It’s hard to know what hardware will be right for your situation. I did the research and tried to break down all the pros and cons of the top 4 models. I hope this helps and please share your experience with MuseumTrade so we can further this research. Do you use a brand or model not mentioned here, please-please-please let me know so we can all learn from your experience. We’re in this together.

There once was a mini printer so bright,

With Bluetooth, it prints with such delight,

It’s small and compact,

And easy to act,

Now memories can be printed all night!

Mini Printers: Pros and Cons for Museums

There are several popular models of Bluetooth-enabled mini color printers including HP Sprocket, Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer, Kodak Mini 3 Retro, and Fujifilm Instax Mini Link.

Pros of these printers include:

• Portability: These printers are small in size and can easily fit in a pocket, making them ideal for on-the-go printing in any gallery space or off-site location.
• Convenient printing: With Bluetooth connectivity, these printers allow for easy and convenient printing from a smartphone or tablet. Best to use the museum’s tablet so you don’t have to connect to each and every visitor’s phone.
• High-quality prints: Many of these printers produce high-quality, vibrant color prints.

Cons of these printers include:

• Limited paper capacity: The small size of these printers also means a limited paper capacity, making them less suitable for high-volume printing.
• Cost of consumables: The cost of the printing paper and ink can be higher compared to traditional printers.
• Limited functionality: These printers typically have limited functionality compared to full-featured printers, such as the lack of scanning and copying capabilities.
• No branding options on the photo itself. That would be cool, but it’s not available at this price point. Consider a sticker you pop on before handing it over.

-For your convenience, I’ve included the Amazon link for each printer. Clicking the link costs you nothing, but it will help support MuseumTrade’s mission. Thanks in advance for your support!

HP Sprocket Review:

The HP Sprocket is a Bluetooth-enabled mini color printer that is designed for on-the-go printing. It is small in size, easy to carry around, and produces high-quality, vibrant color prints.

One of the standout features of the HP Sprocket is its user-friendly app, which offers plenty of customization options such as filters, frames, and text. The app is easy to navigate and makes printing a breeze.

Another advantage of the HP Sprocket is its affordability, with paper refills available at a reasonable cost. The 2×3 inch print size is perfect for creating mini prints to share with friends or decorate your space.

However, it is important to note that the print quality of the HP Sprocket may not be as sharp as some of the other mini color printers on the market. Additionally, the small size of the printer also means a limited paper capacity, making it less suitable for high-volume printing.

In conclusion, the HP Sprocket is a great option for those who value portability, affordability, and a user-friendly app. It produces high-quality, vibrant color prints and is perfect for on-the-go printing. Just be aware of its limitations regarding print quality and paper capacity.

Buy your HP Sprocket HERE

Pros of the HP Sprocket:

• Small and portable design makes it easy to carry around
• Affordable paper refills
• User-friendly app with plenty of customization options, like filters, frames, and text
• Simple to use, just connect to your smartphone via Bluetooth and start printing

Cons of the HP Sprocket:

• Print quality might not be as sharp as some other options
• Limited paper capacity due to its small size
• Prints are only 2×3 inches, which might be too small for some users

In conclusion, the HP Sprocket is a great option for those who value portability and a user-friendly app. Its compact size and affordability make it a popular choice among those who love to create and share keepsake photos. However, if you’re looking for high-quality prints, you might want to consider other options.

Buy your HP Sprocket HERE

Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer Review:

The Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer is a compact, Bluetooth-enabled printer that produces high-quality, vibrant color prints. Its design is stylish and fun, with the option to purchase clip-on accessories to personalize it.

One of the standout features of the Canon Ivy is its higher print quality, with more detail and sharpness compared to some other mini printers. The 2.1×3.4 inch print size is larger than some other options and is perfect for creating keepsake photos.

The Canon Ivy app is user-friendly and offers a variety of filters and frames to add to your prints. However, it doesn’t offer as many customization options as some other apps in the market.

Another potential downside of the Canon Ivy is its price point, with paper refills being more expensive compared to some other mini printers. The printer itself is also slightly larger and heavier than some other options, making it less pocket-friendly.

