Short review Canon Selphy QX20: the best of both worlds

Price upon review

$149.99

Best prices today: Canon SELPHY QX20

One of the biggest factors when choosing a portable printer is the size of the images you get, but Canon has created a device that gives you two sizes to choose from.

The Canon Selphy QX20 (admittedly not the catchiest name in the world) supports both credit card-sized and square printing, so you can choose what you want.

While the flexibility is great, there are a few things to keep in mind with this portable printer. Here’s my experience testing it, and how it compares to competing products from Instax, Kodak, and more.

Design and construction

• Three colors
• 455g
• Handrails for changing image formats

The Canon Selphy QX20 has an inconspicuous rectangular finish. It’s not as striking as the exterior panel on Instax printers, but it’s still a nice piece of technology that won’t look out of place on your desk or anywhere in your home.

A major disadvantage of the QX20 is how heavy it is. It weighs 455 grams (without cartridge and paper), much heavier than the Polaroid Hi-Print and the Instax Square Link, which weigh 255 grams and 236 grams respectively. Its dimensions of 102.2 x 145.8 x 32.9mm mean it can still fit into a small bag, but the portability factor isn’t as strong.

In the UK you can get the printer in three different colours: sand white, dark gray and terracotta red. The latter is the one I tested and is a unique shade not common on competing builds, although unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be available in the US at the time of writing.

On the front you have a discreet Canon logo and then the power button. Below that are the charging and status lights, which change color and flash depending on what’s happening with the printer.

On the top is the quick release trigger for loading film and a USB-C port for charging. Prints are back loaded and the packaging has instructions on how to do this. Ink cartridges are the same, although they are side loaded.

The prints then come out from the bottom, so you need to lay the printer flat. Furthermore, every time you switch between the smaller prints and the square ones, you have to change the ink cartridges.

It is advisable to click up the paper protection rails when switching between different prints, which is easy to do.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

App and features

• Bulk printing available
• Collages and editing optional
• Some important status indicators are missing

You can print images from your smartphone via the Selphy app, which is available on iOS and Android. Once you download it, you can connect the printer using the QR code in the ink cartridge lid.

Once connected, you will need to select which prints are loaded into the QX20. You have the choice between simple prints and collage prints. Unlike some rivals, you can queue multiple images and edit them in one section, so they’re all produced one after the other without having to manually print multiple times.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

There is the option to change the direction, shape and size of the border. You always have a slip on which you can write things, but this does not have to be at the bottom. However, you cannot get a completely borderless print like you can with Zink images.

To edit an image size or add a filter you have to click on it – something that isn’t entirely clear in the app. If you want further customizations such as stickers, text, and the ability to draw digital paint on a printout, I recommend using collage mode. While yes, you can add multiple images to one frame, but you don’t have to.

Simple prints also have the option to add a date, which appears in retro orange lettering. You can customize the order in which the days, months and years appear, although this date add-on is not an option in collage mode. However, you can manually add this as text if you wish.

There is also the option to quickly reprint photos from previous jobs. This list is reset every time you switch to a different print format.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

The app syncs with your phone’s camera folders, providing quick access to images you downloaded from social media sites like Facebook and Instagram. There’s also a calendar that lets you quickly navigate to photos taken from a certain date, instead of scrolling all the way back.

Like some other rivals, the app has some wasted areas on the homepage, with the manual and battery level tucked away in drop-down menus at the top. It would be a much better use of space if these things were easily visible on the main screen.

For the rest, the app is easy to set up and clear; just a few tweaks to the layout would make it even better.

Print quality

• Impressive prints
• Two sizes
• 20 sheets can be loaded at one time

Like the Polaroid Hi-Print, the Canon Selphy QX20 uses the thermal dye process, meaning the dye is transferred through three passes of cyan, yellow and magenta, before a final overcoat is added to protect it. Canon says prints can last up to 100 years if stored in optimal conditions. Due to sunlight, for example, they will fade over time.

As a result, the prints take longer than competitors to eject: approximately 40 seconds. The result, however, is clear, powerful and detailed high-quality photos. They are a notable improvement over images that use zinc paper and comparable to glossy images found on real Instax film prints. They also require no development time once printed.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

The results are more striking on the larger square prints, but the smaller card-sized ones have a removable adhesive back, making them ideal for scrapbooking. Peeling is a bit tricky, so you’ll probably need the help of someone with longer nails.

Up to 20 sheets can be loaded at a time, one of the advantages of a slightly larger build, as many printers only support a maximum of ten. Plus, you can swap sheets and ink cartridges without ruining the rest of the paper – something you can’t do if you use a printer that supports real film, like Instax.

However, be very careful when handling the paper. Some of my test prints had noticeable fingerprints on them.

Battery life and charging

• Just over 20 prints on one battery charge
• 80 minutes to charge
• Short USB-C cable included

According to other publications, the Canon Selphy QX20 lasts about 20 prints before needing to be recharged. I found it a little more generous, with about 10 depleting it by less than half. Nevertheless, this is a lot stingier than Instax printers, which allow users to print around 100 images before needing to be charged.

Charging is relatively fast, according to Canon the battery goes from empty to full in 80 minutes, which is in line with my tests. However, the included cable is very short and annoying if you charge via the back of a PC. This is USB-C to USB-C, so you may need an adapter or use your own cable for charging if you don’t have a device with this port (like an old Mac).

You don’t get a specific percentage for the battery level, just that it is ‘sufficiently charged’. The app also doesn’t tell you how many sheets are left or whether the ink cartridge is low. It can only alert you when your inventory is empty, which can be difficult if you don’t have backup inventory on hand.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

Price and availability

The Canon Selphy QX20 costs £124.99 / $149.99. You can buy it from Amazon and Canon in the UK, and Amazon, Canon and B&H in the US.

That’s a lot more expensive than its closest rival, the Polaroid Hi-Print, which retails for £89.99/$99.99. The Instax Square Link has the same RRP as the Canon, but many retailers have it available for around £94 at the time of writing, and this gets you real film.

Obviously, none of these brands offer a printer with dual print sizes, so this is the only option if you want that flexibility.

In addition to the printer itself, you also need to consider the cost of the film and ink cartridges. Both are sold together, and a pack of twenty card prints (plus a cartridge) costs £16.99 from Amazon, although you can buy them in bulk to get more bang for your buck.

That’s about the same price as Instax and Polaroid film, but a lot more expensive than Zink – although the quality isn’t as good with these types of prints.

The Polaroid Hi-Print and Instax do not require cartridges to be replaced, so keep this in mind if you are being conscious of waste, although there are ink recycling programs available.

Hannah Cowton-Barnes / Foundry

Should you buy the Canon Selphy QX20?

The Canon Selphy QX20 is a unique option in the field of portable printers because it gives you two print formats in one device. The most competitive brands don’t offer anything directly comparable at the time of writing.

The easy-to-use app also has some useful features, such as the ability to print and edit in bulk, and a calendar to quickly find images from a specific date.

However, the nature of the build means it’s bulkier and heavier, and battery life is hardly impressive – and neither is the accompanying short charging cable. Improvements can be made to the app to improve the experience, such as informing users how many prints are left. And most importantly, it is a more expensive investment compared to other portable printers.

All that aside, if you want high-quality prints in two different formats straight from your smartphone, then this is certainly a sensible and reliable option.