As we point out in our more general roundup of photo printers, these models are less centered on printing from a computer than on printing photos from whatever the source, and most are meant as standalone consumer gadgets. Up to three users can connect to it over Bluetooth and use the excellent companion app to print from. If you usually need scanning only or printing only, you could be better off with a separate printer and scanner, to let you carry just the one you need on a given trip. The Canon Pixma TR150 Wireless Portable Printer is one of the most portable and most capable inkjet printers available.

Along with typical text quality for an inkjet, the OfficeJet 250 offers at least slightly above-par graphics and photos. It doesn’t print quickly; unsurprisingly, there is no auto-duplex mode, but this is excellent quality for mobile printing.With a battery that lasts for 100 prints and no ink limitations, you really can print from anywhere with this rugged and highly portable device. For each of these issues, be prepared to adjust your expectations, making your comparisons to other portable models, rather than to inkjet printers in general. This not only keeps the labels conveniently on a single strip, but it makes it far easier to peel each label off, by eliminating the time needed to poke at an edge for each to get the peeling started.

What differentiates this model from most portable printers is the addition of MFi (Made For iPhone), making it easier to sync with Mac and iOS devices over Bluetooth. The printer has a top speed of 7ppm, and using pigment ink instead of dye ink helps to deliver more smudge-resistant pages. In our tests, it took the CP1500 a bit less than a minute to print each sample photo, complete with a protective coating. For a photos with a square aspect ratio printed at just bit larger than wallet size, it's hard to beat the Kodak Mini 3 Retro. The Colop e-mark, which you hold in your hand while printing and drag over the page you're printing on, is less a portable inkjet printer than a portable printhead, with your arm serving as the printer mechanism.

Most of my current work for PCMag is about printers and projectors, but I've covered a wide variety of other subjects—in more than 4,000 pieces, over more than 40 years—including both computer-related areas and others ranging from ape language experiments, to politics, to cosmology, to space colonies. Like most of its competition—including the Kodak Step Instant Mobile Photo Printer, our current top pick for wallet size (2-by-3-inch) photos—the Sprocket 3x4 is small and light, includes a built-in battery, connects without wires (using Bluetooth, in this case), and is reasonably inexpensive. The PocketJet PJ883 comes from a long line of Brother portable thermal models that do this one thing well: give you clean monochrome output from anywhere. Resolutions for these printers can be as low as 203 by 200dpi, which is fine for 10- or 12-point text, but can leave smaller fonts and graphics looking a little ragged. And note that at this writing, Epson's LabelWorks printers include a lifetime warranty, which is hard to beat.