If you want to take your travel journal to the next level, a portable photo printer is just the thing. Before I knew these existed, I would take a ton of photos on my phone and then have to wait till I got home to print them. Till then, there were big holes in my travel journal and I didn’t like the delayed time between when I wrote the entry and when I printed the picture. Once I got my portable photo printer I could print photos instantly on my trip! It has made my travel journaling experience so fun and is a great way to get your travel companions involved.
My Favorite Portable Photo Printer
The HP Sprocket is my favorite portable photo printer option. It’s very compact, easy to use and the photo quality is great. It prints beautiful 2×3” borderless photos with a sticky back which is perfect for journaling. Like a classic Polaroid, the color comes from the special paper so all you need is the paper and the printer. When you order the printer it comes with a USB charger (such an easy and portable option) and 10 sheets of paper. All you have to do is download the app and you can print images instantly! Another reason I love this photo option is the price of the paper. Each photo you print costs about 25 cents, which compared to an instant camera, is a great value. Since each photo is so inexpensive I feel like I can use it a lot! Which I love. My journals have gotten so much more special because of this little printer.
The best deal on the paper I found is for Amazon Prime members, you can get 20 sheets for 4.99 here, which is about 25 cents a photo. If you’re not an Amazon Prime member and want to stock up, I would recommend buying to the 100 sheet option so you’ll always have paper on hand for your next trip, even if its just a weekend getaway!
If You Love the Vintage Look (And You Own an Instax Camera) Buy This One
The Instax Share SP-2 is another great option, especially if you have an Instax instant camera that you like to bring with you on your trip, they use the same film that has the vintage Polaroid look, with borders. It works similarly to the sprocket with a USB plug in and an app that works great with your phone. The downside is that the paper/film is more expensive than the Sprocket, but if you don’t mind that and you really like the instax look, its a great option.
Like above, I would recommend buying the film in bulk to save money. You can get a value pack of 60 sheets here. I’m always glad when I buy more.
You can read more about instant cameras for travel journaling here.