Canon SELPHY CP1500

Portable photoRibbon

Dye-sublimation is a different process from everything else in this catalogue and it shows in the output: three colour passes plus a clear overcoat, laid down on a fixed 4 × 6 sheet, producing a print that is dry, touchable and water-resistant the second it leaves the slot. There is no ink to clog because there is no ink — a ribbon and paper come in one sealed pack, and when the ribbon is spent the paper is spent too, which is why the cost per print is knowable to the cent rather than estimated. A KP-108IN pack makes 108 prints for about thirty-nine dollars, or roughly 36 cents each, and that number does not move with how much of the sheet is covered. At under two pounds with an optional battery, it is the printer people take to parties.

Approx. price: ~$149
Cost per 4×6: 36¢

Best for

Parties, guest books and instant keepsakes — anywhere a 4 × 6 print needs to be dry and handled immediately.

marks an estimate. Computed from the consumable's ISO page yield and its list price. An estimate. Purchase price plus ink or toner over the pages shown, assuming four mono pages for every colour page. Price is an approximate snapshot from our last catalogue update.

Specifications

Manufacturer-published figures. Cost lines are computed from the consumable figures above and are estimates.

Approx. price: ~$149
Cost per 4×6: 36¢
Technology: Dye-sublimation
Ink system: Ribbon
Inks: 3
Third-party ink lock: No
Ink subscription: None offered
First page out: 41 s
Functions: Print
Two-sided printing: None
Document feeder: None
Paper capacity: 18 sheets
Max paper size: 4×6
Borderless photo: Yes
Resolution: 300 × 300 dpi
Connectivity: Wi-Fi · Front USB
Mobile printing: AirPrint
Display: 3.5" colour LCD
Dimensions: 7.1 × 5.4 × 2.5 in
Weight: 1.9 lb
Released: 2022

Features

Dye-sublimation with a clear protective overcoat
Fixed 4 × 6 postcard-size prints, borderless
Ribbon and paper sold together, so a pack cannot run out of step
3.5-inch colour screen for cropping and layout on the printer
Prints over Wi-Fi from a phone, or from a USB stick
Optional battery pack for use away from mains power

No ink lock Borderless photo

In its favour

Cost per print is exactly knowable: 108 prints per pack, about 36¢ each, regardless of image
Prints come out dry, water-resistant and safe to handle immediately
No print head to clog, so it survives months in a cupboard between uses
Under two pounds, and a battery option makes it genuinely portable
The on-device screen means you can crop and print without a computer
Media packs contain paper and ribbon in matched quantities, so the two cannot run out of step

Against it

4 × 6 is the only real size — this cannot print a document
About 41 seconds per print, which is slow when a queue forms
Paper and ribbon are proprietary and only sold together
The sheet shuttles in and out four times, so it needs clear space behind it
36¢ a print is far more than an ink tank photo printer's per-photo cost

What owners say

Distilled from owner discussions and long-term published reviews

The party printer that people actually keep. Dye-sublimation lays down three colour passes and a clear laminate, so a print comes out dry, water-resistant and ready to hand to someone — which is exactly what an inkjet cannot do at an event.

The two practical surprises are physical. It is slow, around forty seconds a print, and a queue forms fast when a room starts using it. And the paper shuttles back and forth out of the rear of the machine during printing, so it needs six inches of clear space behind it; owners who set it up against a wall on a crowded table find out immediately.

The economics are unusually honest for this category: a pack makes 108 prints and costs about thirty-nine dollars, so a print costs 36 cents whether it is a dark photo or a light one.

What owners like

Owners like that the cost per print is exactly knowable — a pack makes 108 prints and that is that, whatever the image
Prints emerge dry, laminated and safe to handle straight away, which is the whole point at a party
No print head means it survives months in a cupboard and works on the first try
The on-device screen lets people crop and print without a phone or computer
Light enough to carry, with a battery option for use away from power

Common complaints

About 41 seconds a print, which becomes a visible queue at an event
The sheet shuttles in and out several times, so it needs clear space behind it — owners are caught out by this on a crowded table
4 × 6 and nothing else; it cannot print a document
Media is proprietary and ribbon and paper only sell together

Questions that keep coming up

How much does each print cost?

About 36 cents, and unlike an inkjet the number does not move with the image — the ribbon advances one frame per print regardless of how dark it is. A KP-108IN pack contains paper and ribbon for exactly 108 prints. That predictability is one of the main reasons people choose dye-sublimation for events.

How much space does it need?

More than it looks. The sheet passes in and out of the back of the printer four times during a single print, so it needs several inches of clear space behind it. Owners setting it up on a crowded table against a wall report jams that vanish once the printer is moved forward.

Will it work after sitting in a cupboard for a year?

Yes, and this is a real advantage over any inkjet. There is no liquid ink and no print head, so nothing dries out or clogs. Owners who use one twice a year for birthdays describe it working on the first press every time. Keep the media packs sealed and flat.

Can it print anything other than 4 × 6?

Card and sticker-sized media are available, but it is a postcard-format photo printer and nothing else. It cannot print a document, and there is no letter-size option. If you need both photos and documents, a six-ink tank printer like the Epson ET-8500 does both jobs from one machine.

Computed from the consumable's ISO page yield and its list price. An estimate. Owner notes are a summary of what people who own the machine report, not a test result — there is no lab behind this site.