

Since the technology is basically the same across all of these devices, you'd think the results would be similar, but we found a surprising amount of variation when we tested different cameras and printers. Zink prints tend to have better dynamic range-meaning there is a broader range of color and tone in the image-compared with Instax prints, but they struggle to produce the rich blacks you get in Instax prints. Zink printers are slower than Instax to spit out your images, but they're done the minute they emerge. Zink produces more traditional prints that look like what you'd get from a professional printer (without the professional quality), instead of the Polaroid-esque big-bordered pics of Instax cameras. When the image prints, a pressure-based process mixes the ink around to produce the image. Instead Zink prints hold layers of ink in the paper itself. Zink is short for "zero ink." It eliminates the annoying need for (and running out of) ink cartridges in your printer. They produce Polaroid-style prints, but there's another option: Zink printing. We've covered the best instant-printing cameras that use Fujifilm's Instax technology for the past year or so. Film may have largely disappeared, but the photograph is sticking around.
