Kids' instant print camera: how it works and is it worth it?

A kids' instant print camera takes a photo and prints it out of the camera within seconds, using heat instead of ink. It is one of the few gadgets that gets children off a screen: the result is a real picture they can hold, colour and keep.

Parents ask us the same questions about these cameras every week. Here are the honest answers.

How the printing works

Inside the camera is a roll of thermal paper, like the paper in a shop receipt printer. When the child presses the shutter and chooses print, a small print head warms the paper in a pattern and the photo appears in black and white. Nothing is sprayed and nothing can leak.

This is why there is no ink to buy. The only thing you ever replace is the paper roll.

Why black and white is a good thing

Colour printing would need ink cartridges, which cost money and break. Black and white keeps the camera simple and cheap to run.

It also turns every photo into an activity. Children colour the print in, write a caption or stick it into a scrapbook. The picture is still saved in full colour on the camera, so nothing is lost.

What else the camera does

Both cameras we sell also record video, take selfies with a front lens and have a colour screen on the back. A few simple games make them useful on long car rides. They charge with a USB cable, so there are no batteries to replace.

Which age it suits

From about five years old, a child can use the camera alone: point, press, print. Younger children can enjoy it with a parent. Up to ten or eleven it stays interesting, because older children start using it for projects and diaries.

Our two print cameras compared

The DIY Instant Digital Camera is the classic first camera. It prints in black and white, comes with colour pens and two extra paper rolls, and costs ৳2,750. It comes in pink and blue.

• DIY Instant Digital Camera

The Children's Digital Print Camera is the bigger one. It adds music and a memory card slot, so a whole holiday fits on it, and it comes in a soft dinosaur or unicorn case. It costs ৳2,850 and includes one extra paper roll.

• Children's Digital Print Camera

Is it worth it?

If your child likes making things, yes. A print camera is a gift that is used every day for months, not opened once and forgotten. The running cost is only paper, and the photos become something to share with grandparents and friends.

If your child mainly wants to play games, a camera will feel slow. Choose it for a child who likes to draw, collect or tell stories.

Tips for the first week

Show your child how to frame a photo before printing, so the paper lasts longer. Keep the camera charged overnight. And keep a small album nearby: once the first prints come out, children want somewhere to put them.

Delivery and payment

Both cameras are delivered across Bangladesh. Delivery is 80 taka in Dhaka and 150 taka elsewhere, free on orders over 3,000 taka, and you can pay cash on delivery or by bKash.