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Hardware guide

Which printer for a photo booth?

A dye-sublimation printer. The rest — size, cutting, cost per print — depends on what you sell.

No credit card · Windows 10 / 11 · 64-bit

The technology

Why dye-sublimation

Criterion Dye-sub Inkjet
Time per printA few secondsSlow
DryingDry out of the printerSmudges under fingers
Cost per printFixed, known in advanceVaries with ink
DurabilityProtective overcoatDepends on the paper

The machines you see at rental companies: DNP (DS620, DS820, DS-RX1HS), Citizen (CX-02) and Mitsubishi (CP-D70, CP-D80).

Sizes

4×6, strip or square

  • 4×6 — the standard print, portrait or landscape. No cutting.
  • 2×6 strip — the photo booth classic, 3 or 4 photos. Two strips on one 4×6 sheet the printer cuts: one pose, two keepsakes.
  • 4×4 square — for a social-media look.

BoothApp handles these sizes. Large 5×7 and 6×8 prints are not offered yet.

Cutting

The setting people forget

To get two strips, the cut is turned on in the printer driver (often “2 inch cut”). The software then has to follow that setting, not guess it.

In BoothApp, the “Paper and cutting” card on the printer screen follows the driver by default, tells you where to turn on the cut, and lets you force a size if a print comes out wrong.

Before buying

What to check

  • An up-to-date 64-bit Windows driver, and a USB connection.
  • Cost per print: price of the paper + ribbon kit, divided by the number of prints. That is what makes your margin.
  • Kit sizes: a 4×6 kit also gives strips, if the machine can cut.
  • Weight and size: it travels to every event.
Questions

Frequently asked questions

Is an inkjet printer good enough for a photo booth?

For occasional use, it prints. For an event, no: it is slow, prints dry poorly and the cost per photo varies with the ink. Professionals use dye-sublimation.

How do you print two strips on one 4×6 sheet?

Two 2×6 strips are laid out side by side and the printer cuts the sheet in half. The cut is turned on in the printer driver; the software then has to follow that setting.

How much does a print cost?

The price of the paper and ribbon kit divided by the number of prints it gives. That number, far more than the software subscription, makes your margin.

Does BoothApp work with my printer?

BoothApp prints to any printer installed in Windows, through its driver. It follows the paper and cut set in that driver.

Plug in your printer, try it

Every feature, 2 booths and the cloud — no credit card.