Screenshots of a boss fight usually end up in a camera roll nobody opens, and a pocket printer is one way to get them onto a wall or a fridge door. The Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 3 Super Mario bundle drops from $149.95 to $74.98 on Amazon, a 50% discount, with a limited-edition silicone case shaped like a Mario Block included.
A Pocket Printer Wearing a Mario Block
The bundle contains the Instax Mini Link 3 printer in Clay White, the limited-edition Super Mario “? Block” silicone case, a USB Type-C cable, a Quick Start Guide and a one-year limited product warranty. The case is the part that makes this edition different from the standard model, and since it also protects the printer in a bag, it does more than serve as decoration.
Printing works over Bluetooth from your smartphone through the free instax mini Link for Nintendo Switch app, which Fujifilm pitches for favorite photos and gaming memories. Stills captured from videos can be printed too, so a clip of a good match or a trip can be turned into a physical photo, and that is probably the feature I would use the most. The app’s name mentions Nintendo Switch, but the listing describes printing from a smartphone and says nothing about printing straight from a console, so I wouldn’t count on that.
The Nintendo theme goes beyond the case. Inside the app you can add 3D AR effects, Super Mario items, character templates, frames and stickers to a photo before printing, so the final print comes out with the decoration already on it. These extras are the reason to pick this edition over a plain printer, and I’d say they are best suited to fans who will actually use them rather than to someone who just wants a photo printer. A birthday party where everyone wants a sticker-covered print with a character frame is where the AR effects and templates would earn their keep, while a quiet desk setup would probably leave them untouched after the first week.
The prints are instax mini instant photos about 3.4 inches by 2.1 inches, roughly the size of a credit card, which is small enough to fit in a wallet or a game case. The important catch is that instax mini film is sold separately, so the $74.98 covers the hardware only, and the listing doesn’t say how many prints a single battery charge gives, which is worth checking before a trip.
That film cost is the real running expense of any instant printer, and since the listing gives no price for it, anyone planning to print a lot of photos should look up a pack of instax mini film and work out the price per print before deciding. As a gift for a Mario fan the bundle looks complete, with the case and cable in the box, but the recipient will still need film before the first print comes out.
The listing carries a 4.2 out of 5 rating, but it comes from only five ratings, so there is almost no track record to go on yet. Amazon marks the price as exclusive to Prime members, and buyers who prefer to spread out the cost can pay $18.75 every two weeks over four payments.
For a Mario fan who likes the idea of turning game moments into prints, the Super Mario Instax Mini Link 3 bundle at $74.98 instead of $149.95 on Amazon
