Sometimes you just want the tactile joy of printing Instax photos without the hassle of actually using an Instax camera. If that sounds like you, then the new Instax Mini Link 3 smartphone printer could be your next impulse buy for birthday parties and weddings.
The successor to the Instax Mini Link 2, which was released in 2022, works just like its predecessors. Connect it to your smartphone via Bluetooth, choose a photo in the accompanying app, and you can print out a small souvenir copy. That takes about 15 seconds, followed by the 90 seconds of fun waiting for it to develop.
But the Mini Link 3 also brings a few new tricks to the Instax party. For starters, it finally has USB-C charging. There’s also a new photo booth-style twist to collage making: you shoot a series of photos three seconds apart in the app, then combine two, four, or six of them into a collage print.
The Mini Link 3 can also print video, and has been launched alongside a new ‘Sprinkles’ Mini film stock, which boasts a sweet, young-at-heart charm, including an “eye-catching sprinkle pattern reminiscent of cake toppings, ice cream and candy”. One to save for birthday parties, then.
As before, you can also add what are optimistically called “3D AR effects” to your photos before printing. That involves choosing a background in the app and adding some effects like confetti, spotlights and sprinkles – again, you can tell who you’re targeting.
Another interesting upgrade for long-time Instax fans, however, is an update to Fujifilm’s Instax Up app. The app lets you scan, import and organise your Instax prints, and now has a new ‘Instax Days’ feature that automatically dates your scanned snaps and adds them to a calendar.
If that sounds like your cup of tea, you can pick up a Mini Link 3 in green, pink or white from August 28 for £115 (roughly $150 / AU$225, but we’ll update this page once we have international pricing).
Go wide or go home?
Because Instax film is so expensive, it’s worth taking some time to decide which of the three formats you like best.
The chart above is a handy comparison of how their sizes compare. The credit card-sized Mini is the smallest, making it great for small souvenirs that fit in a wallet or purse.
If you want some photos that are a little more generous in size, however, we’re big fans of the Instax Wide. Despite being twice as large as Mini film, the Wide format isn’t that much more expensive to buy – and as our Fujifilm Instax Link Wide review concluded, that printer is “a dedicated instant camera, made much more portable and customisable via the dedicated app – it’s our new favourite instant printer”.
We’re looking forward to trying out the new Instax Mini Link 3 when it launches later this month, but it’ll have to do some serious work to distract us from its Wide sibling.