In conclusion, the Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer is a great option for those who value high-quality prints and a fun design. Its larger print size and stylish design make it perfect for creating keepsake photos. Just be aware of its higher cost of consumables and slightly larger size.

Buy your Canon Ivy Mini HERE

Pros of the Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer:

• Small and portable design makes it easy to carry around
• High-quality prints with bright and vivid colors
• Can be used with both iOS and Android devices via Bluetooth
• User-friendly app with plenty of customization options, like filters, frames, and text

Cons of the Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer:

• Refill paper is relatively expensive compared to some other options
• Prints are only 2×2 inches, which might be too small for some users
• App has limited customization options compared to some other mini printers

In conclusion, the Canon Ivy Mini Photo Printer is a great option for those who value high-quality prints and portability. Its small size and compatibility with both iOS and Android devices make it a popular choice among those who love to create and share keepsake photos. However, if you’re looking for an affordable option, you might want to consider other options.

Buy your Canon Ivy Mini HERE

Kodak Mini 3 Retro Printer Review:

The Kodak Mini 3 Retro is a mini color printer that stands out with its retro design. It produces high-quality, vibrant color prints, especially for photos with lots of detail. The compact size and affordable paper refills make it a great option for on-the-go printing.

One potential downside of the Kodak Mini 3 Retro is its app, which has some quirks and might not be as user-friendly as other options. The app also has limited customization options, with only basic filters and frames available.

Another potential issue with the Kodak Mini 3 Retro is its size, which is slightly larger and heavier than some other mini printers. This might make it less suitable for those who prioritize portability.

In conclusion, the Kodak Mini 3 Retro is a great option for those who value affordability and a cool retro design. Its high-quality prints and compact size make it perfect for on-the-go printing. Just be aware of its less user-friendly app and slightly larger size.

Buy your Kodak Mini 3 HERE

Pros of the Kodak Mini 3 Retro Printer:

• Retro design gives it a cool and unique look
• User-friendly app with plenty of customization options, like filters, frames, and text
• High-quality prints with sharp details and vibrant colors
• Comes with a rechargeable battery, making it convenient for on-the-go printing

Cons of the Kodak Mini 3 Retro Printer:

• Relatively expensive compared to some other options
• Prints are only 2.1×2.1 inches, which might be too small for some users
• Limited paper capacity, making it unsuitable for high-volume printing

In conclusion, the Kodak Mini 3 Retro Printer is a great option for those who value high-quality prints and a unique retro design. Its user-friendly app and rechargeable battery make it a popular choice among those who love to create and share keepsake photos. However, if you’re looking for an affordable option or larger print size, you might want to consider other options.

Buy your Kodak Mini 3 HERE

Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer Review:

The Fujifilm Instax Mini Link is a compact and portable mini color printer that produces high-quality, vibrant color prints. Its user-friendly app offers a variety of filters and frames, making it fun and easy to add customization to your prints.

One of the standout features of the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link is its print quality, especially with portraits and close-ups. The prints come out clear and sharp, making them perfect for creating keepsake photos.

However, it’s important to note that paper refills for the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link are on the pricier side compared to some other mini printers. Additionally, the printer only produces 2.1×2.1 inch prints, which is a smaller size than some other options.

Another potential issue with the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link is that it doesn’t come with a rechargeable battery, so you have to purchase one separately. This might not be ideal for those who prioritize convenience.

In conclusion, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link is a great option for those who value portability, a user-friendly app, and high-quality prints. Its compact size and fun customization options make it perfect for creating keepsake photos. Just be aware of its higher cost of consumables, limited print size, and the need to purchase a separate rechargeable battery.

Buy your Fujufilm Instax Mini HERE

Pros of the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer:

• High-quality prints with bright and vivid colors
• Comes with a rechargeable battery, making it convenient for on-the-go printing
• User-friendly app with plenty of customization options, like filters, frames, and text
• Has a fun and interactive “Match Test” feature that allows you to test your compatibility with friends

Cons of the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer:

• Refill paper is relatively expensive compared to some other options
• Prints are only 2×2 inches, which might be too small for some users
• App has limited customization options compared to some other mini printers

In conclusion, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer is a great option for those who value high-quality prints and fun features. Its rechargeable battery and user-friendly app make it a popular choice among those who love to create and share keepsake photos. However, if you’re looking for an affordable option or a larger print size, you might want to consider other options.

