7 Reasons The Canon SELPHY CP1500 Is A Must-Have For Family Photos

In the past, taking photos on cameras, having them developed, and storing them in family albums were part of everyone's core life experiences. These days, because everyone has a smartphone in their hand, the way we document our memories have also changed. While it has become convenient to take and share photos online, it has also become easy to lose them. For all its convenience, digitization can also be risky without physical backup. Thankfully, while photo printing stores are not as ubiquitous as they were in the past, you can still print quality photos with the Canon SELPHY CP1500.

Priced at $139.99, the Canon SELPHY CP1500 is the latest generation of Canon's portable photo printers that are capable of replicating the photo printing quality that Canon is known for in a significantly smaller package. Available in two variations (black and white), the Canon SELPHY CP1500 comes with the wireless printer, AC cable, ink cassette, and some sample postcard printer paper. Although a wide variety of people (and even businesses) can benefit from having a compact photo printer, there's one particular group that will definitely have endless uses for it: families. Here are some reasons why the Canon SELPHY CP1500 is a perfect companion for your documenting your life's adventures, inside and out of the home.

One of the top reasons why the Canon SELPHY CP1500 is a great addition to the gadgets in your life is how portable it is. Weighing at only around 1.9 lbs, it's light enough that adding it to your luggage won't make it significantly heavier. Although it's not as nearly compact as the SELPHY Square QX10 ($149.99) or the pocket-sized IVY 2 Mini Photo Printer ($99.99), its 7.2 in x 2.3 in x 5.2 in dimensions can still comfortably fit in a carry-on for those weekend getaways.

Unfortunately, the SELPHY CP1500 straight out of the box needs to be plugged into a socket for power. So, while it's pretty lightweight and easy to bring around, you'll still need to shell out some extra cash if you want a fully-portable option. To do this, you can buy the Canon NB-CP2LH Battery Pack ($89.99) that Canon claims can last you up to 54 prints for every charge, which is a whole album already.

While Canon doesn't sell an official traveling case for the SELPHY CP1500, there are plenty of third-party ones out there, like the co2CREA Hard Case ($25.99) that not only offers physical protection for your wireless printer on-the-go, but it also has space for extra ink cassettes, refill paper, a battery back, and charger. Alternatively, you can get the ALKOO Case (starts at $23.99), which also has a strap for easier carrying.

With just your mobile phone, you can instantly shoot, edit, lay out, and print photos with the Canon SELPHY 1500. Using the SELPHY Photo Layout app, you can customize your preferred print settings like the paper size, print finish, and image optimization. In addition, you can make use of the different layout options, like bookmark, shuffle, ID photo, and label. Aside from the SELPHY Photo Layout app, the SELPHY CP1500 also works with the Canon PRINT Inkjet/SELPHY app. Although it doesn't have exactly the same functions, it is useful if you already have it installed on your mobile phone.

There are also varied ways to connect to the SELPHY CP1500, which makes it easy for anyone to send photos for printing. If you prefer to do your editing on your computer, you can use the SELPHY CP1500 with Macs or on computers with Windows 11 pre-installed. To make a connection, you can opt to use a USB-C thumb drive, USB-C cable, or 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi. Alternatively, the SELPHY CP1500 can use AirPrint for selected devices, as long as they're connected to the same network.

Aside from the USB-C port, the SELPHY CP1500 also has slots for the SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards, plus more with an adapter (miniSD, miniSDHC, microSD, microSDHC, micro SDXC). So, if your family is hiring an official photographer for an event (or you have an uncle with a fancy DSLR camera), they won't have problems printing.

With many people living in small spaces or trying to avoid clutter in their homes, little trinkets from family trips aren't ideal anymore for souvenirs. Thankfully, photos barely take up space and you can easily choose and print the best ones at the end of your trip as souvenirs for family members. As long as they have the right setup, you can even do this with anyone's compatible phone or laptop, so people can choose and print their preferred photos by themselves.

Depending on your preferences, there are different paper sizes that you can choose from. If you don't want to lug around back up cassettes to your family holiday, you can get the RP-54 4R high-capacity color/ink paper set ($22.99). With this, you can easily print 54 photos with just one cassette, which is roughly about $0.43 per postcard-sized photo.

Although if you want to go marginally cheaper, you can even get the Card Size Ink Paper KC-36IP (2.1 in x 3.4 in) photo paper size, which comes with 36 sheets and the ink pack for $14.99 on the official Canon website. Not only does it cost roughly about $0.42 for every print, but because the photos come out the same size as a credit card, the printed photos can also easily be stored in wallets for remembrance. But take note, before you can do that, you'll need to buy the Card Size Paper Cassette PCC-CP400 ($12.99) first.

