SD card. Compatible with a wide range of Canon photo papers, plus third-party papers with ICC profiles available from most specialty paper manufacturers.
At $400, it’s the cheapest path to 13x19 photo printing with genuinely impressive color. Ink costs are real – eight channels, dye ink, regular printing – but less punishing than the ten-channel P700 at higher price.
If you’re printing large prints for display and don’t need archival pigment longevity, this is where the value argument lives.
The Bottom Line
Photo printing is rarely simple. The hardware cost is the easy part – the ongoing ink or ribbon costs are where the real economics live.
For most casual home printers: Canon SELPHY CP1500. Eighty dollars, predictable costs, no maintenance headaches.
High-volume printing: Epson EcoTank ET-8550. The economics only work above a certain volume, but once they do, the savings are significant.
Professional photographers: Epson SureColor P700 or Canon PIXMA Pro-200. The P700 for fine art and archival pigment output, the Pro-200 for vibrant color output at lower entry cost.
Social printing: Polaroid Hi-Print or Fujifilm Instax Link Wide depending on whether you want standard prints or the Instax aesthetic.
The ink costs are real. Don’t let the hardware price be the only number you look at.