Fujifilm’s Instax Mini Link 3 printer is a much-loved $100 essential in my travel journal kit. I often tape a printed image alongside my handwritten thoughts to preserve a moment in time. Prints made with instant film, however, can be soft and muddy—something the new $169.95 Instax Mini Link+ promises to improve.
The big upgrade is a new design print mode. It’s supposed to make text and complex illustrations crisper and sharper, but I didn’t see much of an improvement, despite that being a huge selling point. However, I’ve found the MiniLink+ to have better contrast, better processing within color and sharpness, to reveal more detail in a variety of images, and I think that’s more important to most people.
From my testing, the new MiniLink+ is definitely an upgrade, but don’t expect it, or an instant film Instax printer to perform miracles, especially for photos measuring just 62 x 46 mm (2.44 x 1.81 inches).
$170
good
- Best Instax mini printer yet
- Better color, sharpness and contrast in most images
- Fun for creatives
bad
- Very little improvement in text Heavy illustrations
- Expensive
- The app is overwritten
Fujifilm’s Instax printers all use its Instax Mini Instant Film, which typically costs $30 for 20 sheets, or 1.50 per 50-inch photo. To print, you need to download the “Instax Mini Link” app available for both iOS and Android.
The app is over loaded with features that let you visualize your photos in real space with VR and use the printer as a remote camera shutter. It also helps you organize your photos. Think of your prints as collages taped to frames, shelves, or to the wall. And present them with text, stickers and filters. You can also connect your Pinterest account if you want. Fun, I suppose, but I’m not twelve years old—I’m a full grown man, and I just want to print photos in my iPhone’s photo library, and do it quickly!
To do this, I first need to import the image into the Instax Mini Link app, print, choose either Easy or Design mode, then wait 20 seconds for the printout. Simple Print promises “smooth color tones for everyday photos” and produces softer images than the MiniLink 3 can print, generally speaking, it’s still an improvement. Design mode is exclusive to MiniLink+ and is exactly what you want.
I tested different modes with different types of images and generally found that design prints made on the MiniLink+ were better for faces, landscapes, high-contrast photos, and macro shots of nature. Everything, really, except for text-heavy illustrations, where I didn’t see any obvious improvement.
For example, look at my stupid face. Photos in harsh lighting were susceptible to blurring when printed on the old Mini-Link 3. MiniLink+’s simple and design prints handle light better, with better contrast, more detail to the eye, and more accurate color and skin texture.
In the example above, everything in the MiniLink 3 print is extremely soft and blends together in a messy mess. The MiniLink+ again offers better contrast, with rock faces, tree branches and textures visible with better colors. The wood slats on the barn, the lines of the individual trees, and the wheel detail are more pronounced on the design print, with less saturation on that large pine on the left.
Here, the MiniLink 3 struggles to render snow as anything other than a white smear, while you can make out individual snowflakes and depth on the MiniLink+ design print.
In this example, the Minilink 3 actually flattens the sky and removes the texture from the distant mountain. Greens and blues are more striking with simple and design prints, while the separation between bits of gravel and blades of grass is more pronounced in design mode.
In this Spotify screenshot, Design Mode sharpens the letter and artificially enhances the white text with a black outline, most visible on the letters “A” and “s.” Simple mode does not. Sketching makes a letter pop.
I find surprisingly little difference between the illustrations printed by MiniLink 3 and MiniLink+, even in Design mode. Odd because this is where Fujifilm’s new printer is supposed to improve. After all, they all look good enough for hobbyists, and anyone looking to spice up a journal or decorate a room.
1/7
After printing 15 photos in the last few days, the battery on the Instax Mini Link+ is still at 80 percent. The battery charges over USB-C, and, if you’re in Europe, the Fujifilm NP-70S’s battery can be user-replaced when it’s out of charge.
From my testing, I think it’s clear that if you want the best image quality available in an Instax printer, the $169.95 MiniLink+ is the one to get. It also makes the case for some MiniLink 3 owners to be a worthy upgrade, unless you’re expecting better prints of text-heavy illustrations.
But its price puts the MiniLink+ in direct competition with dye-sublimation printers like the Canon Selfie QX20, which produces prints that are sharp and accurate with better resistance to water and fading. Otherwise, the MiniLink 3 is still a great printer for the price, and the soft, moody images it prints are worth $100.
Photography by Thomas Ricker/The Verge