Buy your Fujufilm Instax Mini HERE

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Fujifilm Instax Mini Link Printer is a great option for those who value high-quality prints and fun features. Its rechargeable battery and user-friendly app make it a popular choice among those who love to create and share keepsake photos. However, if you’re looking for an affordable option or a larger print size, you might want to consider other options.

Ultimately you have to make a choice in your given situation. Budget and style play a part. In my experience, most consumer-level printers are fine for occasional use such are months-long temporary exhibits or special events like openings or for school groups. But if you’re looking for a workhorse that cranks this stuff out every day, 10 hours a day, these printers may not be for you. There’s a whole world of industrial printers out there with brands that may be unfamiliar to the average consumer.

That said, before going all in on a workhorse with a set of big beefy hardware and big beefy prices, try one of these printers as your first iteration. Work out the kinks and get feedback from your visitors. You’ll then be ready to present a line item on the next budget with real numbers to back up your projected costs. Again, please feel free to share your journey here on MuseumTrade. You are so appreciated.

I came across this and it blew my mind. I mean, in retrospect of course they are using augmented reality in building, but I hadn’t seen it yet. What makes this even more tangental to all of us is that Matt Construction is using it to build museums. Matt is a big supporter of museums, they’ve supported the Western Museums Association’s conference (WMA) for many years (back when we went to conferences, remember those days?).

What I’d like to see is more of this being used inside already constructed museums. Imagine if you could raise your hand and point to a skeleton and it would glad the T. rex in scales with color (all guesswork I realize), or point to the Starry Night and have an image of the original town scene laid over the painting (don’t hate me if the starry night was not painted from a real town, I’m just riffing here and don’t want to stop to do research). The list goes on an on.

I’m imaging you need a very strong wifi connection (which we don’t have), a grant to buy a bunch of these $400+ augmented reality goggles. A check out system to keep track of the goggles’ return. A whole educational component to train visitors on their use, a way of cleaning them post use. OH and let’s not forget all the original art, design, and educational content on the back end. My guess is that a year would be the right amount of time to devote to a handful of people. Maybe not all full-time on it, but there would be so a ton of deliverables that would need buy in.

The downside of course is people paying more attention to the goggles and not those in front of them. Have you seen this in use in a museum, how about your museum or gallery? Museum preparators, museum designers, art handlers, etc please help all of us by sharing what this looks like and its pros and cons and where you think all of this is going or is it just a fad. Also, how about the hardware, what are you using, what works, what had you wished you bought instead?

Keep up the great work everyone and enjoy the videos.

Matt

(no relation to the builder)

Goggles in use, omg cool (no audio btw)

Now that you’ve seen what it’s like to be behind the goggles, here’s the project requiring this kind of work:

Here’s the transcript if you can’t use volume right now:

At Matt Construction. We want to be the pioneers and moving technology forward. Overall, we are trying to achieve one thing, which is to build better buildings with great quality.

The type of project that Matt does tend to be more complicated. This project is difficult because every surface on it is round or spherical, and so conventional two dimensional drawings don’t work very well.

Every layer is curved in a different way. So looking at it 2D model will never give you the real way. This thing is going to look at the end. 3d models help us invasion what it is.

The use of augmented reality on this project is for location of the anchors for the ceiling panels inside the gap and theater.

What AR does is it doesn’t obstruct your vision. You’re seeing what you’re seeing, and it’s augmenting your vision with the virtual world. Everything’s on even up here. So this gives us the ability to see what we’re framing.

They are viewing the model through their goggles. So they literally see where the anchors are supposed to be, and they know whether they’ve got the anchor in the right spot in this particular theater. It’s a very, very important part of the layout to get right.

