Review: Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer

I love taking photos but I have to admit that I rarely actually print them out and put them where I can be reminded of fun times gone past. When I started my Bullet Journal and joined many online communities dedicated to the system I saw that many people were using small printers to print out photos and use them to decorate their journals so I decided I wanted to give this a go too.

I purchased the Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer having seen many people in the BuJo community singing the devices’ praises and wanting to go with a well-known brand, who better for instant photo printing than Polaroid? The ZIP comes in a range of colours and is a compact 2.9 inches x 4.7 inches x 0.9 inches and weighs in at 187g making it perfectly portable.

It has a rechargeable 500mAh lithium battery which is charged in 1.5 hrs via USB and can print 25 sheets on one charge. Unlike regular printers that work with printer ink, this uses ZINK Zero Ink Paper technology, printing photos onto 2×3” ZINK photo paper, which, when subjected to heat from the printer, activates unique colour-forming molecules embedded in the paper’s layers.

The printer works via the Polaroid ZIP app (iOS and Android) and connects to your mobile device using Bluetooth or NFC. The app is easy to navigate and you can quickly select your photo and print or spend a few moments editing or make a collage with multiple shots before printing. The printer takes a few moments to warm up and print the photo but overall I find the process a quick and painless one!

This is certainly handy as it means no ink top ups are required and the result is smudge-proof photos with vibrant colours. I really love that the ZINK Zero Ink Paper comes with peel-back sticky paper which means it is easy to remove the backing and stick the photos I have printed out straight into my Bullet Journal with no need for glue or tape. The ZIP comes with 10 ZINK sheets and refills are easy to find online.

I have really enjoyed using my Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer and my Bullet Journal is full of colourful photos full of memories I can look back on with fondness. It has definitely make me more likely to print out photos I have taken and I have found it easy to use without issue. I award the Polaroid ZIP Mobile Printer 5 out of 5 stars.