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Film and Analog

Fujifilm Mini Link 3 Printer Review: The Best Way to Make a Portfolio

Chris Gampat
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Last updated on 08/12/2024
08/13/2024
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I’ve long been a huge fan of the Fujifilm Mini Link series of printers. The new Fujifilm Mini Link 3 is the latest iteration of those products. The newest feature is the collage print option — which is fun if not misused on Instax Mini. Recently, I’ve been using the Fujifilm Mini Link 3 printer differently. Inspired by Jamel Shabazz, I’ve made a printed portfolio with Instax Mini photos. You can then look at this printer as a fast way to burn Instax packs. However, you can consider it the best way to make a portfolio.

The design of the Fujifilm Mini Link 3 is fascinating. Take a look above. The mint green printer is the newest version, while the other is the predecessor. This time around, the buttons are on the side instead of in front, and the front’s interface is replaced with LEDs.

There isn’t much to the new Fujifilm Mini Link 3 ergonomically speaking. In fact, I feel the design is that of a Fujifilm employee who admired Apple products but needed to find a way to make them fun and plastic. With that in mind, this isn’t made from a single piece of ALLLOMINIUM—as Jony Ive has pronounced it—it’s plastic.

On the side, there are two buttons: one is for power, and the other one can be set up for reprinting photos. Everything otherwise is done using the app.

Overall, this is just a printer with a few glorified features. Of course, though, it uses Instax Mini film. To use it, you’ll need to download the Mini Link app on your phone. Once that’s been connected to the Fujifilm Mini Link 3, you can start printing photos.

There are several ways that people can use the Fujifilm Mini Link 3. They can do straight prints from it, which is what I’m sure so many will end up doing at a wedding, event, etc. Many photographers I know end up shooting portraits of people, porting those photos to their phones, and then printing them for their clients or models using the Mini Link printers. Typically, the square printer is the most popular option.

But I’ve been using it in a completely different way. After reviewing Jamel Shabazz Albums, I was inspired to make my own. Instead of printing Polaroids, I printed out Instax images. Every time that I’ve brought it out to show people the work that I do, it ends up opening up more doors for me than it does when they’re looking at my Instagram. So, instead of using my social media, I use the printed album and my personal website — which I update very often. And this is so much better for me because it doesn’t attribute a number to me or my work. Art isn’t really about numbers; it’s about expressing feelings. Instax prints give people a different feeling than what they see on Instagram.

The newest feature on the Fujifilm Mini Link 3 is the collage print option. You can choose from a variety of different patterns. But truly, I feel like it’s a wasted effort on Instax Mini because the prints are so incredibly small. Where I think this feature makes the most sense is with Instax Wide.

Beyond this, one of the best new features of the Fujifilm Mini Link 3 is that it charges via USB-C now. That makes it easier to integrate it into all your other devices. If that’s important to you, then this printer is an excellent option. Overall, it’s just enough of an upgrade to make you want to get it.

Rating: 4 out of 5.

We’re giving the Fujifilm Mini Link 3 four out of five stars. Want one? Check it out on Amazon.

Fujifilm Mini Link 3 Printer Review: The Best Way to Make a Portfolio
But I've been using it in a completely different way. After reviewing Jamel Shabazz Albums, I was inspired to make my own. Instead of printing Polaroids, I printed out Instax images. Every time that I've brought it out to show people the work that I do, it ends up opening up more doors for me than it does when they're looking at my Instagram. So, instead of using my social media, I use the printed album and my personal website -- which I update very often. And this is so much better for me because it doesn't attribute a number to me or my work. Art isn't really about numbers; it's about expressing feelings. Instax prints give people a different feeling than what they see on Instagram.
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Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
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