The 5 Best Printers for Families, Tested by Kids and Parents

School-aged kids love having access to a mini portable photo printer that they can use at home, all on their own. This option from HP—which prints exclusively in 4 x 6 inch sizes—is an affordable and kid-friendly option that is easy to use. Our tester loved how portable it truly is—the printer itself is about the size of a small book and weighs less than 3 pounds, which means you can carry it around the house or take it with you on vacation or to a school event. (School dance photo booth anyone?) Setup is simple: All you need is an outlet and the app, which allows you to print pics straight from your phone. Better yet, the quality of the prints rivals Walgreens, delivering nice contrast that’s not overly saturated, according to our tester. It’s worth noting that it prints in color stages, so don’t be alarmed when your first photo comes out of the machine and only shows yellow—the printer will quickly ingest it back in and add the blues and reds to give you the finished result. (Black-and-white photos also turn out clear and crisp.) You can expect a speed of approximately 90 seconds per photo, but note that connectivity issues can crop up between the app and the printer from time to time, per our tester. Kids will love the ability to customize prints—say, by adding text, a fun border or filters—and parents will love the convenience. FAST FACTS Dye sublimation printer Ink supply: One cartridge is included and should get you about 40 prints, plus a starter pack of paper (to replace, you’ll pay about $50, which gets you two more cartridges and 108 sheets of photo paper)