Kodak Mini 2 Retro review

1. Verdict: the cheapest printer to own

Kodak Mini 2 Retro

Half the running cost of instax film, on a tougher print, from a printer that bundles its media.

Buy it for

Families, parties, anyone printing in volume, and anyone who dislikes Bluetooth pairing.

Skip it if

Anyone who wants a 4 x 6 photograph, peel-and-stick paper, or real instant film.

• •About **42 cents a print** — a 60-print 4PASS cartridge is $24.99.
• •**4PASS dye sublimation**: three color passes plus a laminate seal, so prints are dry on exit and do not smudge.
• •Connects over Bluetooth **or USB-C**, with a Lightning adapter included — a wired fallback no instax or Canon pocket printer offers.
• •Listed at **$89.99 with a 38-sheet bundle** (regularly $139.99), so you start with media.
• •255 g, 25.8 mm thick, up to 20 prints per charge, about 90 minutes to full.

Running cost: Kodak 4PASS 2.1 x 3.4 works out at $0.42 a shot, so a hundred photographs in the first year puts the real total at about $139.97 including the camera. See every format’s cost.

How it scores8.8/10 overall

• Cost per print10
• Print durability9
• Connection options10
• Print size6
• Portability9

Our editorial scoring, built from published specifications and reviews by outlets that test hardware — see how we pick. We have not handled these products, so these are not test results.

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Why the running cost is so low

It comes down to cartridge size. Kodak sells 4PASS media in all-in-one cartridges of 60 prints for $24.99, where ZINK paper is sold 20 sheets at a time and instax film 20 exposures at a time. Buying media in units of 60 rather than 20 is most of the saving.

Specifications

What the 4PASS laminate actually does

Three of the four passes lay down yellow, magenta and cyan. The fourth lays down a clear laminate over the whole print. That single extra pass is responsible for most of what is good about these prints: they come out dry rather than tacky, they do not smudge under a thumb, they resist water, and they fade far more slowly than instant film or ZINK.

It is also why the paper is deliberately non-sticky. If you want peel-and-stick prints, this is the wrong printer and a ZINK one is the right one.

What it is good at

• •Cost. The clearest advantage, at roughly half the per-print cost of instax film.
• •The wired option. Bluetooth is the usual failure point in this category. A USB-C cable — or Lightning, with the adapter in the box — means there is always a way to get the photograph across. For a gift recipient who is not confident with Bluetooth, this is the printer.
• •Print durability. Dry, laminated, water resistant and non-sticky. The best print in the pocket class.
• •Bundles with media. Starting with 38 sheets included is unusual and removes the "nothing to print on" problem on day one.
• •Print size. 2.1 x 3.4 inches is meaningfully bigger than a 2.4 x 1.8 instax mini print and a more useful shape than 2 x 3.

Where it falls short

• •20 prints per charge. The lowest here — the instax mini Link 3 manages about 100. At a party that is a real constraint, and there is no AA fallback.
• •No peel-and-stick option. The non-sticky paper is a deliberate quality choice and it rules out the sticker use case entirely.
• •Media is not a high-street purchase. 4PASS cartridges are an online or specialist order, where instax mini film is in supermarkets. Keep a spare.
• •It is not instant film. The print emerges finished, so there is no developing to watch. For some recipients that is the whole appeal removed.
• •No published print time. Kodak does not state one for this model, so we have not estimated it.
• •Still only 2.1 x 3.4 inches. If what you want is a photograph for a frame, the Dock Plus Retro at 4 x 6 and about 40 cents a print is the better Kodak.

Alternatives

• •Kodak Mini 3 Retro, $99.99 with a bundle — the same printer with a 3 x 3 inch square print at the same 42 cents.
• •Kodak Dock Plus Retro, $109.99 — 4 x 6 prints at about 40 cents, with a dock you plug the phone into. The better choice for a household or a grandparent.
• •[instax mini Link 3](/photo-printers/instax-mini-link-3-review) — real instax film at 85 cents a shot, with about 100 prints per charge.
• •[Canon IVY 2 Mini](/photo-printers/canon-ivy-2-mini-review) — smaller, and prints peel-and-stick ZINK at about 60 cents.

Who should buy it

Buy the Mini 2 Retro if you want the most physical photographs for the least money, with a print that survives being handled. It is the printer we would buy for a family, and the USB-C connection makes it the safest gift for anyone who finds app pairing a chore.

Buy something else if you want stickers, real instant film, or a 4 x 6 print — all three have a better answer, and two of them are also from Kodak.