HP Sprocket vs Kodak Step: Which Should You Buy? (2026)

Both print 2x3 sticky-back ZINK photos for under 50 cents. Buy the HP Sprocket: for $10 more it prints faster, lasts 10 more prints a charge and pairs several phones at once.

The HP Sprocket and the Kodak Step are the two best-known pocket printers that use ZINK paper, which needs no ink or cartridge. Both print 2x3 inch photos with sticky backs, at the same 313 dpi, for under 50 cents a print. That leaves price, speed, battery and pairing as the real differences. The model HP sells now is the HP Sprocket (2nd Edition), launched in 2018. The Step followed in 2020.

What is actually different

Speed is the first gap. HP quotes the Sprocket as fast as 40 seconds a print. The Step takes about 60 seconds, which its buyers describe as under a minute. Over a 10-sheet session at a party, that adds up to more than three minutes of extra waiting on the Step. PCMag measured 39 seconds on the Sprocket, while Tom’s Guide timed 55 seconds end to end once the transfer from the phone was included.

Battery is the second. The Sprocket manages 35 prints per charge against 25 for the Step: 10 more prints, or 40 percent more, before you need a cable. Both charge over micro-USB, and both come with the cable.

Pairing works differently. Both connect to a phone over Bluetooth, but the Sprocket lets several phones connect at once, each with its own indicator colour, which suits a group passing it around. HP does not say how many. The Step adds NFC, so you can tap an Android phone on it to pair. NFC does not work with an iPhone.

The Step holds more paper, up to 20 sheets against the Sprocket’s 10-sheet tray. The Sprocket is lighter at 173 g against 186 g, but the Step is thinner at 20 mm against 24.9 mm.

Both have the usual ZINK colour problem. Step owners say prints skew pink out of the box unless you cool the image down in the app, and some report white streaks that need the blue calibration card run through again. Sprocket reviewers report an orange or washed-out cast on some images. Reviewers split on how bad it is. William Harrel at PCMag gave both printers an Editors’ Choice, calling the Step’s prints “attractive, business-card-size photos”. Brian Westover at Tom’s Guide said the Sprocket’s fun is “held back by major colour issues”, and Abby Ferguson at Pocket-lint wrote that the Step and other ZINK printers “will not be the answer if you are looking for quality”.

The Step’s other weak point is reliability. Several Amazon owners report units that stopped feeding paper after a month or two. The Sprocket’s other complaint is age: the hardware has not changed since its 2018 launch.

Paper and cost per print

The paper costs almost the same. HP’s 50-sheet ZINK pack was $23.82 at Amazon on October 5, 2026, about 48 cents a print. Kodak’s 50-sheet pack was $24.37 on the same date, about 49 cents. HP’s 100-sheet pack at $44.99 brings the Sprocket to 45 cents. Both print 76 x 51 mm sticky-back sheets. HP puts a blue calibration card in each new pack for the printer to read first, and the Step uses a blue Kodak card the same way.

The printers themselves differ by more. At the October 5, 2026 price check the Sprocket was $89.99, well under its $129.99 list price, and the Step was $79.99, its list price. Add 100 prints and the Sprocket comes to about $137.99 against about $128.99 for the Step, a $9 gap. One cent a print will never close it in practice: you would need 1,000 prints for the paper saving to cover the $10 difference in price.

Buyer ratings are hard to compare. Amazon shoppers rate the Step 4.4 out of 5 across 20,625 ratings. The Sprocket listing shows 4.5 from 25,575 ratings, but that figure is pooled across a family of listings that includes the Sprocket Select, so it is not a score for this model alone.

Which one to buy

Buy the HP Sprocket. It prints faster, lasts 10 more prints a charge, weighs less and lets a group print from several phones. At $10 more than the Step on October 5, 2026, that is a fair trade, and the paper costs about the same.

Buy the Kodak Step if $10 matters, if you want to load 20 sheets at a time, or if you have an Android phone and like tap-to-pair. It is a good fit for a child’s first printer or a budget scrapbook.

Do not buy either for accurate colour or for prints to frame. ZINK is at its best as stickers for journals, lockers and laptops. If print quality matters more than sticky backs, look at a dye-sublimation or Instax printer instead.

Where to buy

• HP Sprocket 2nd Edition (Sprocket 200) Photo Printer$89.99 (list $129.99)Check price on Amazon
• Kodak Step Instant Mobile Photo Printer$79.99Check price on Amazon

Specs side by side

Same on both: Instant photo printer · Current · 76 x 51 mm print · Print resolution: 313 dpi.

