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Shake & Print

Brands: who makes what, and what it costs to feed

Choosing a brand is not a taste decision. It picks the film format, and the film format sets what every photograph costs for as long as the camera lasts.

By Selena H.Last checked How we pick

Five manufacturers matter in this category, and they are not really competing on the same thing. Fujifilm and Polaroid sell cameras that commit you to their own film. Kodak, Canon and HP mostly sell printers that commit you to their own paper. The cost gap between the cheapest and dearest of those commitments is large enough to be the whole decision.

Several instant cameras of different makes lined up side by side on a kraft paper surface

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Fujifilm

The instax line, and the reason this category is affordable at all. Its mini film is the cheapest mainstream instant film and the only one widely stocked in ordinary shops, which matters when a gift recipient runs out on a Sunday.

What we cover

Cameras (7)

Printers (2)

Formats it commits you to

  • instax mini · 20 per pack · $0.85 a shot
  • instax WIDE · 20 per pack · $1.10 a shot
  • instax SQUARE · 20 per pack · $1.15 a shot
Hands holding a small instant camera, framing a shot

Wins 9 of our roundups

Fujifilm instax mini 12

The hardest instant camera in the world to get wrong: twist the lens to turn it on, press the button, done. Still the safest gift in the category.

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Polaroid

The big square print everyone pictures, and by a wide margin the most expensive film here. Four incompatible formats, eight or sixteen shots a pack, and a look no other brand sells.

What we cover

Cameras (3)

Printers (1)

Albums and accessories (5)

  • Polaroid Photo Album Large
  • Polaroid Photo Album Small
  • Polaroid Coffee Table Photo Album
  • Polaroid Go Pocket Photo Album
  • Polaroid acrylic and UV photo frames

Formats it commits you to

  • Polaroid Hi-Print 2 x 3 · 20 per pack · $0.85 a shot
  • Polaroid Go · 16 per pack · $1.37 a shot
  • Polaroid i-Type · 8 per pack · $2.37 a shot
A boxy Polaroid-style instant camera with a large square print ejecting from the front

Wins 1 of our roundups

Polaroid Now Generation 3

The full-size Polaroid, with a twin-lens autofocus system that picks the right lens for the shot. The classic big white-bordered print.

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Kodak

Dye-sublimation printers and hybrid print-and-shoot cameras using 4PASS media. Packs of 60 to 80 prints, so the per-print cost is a fraction of instant film, and the prints come out dry rather than sticky.

What we cover

Cameras (2)

  • Kodak Mini Shot 2 Retro
  • Kodak Mini Shot 3 Retro

Printers (3)

Formats it commits you to

  • Kodak 4PASS 4 x 6 · 80 per pack · $0.40 a shot
  • Kodak 4PASS 2.1 x 3.4 · 60 per pack · $0.42 a shot
  • Kodak 4PASS 3 x 3 · 60 per pack · $0.42 a shot
A pocket photo printer feeding out a small print next to a phone

Wins 5 of our roundups

Kodak Mini 2 Retro

The cheapest running cost of any pocket printer we verified: 42 cents a print, dry, laminated and not sticky. Bundles usually include film.

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Canon

Two different things under one name: SELPHY dye-sublimation printers, which make the cheapest real photo print on this site, and the IVY ZINK printer, which makes the stickiest.

What we cover

Printers (3)

Formats it commits you to

  • Canon SELPHY 4 x 6 (KP-108IN) · 108 per pack · $0.39 a shot
  • ZINK 2 x 3 · 20 per pack · $0.60 a shot
  • Canon SELPHY Square (XS-20L) · 20 per pack · $0.80 a shot
A pocket photo printer feeding out a small print next to a phone

Our Canon starting point

Canon IVY 2 Mini

A ZINK printer the size of a stack of cards. Prints in about 50 seconds and runs about 60 cents a print — the cheapest way into phone printing.

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HP

One product in this category, the Sprocket, and one medium: ZINK. Cheap hardware, peel-and-stick prints, no ink to replace.

What we cover

Printers (1)

Formats it commits you to

  • ZINK 2 x 3 · 20 per pack · $0.60 a shot
A phone connected to a small photo printer, with finished prints fanned out beside it

Our HP starting point

HP Sprocket

The sticker printer. ZINK paper is peel-and-stick, which is exactly what a teenager wants and exactly what an album-keeper does not.

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Brand against brand

The brand question is really the film question, and the film question has been answered with verified prices as of October 13, 2026. These three comparisons do it properly:

We have not handled these products. Specifications come from each manufacturer’s own pages, film and paper prices from named retailers on a stated date, and anything about how a camera feels or how its pictures look is attributed to the outlet that tested it. How we pick.