The Usability of AR has immense potential. We just have scratched the surface of it. And this is where Matt has a niche to help plants with those very unique situation. Unique buildings, unique architecture clients, architects. They love us for what we do and for being able to be a partner and not just say no, that’s not buildable. We want to build it for them. If they have come up with the design for it, people will be using this building for years. They will probably not remember who built it or who designed it, but they will enjoy it.

They will cherish the moment every time they step into this theater.

Hello MuseumTrade community. I thought this was an insightful interview. Many of us don’t get to touch on the design aspect, but it’s fun to hear where it came from and why. And who knows, after years of seeing how all of the pieces come together maybe someday you’ll move over to the design side. MuseumTrade is absolutely a place for Design, it’s a a place of cross-roads; between museum types and between te many hats we wear on a daily basis and over the course of our careers. So to all the preparators, technician, handlers, interactive designers, exhibit designers, and everyone in-between I bring you an

Interview with Creative Director – Stefanel Barutcieff

Pilotfish Creative Director, Stefanel Barutcieff, has recently held an Interaction Design Workshop in Bucharest. Working together with the National Museum of Art of Romania, a group of talented design students from the University of Arts in Bucharest and with Dizainar – a team of designers dedicated to reorganising and promoting Romanian design, he proposed new and innovative ways of transforming visit museums into a unique experience.

Read the following interview and step behind the scenes of one of the most recent Pilotfish projects.

How did this idea come about?

As an art passionate I have visited a lot of museums around the world and I have seen many examples of Interactive Installations for science museums, but rarely for art museums. As a designer, I thought why not? Why not make art museums just as interactive as science ones?

Having this idea in mind, we approached the National Museum of Art of Romania, one of the most important museums in Bucharest but also one of the most challenging ones for us to implement our idea.

Photo by Alex Panoiu

Why would a museum want an Interactive Installation for its visitors?

A lot of museums face the problem of not being able to attract the younger generation, the digital generation of tablets and smart phones for whom sharing via social media is a key element of their daily experiences.

It’s also important to understand the need to improve the interaction between visitors and the objects displayed in museums – this is what makes a visit to a museum a pleasant and unique experience for the visitors.

Especially in the case of art or history museums, the visitor is disconnected from the objects displayed. These are objects captured in a time capsule belonging to the past, something hard to relate to and understand for the new generations.

A lot of museums have touchscreens and audio guides for visitors. How is this different from an Interactive Installation?

These systems, while good, are also limited. They do not give the user the option to choose the information presented to him and the level of immersion into the historical or cultural context of an exhibit is superficial. The context and the background of an exhibit are the factors which give it its true value, and without this understanding, as I mentioned, the immersion of the visitor remains a superficial one.

While Science themed exhibitions allow for more freedom of interaction within an exhibition space, people can see how things work, what they do and so on, art museums represent a genuine challenge, starting with the nature of the exhibits and continuing with the profile of the audience these museums are trying to attract. Technology is a lot more appealing to younger people as the connection of those exhibits and the reality they are surrounded by is far more obvious and easier to grasp.

Why did you decide to turn this project into a workshop?

First of all, we wanted to have a solution addressing exactly this segment – young people. We wanted to find out what triggers them, what attracts them, what they would like to see. That’s why we partnered with the University of Arts in Bucharest and with Dizainar and we organised an intensive two-weeks Interaction Design Workshop by the end of which we aimed to deliver several design concepts of Interactive Installations.

What is the best way to structure such a workshop in order to get the best results?

We wanted the client to be happy and excited with the outcome and we wanted the students to have a genuine experience of what it means to work as a designer. We wanted to empower them but also let them express their ideas and their creativity.

So the workshop included all the steps of our normal design process, starting with research through on-location visits and an interview with one of the museum curators, continuing with brainstorming sessions, online research of available technologies, ideation, sketching and 3D renderings, and in the end – presentation of concepts to the client. With the help of Dizainar we even provided a work space which really resembled a design studio.

What were some of the challenges you came across?

Following our initial visit at the museum and several interviews with the representatives of the museum, we identified some of the biggest pain-points. The first one was defined by the context and the nature of one of the permanent exhibitions – Romanian Medieval Art. Composed of highly valuable exhibits with a rich historical value but also a highly religious component, the exhibition does not attract younger generations.