If you come from a big family, it can be challenging to keep up with all the birthday parties, weddings, and other celebrations that may come one after the other. In the past few months, I can't count the number of times printed photos and a beautiful frame have saved me from showing up to events empty-handed. In fact, I've even become more creative with it, and spiced things up by making collages.

Now, it's important to note that the SELPHY CP1500 isn't the cheapest way to print photos. For example, for a standard postcard-size photo (4 in x 6 in), Walmart Photo charges $0.14 per piece. On the other hand, companies like Shutterfly let you print same-sized 4R for photos starting at $0.28, which you can either pick up in their retail partner locations, like CVS or Walgreens. In some cases, you can even opt for 1 hour photo printing or same day delivery. However, this doesn't include other fees, like delivery fees and taxes. Plus, not everyone can expend the time, effort, and gas money it takes to go to the nearest store every time you want to print a photo or two.

In comparison, the KP-108In 4R Color Ink/Paper Set sets you back around $37.99 for 108 sheets or $0.35 per page. Although it's roughly around 2.5 times more expensive than having it printed in Walmart, it is a great way to create meaningful gifts at home, especially if you're pressed for time.

In the digital age, one of the many risks that parents need to mitigate includes the exposure of their children online. Social media platforms have been found to use publicly available content to train various AI models, which can include the images of young family members that other people have uploaded. Unfortunately, this can mean a variety of unwanted applications, including inappropriate AI deepfake photos and videos. While many adults, who have a history of uploading entire albums of their faces, have fewer options when it comes to protecting themselves from non-consensual image (NCII) abuse, it's possible to spare minors the same fate by avoiding posting them online without their consent.

In my experience, enforcing boundaries with regards to picture taking and posting photos with children can be challenging, especially when people are eager to have keepsakes. As more parents become aware of the consequences of posting their children's faces online, it can create messy conversations about birthday party invitations or other events. By printing hard copies for photos, you can create a middle ground and ensure that your children's lives are documented without compromising their privacy. Not to mention, you can take pictures of memorable places, like the exteriors of their childhood home, frequently visited parks, and their school, without compromising their security and letting strangers on the internet know of their habits and location.

While many of us update our friends, family, and followers via social media platforms or messaging apps, the reality is that there are still plenty of people that aren't always so tech savvy, especially when it comes to our elderly family members. In some cases, their eyesight may no longer be the best, they have limited mobility with their fingers, or they don't have access to the internet. Either way, this doesn't mean they don't deserve to be left out of updates about their children, grandchildren, or other loved ones.

By printing photos with your SELPHY CP1500, you can bring the memories from your big life updates, like graduations or birthdays, from your feed to a physical photo album that you can mail or share with loved ones who can't easily access them on mobile phones or the internet. Based on Canon's tests, photos from the SELPHY CP1500 can last up to a hundred years, which means your family photos can be heirlooms for the future generations as well.

Personally, my only living grandmother isn't keen on learning how to use a mobile phone. For her 88th birthday, I brought my Canon SELPHY CP1500 printer to her party and gifted her an album with all the pictures from the day. These days, she keeps the album next to her bed and flips through it to remember how loved she is.

When it comes to backing up your photos, the usual piece of advice is to store it in multiple places to avoid loss. In the past, we've talked about all the ways to keep your digital photos safe, but the reality is that unless you own the servers where they are stored online, there's still a chance of loss. In addition, things like forgetting to pay your subscription, companies closing down, or being unable to access your accounts can wipe your photos away for good.

Aside from online cloud storage, physical storage solutions like external hard drives also aren't immune to digital decay. Although we have a lot of tips for what to do when your hard drive stops working, there are so many things that could break it. In the past, I've lost years worth of travel photos when my Seagate hard drive suddenly stopped working, and while the brand replaced it with a new one, I'll never get those pictures back. By making it a habit to also have hard copies of your photos, you have a non-digital way to preserve your memories.

And if you're worried about sticky fingers and accidental drops during children's parties, you can purchase an additional CarePAK Plan for some added peace of mind. For the SELPHY CP1500, Canon offers two options: 2-Year Plan ($21.99) or 4-Year Plan ($39.99). The CarePAK PLUS Service Plan covers direct service support, free shipping, and normal wear and tear.