Canon SELPHY CP1200 Printer Review
Canon's Selphy Printer is a strange proposition, to be sure. Bringing relatively decent-quality printing on a small scale to a printer that's semi-mobile. Printing tiny images on pocketable photo-paper sheets, making the entire process as simple as tapping the print button on your smartphone. But is it worth the hassle? Does having a printer this size allow you to become a mobile printing hero for your family and friends, or does it amount to a bit of unnecessary bulk (assuming you've already got a bigger printer at home)?
Canon first showed this Selphy printer off at CES 2016, where it sat amongst several much larger – and far more expensive printers – for both the common citizen user and the professional. Where does this printer fit in to Canon's total market spread?
This printer is made for the whimsical user that appreciates a bit of tactile feeling in their photo-friendly life. It certainly presupposes that you're going to have a smartphone – one you use regularly. All of our testing has been done using a Samsung Galaxy S6 (and subsequently a Galaxy S7) using the standard Selphy Printer app.
From there, we printed a variety of different sorts of photos, from the general family portrait to the studio-situation product photo.
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As a source of entertainment, this printer certainly does its job well. You'll find that the photos you get are very similar to what you see on your smartphone display – all well within the bounds of basic color accuracy and sharpness.
This printer does not, on the other hand, offer the granular controls we'd expect in a printer made for a more professional setting. Consider also that each print uses two elements – a piece of photo paper, and a bit of the printer reel the paper comes with. You've got a limited supply of prints, and not a lot of wiggle room for print-and-check.
Of course since the printer prints well and good-enough for the size of the prints it's able to print – so no worries either way, right?
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For what this printer is capable of doing, it is a bit surprising how large it is. To make this device mobile, a battery and printer tray and printing spool makes the device large enough that you'd not very comfortably be able to fit it in a medium-sized purse. You could put it in a backpack, certainly – that much is true. But for what the device is meant for – in its most basic sense – I feel like the device should be a bit more portable.
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If you're in the mood for printing tiny photos and you're not the sort of person that fusses over needing to buy refills from the company that made the printer – Canon, only – you're in luck. This printer is the printer you're looking for. You'll be able to find the Canon SELPHY CP1200 Wireless Compact Photo Printer for around $110 wherever fine tiny printers are sold.
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The Canon SELPHY CP1200 comes in black or white.
If you don't mind a bit of a dip in quality in exchange for a far greater helping of portability, you'll want to check out the tiny printer we reviewed last year – the Polaroid Zip.