One of the first questions we asked ourselves was exactly this: How do we make Medieval Art, religious art, attractive to young people who generally have a low interest in this topic? How do we make it accessible and interesting without our solutions competing with the exhibits themselves?

In order to do this we looked in depth, into the culture, the history and the legends associated with these objects. We wanted our design to tell the story of those objects and we also wanted to tell a story about the museum, because storytelling is the best way to reach users and give them the best experience they can have while visiting the museum. The best stories are always the ones which have a personal component, a component which users can identify themselves with. We felt that the classical audio guides and explanatory boards or touch screens are not personal enough, they don’t engage the visitor, and the story they tell is too general, unable to reach to the particular interest of each individual.

The solutions we came up with, together with the students, are closely related to history, to culture but also to the personal visit of the audience, their interests and expectations, as well as their needs – such as being able to take a break during the visit or selecting the kind of information they explore during their visit.

Besides the perspective of the visitors, we also focused on the needs of the museum. We looked at how we could place an Interactive Installation without disturbing the flow of visitors and without distracting them from the exhibits themselves. We focused on how we could transform the spaces of transition and the spaces annexed to the exhibition rooms, such as a bench in an exhibition room, the entrance of the museum or even the gardens. We combined fresh ideas with safety requirements, such as delimitating certain areas around the exhibits.

Another challenge was to create an Interactive Installation which can engage a very wide range of people. Considering the audience of the museum if formed of all categories of persons, from school children to elderly people, our concept had to be easily understandable to all.

What do you consider to be your biggest take-away from this workshop?

No matter how experienced you are as a designer, each project adds to your knowledge so there is always a lot to learn and new dimensions to explore, but I think the biggest take away, for me, is realising once again how important balance is in design.

How do you keep the perfect balance between celebrating art in its pure, unaltered form while at the same time making it accessible and understandable to a larger audience? How far do you go without trivializing art? It was also very interesting to explore all the different ways in which we could use the cultural background of an object, the legends and stories surrounding it, in order to develop our design concepts.

We used new technologies to reactivate these old, almost forgotten stories and bring medieval art closer to the modern visitor, practically reconnecting all the key elements – the object, its’ space, its’ history and its’ viewer.

Interactive Installations have the power of restoring this connection and the stronger this connection is, the better the user experience becomes when we visit a museum.

Featured Image: Photo by pedrosimoes7

Here’s a very basic interactive for your museum: a plastic puzzle using a custom image of the artwork.What we’ve provided for our visitors is an opportunity to sit and relax, helping them make it though our large museum. And here they can also spend quality time with a work of art. We all know how briefly people pass by individual paintings (bonus points for anyone who can add a comment below about any formal or informal study they’ve conducted at their institution). This interactive can engage visitors in looking deeply at all aspects of the painting, noticing things they had not caught upon their first glance. This type of puzzle can be bought online, with a 11×14″ version costing between $30 and $50. And your education department could definitely make use of it after the run of the show. Just be sure that you’ve identified the right type of art for this project, looking especially for complexity and depth. The end result? Visitors that are engaged and recharged. Maybe they’ll even look at that next painting a little bit longer?

This may not break new ground but it’s a highly functional project to pull out of the museum professional’s box of tricks. Please feel free to also cover something that you might think of as basic, too. Your ordinary is going to be someone else’s epiphany.

Picassohead, a digital tool that allows users to create their own masterpieces using famous features drawn by Picasso, is a creation of award-winning digital agency RFI Studios and global public relations company Ruder Finn. In addition to being a popular tool used by students and teachers internationally to learn about art and promote creativity, Picassohead is also a nod to Ruder Finn’s longstanding admiration of art and artists. When co-founder and art aficionado David Finn began his company in the 1940s, his original goal was to bring art into corporations, and strengthen ties between the business and creative worlds. Though Ruder Finn quickly expanded and came to encompass vast areas of expertise in other industries, this was the beginning of a long history between Ruder Finn and art. Currently the firm still maintains an Arts consultancy in its Manhattan headquarters.

BUILD YOUR OWN HEAD HERE