There are two smart fridge rules I never break. I have a large fridge filled with postcards and fridge magnets. If I visit a new place, I buy a fridge magnet to stick to my appliance upon my return. If my friends travel to interesting places, I always ask them to send me a postcard. They inspire my future destinations, and whenever I have any questions about that destination, I always know who to ask.
I just made up a third rule thanks to Nelko PP01… and I could not be happier about it. It saves me some money, too!
Nelko PP01 Inkjet Printer
I have had this idea for some time, but I never actually bothered enough to open Amazon and search for a compatible printer which prints fridge-sized photos. I do have a standard Inkjet printer that hasn’t seen a new cartridge since the last time I had to print out a boarding pass. As luck would have it, Nelko sent me an email with their offering, and I thought I’d check it out, in case more of you like the idea of actually having some of the pictures in a physical form factor.
Nelko PP01 roughly fits in your palm. An unassuming white box wrapped with instructional labels is capable of printing 10 photos at a time. With a single power button and USB-C, there isn’t really much to write home about it. It will look much nicer once I peel the labels.
I already have a couple of small factor label makers, so I’m quite familiar with the phone-to-print concept. Less hassle than a standard printer (as long as everything works great). By far the biggest sins of the regular printers are constantly dry ink cartridges and connectivity problems. The printer itself isn’t very expensive. It’s clear that it borrows the business model from more established brands, charging extra for consumables:
- MultiColour ink cartridge $19.99
- Photo paper (pack of 50) $19.99
- Waste cartridge (that’s new!) – part of the ink package
I’m yet to discover how soon I’d be dealing with dry ink, but my first impressions were good. Took less than a minute to install the app, connect to the printer and start a print. Easy and intuitive. 40 seconds later, I had a picture of myself taken in Shenzhen after fighting a tennis-playing robot from SwitchBot (🎥: watch short).
Loading up ink is actually quite fun, as the cover slides out, revealing a magnetic holder for the smallest cartridges I’ve ever seen. Paper is loaded at the bottom in packs of 10. Sold by Nelko paper is conveniently grouped in packs of 10.
Print quality
With 600 dpi and an InkJet technology, I wasn’t expecting a masterpiece, but photos are decently reproduced, and I don’t think I’d ever make a complaint over seeing one on my fridge – thinking – I wish the 5x8cm photo came in 4K resolution. There are other heat or laser-based printers that are capable of printing better quality images, but these tend to cost a lot more (including paper) due to a complex process of making consumables.
You should expect about 80 pictures from a single ink cartridge, which means that a single photo will cost you approx 60 cents. Considering that an average fridge magnet costs around $5-8 in a tourist store (or more) it’s cheaper than I thought, and I can still add text or overlays in the app, customising my photos further.
The Nelko app
The Nelko app is surprisingly solid. Basic editing tools are included, and a plethora of layouts, templates, and icons are added free of charge to customise your memories to anyone’s liking. This isn’t an app solely for photos, as you can easily design labels, QR codes and more. Nelko offers more than just the Nelko PP01 Inkjet printer; their store also contains label makers!
The VIP tier is paid, and some icons and graphics are behind the paywall, but I never felt that my creativity was restricted.
Final thoughts
I have no doubt I’ll go through my spare paper and ink in no doubt. I have been to many places, and Nelko PP01 is a great tool to add a bit of fun to your REAL Pinterest board, fridge or scrapbook. In the digital times, we don’t print enough pictures, and it’s easy to lose track of all the good memories by being exposed to a constant avalanche of world events that don’t exactly fill us with hope. Get one for yourself, or even better, gift it to someone who can’t stop travelling, as moments are worth saving not just on your phone.
What are your thoughts? Leave it here in this Reddit post
🆓📈💵 – See the transparency note for details.
 to put a smile on your face and perhaps even save some money. For this, you'll need Nelko PP01){kind=link}