LG's Pocket Printer

BUILT TO WORK with any smartphone or tablet, the LG Pocket Photo printer produces roughly business card-sized colour prints via ZINK inkless printing technology, which LG says eliminates the need for expensive ink cartridges.The mini printer,which LG claims to be the smallest and lightest mobile photo printer available costs £130

Compatible with both Android and iOS devices and operating wirelessly over either Bluetooth or near field communications (NFC), the Pocket Photo printer is capable of printing 2x3in images.

LG said that the Pocket Photo printer brings back the physical photo in a world saturated by digital imagery.

Design and build
Measuring a rather slim 72x120x24mm, the Pocket Photo printer weighs just 215g. Its name might be a bit inaccurate though, as we couldn't get it to fit into any of our pockets comfortably. That said, it is small enough to not take up too much space in your backpack or handbag.

Available in black and white, the Pocket Photo printer's chassis is fashioned with tiny hearts, which might appeal more to the female half of the market, but they are quite subtle, not pink coloured, and aren't too noticeable, so alpha male mobile printer users won't have to worry too much about what their friends will think.

There are not many buttons or knobs on the Pocket Photo printer's chassis, as most of the printer's functions are controlled by the app. There is however a catch that you clip open in order to load the 2x3in photo paper. The silver banding around the printer is where you'll find the power button to the left and a microUSB port to the right.

App
The LG Pocket Photo app needs to be downloaded for free from the Apple App Store or Google Play store to enable the printer to function.

The app allows you to search through your phone's camera roll or media folders to load an image and alter it with Instagram-like filters, annotations and photo frames. Through the app you can also add a QR code that, once scanned by a smartphone, will present the viewer with a message that you edited into it earlier.

Once image editing is complete, hitting the print button in the app sends the print job to the printer.

If you have an Android phone with NFC, you can open a photo in the Android photo gallery then simply tap your phone atop the Pocket Photo and the two will be paired using NFC, initiating a printout