Specs from manufacturer pages; prices and ratings checked October 5, 2026.

What reviewers and buyers say

HP Sprocket 2nd Edition (Sprocket 200) Photo Printer

Published reviews of the HP Sprocket 2nd Edition (Sprocket 200) Photo Printer:

• “HP's Sprocket 2nd Edition stands out with its unique design and quirky AR angle, but most impressive is the improved print quality, which earned it PCMag's Editors' Choice for pocket photo printers.” (William Harrel, PCMag, 2019-03)
• “A compact photo printer that fits into a pocket, but the fun part of photo printing is held back by major colour issues, so you will probably want to skip it in favour of another option.” (Brian Westover, Tom's Guide, 2019-02)
• “Comparing the Sprocket with the Polaroid Zip and the Instax printer for travel journaling, she found the sticker paper convenient but the print quality too poor to overlook, with an orange tinge, and picked the Instax instead.” (bobo design studio, 2020)

Amazon buyers rate it 4.5 out of 5 across 25,575 ratings.

Praised for: one of the smallest and lightest printers here at 173 g, 35 prints per charge, the most of any 2x3 printer in this set, several phones can pair at once, each with its own indicator colour, sticky-backed prints and a well-stocked sticker and border library in the app, cheap to buy on discount and about 48 cents a print. Criticised for: ZINK colour accuracy is inconsistent, with an orange or washed-out cast on some images, digital noise artefacts on prints, micro-USB charging on a design that has not changed since its 2018 launch, batch printing is much slower than single prints, the augmented-reality Reveal features are gimmicks.

Check price on Amazon

Kodak Step Instant Mobile Photo Printer

Published reviews of the Kodak Step Instant Mobile Photo Printer:

• “The inexpensive Kodak Step churns out attractive, business-card-size photos with adhesive backing at reasonable running costs, and earns PCMag's Editors' Choice among ZINK models.” (William Harrel, PCMag, 2023-01)
• “Prints have nice sharpness and detail for their size, but this printer, and other ZINK-based products, will not be the answer if you are looking for quality.” (Abby Ferguson, Pocket-lint, 2024-11)
• “Lots of fun to use with easy set-up and a user-friendly app, but the ZINK printing technology isn't the best for high-quality prints.” (Caroline Preece, Real Homes, 2022-09)

Amazon buyers rate it 4.4 out of 5 across 20,625 ratings.

Praised for: cheap to buy and about 50 cents a print, pocket sized and tough enough to survive being dropped, connects easily and prints in under a minute, app has proper editing plus collage, frames and stickers, sticky backs are ideal for journals and scrapbooks. Criticised for: prints skew pink unless you correct colour in the app first, white streaks appear on prints and need a recalibration sheet, several owners report the printer failing after a month or two, the app can be glitchy and refuse to print until you retry, only five to twenty sheets of paper in the box.

Check price on Amazon

Frequently asked questions

Is the HP Sprocket better than the Kodak Step?

On the numbers, yes, by a small margin. Both print 2x3 sticky-back ZINK photos at 313 dpi. The Sprocket prints in as fast as 40 seconds against about 60 for the Step, manages 35 prints per charge against 25, and lets several phones connect at once. The Step was $10 cheaper at the October 5, 2026 price check, at $79.99 against $89.99, and adds NFC pairing on Android.

Do the HP Sprocket and Kodak Step use the same paper?

They use the same technology and the same size, 2x3 inch ZINK sticky-back paper that prints 76 x 51 mm, but each is sold under its own brand. HP's 50-sheet pack was $23.82 and Kodak's 50-sheet pack was $24.37 at Amazon on October 5, 2026. Both printers use a blue calibration card. Keep the Kodak one: third-party ZINK paper works in the Step only if you run the Kodak card through first.

How much does a print cost on the HP Sprocket and Kodak Step?

About 48 cents a print on the Sprocket, from a 50-sheet pack at $23.82, and about 49 cents on the Step, from a 50-sheet pack at $24.37. Both prices were checked at Amazon on October 5, 2026. HP's 100-sheet pack brings the Sprocket down to 45 cents a print.

Does the Kodak Step work with an iPhone?

Yes. The Kodak Step Prints app runs on iOS and Android, and the printer pairs over Bluetooth. The Step also has NFC tap-to-pair, but that works on Android only, not on iPhone.

Why are my ZINK prints pink or orange?

Colour cast is the most common complaint about both printers. Kodak Step owners report prints that skew pink unless they cool the image down in the app first. Sprocket reviewers report an orange or washed-out cast on some images. Both use a blue calibration card, and Step owners run it through again to fix white streaks.

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