Liene Photo Printer Review

Modern technology has been a real boon for the photo industry. We are all amateur photographers, as we carry cameras on our persons at all times, and it’s so easy to share photos through digital means. But what if you want a hard copy? The Liene 4″ x 6″ Photo Printer could be a good solution. Let’s see if it will do the job.

Setting Up the Liene Photo Printer

Sure, you could use your household printer, but it would mean switching to photo paper and possibly the setup. The Liene Photo Printer , however, is smaller, portable, and always ready with 4″ x 6″ photo paper.

Unboxing

Inside the box, you’ll find

• Photo printer
• Power adapter
• Paper cassette
• Ink cartridge
• 20 sheets of 4″ x 6″ photo paper
• User manual

It’s definitely a bonus that the photo printer ships with not only an ink cartridge but 20 sheets of photo paper as well. While the user manual doesn’t explain the number of photos the ink cartridge will print, the Amazon listing explains that it will print up to 40 photos.

The Liene Photo Printer has a few doors, buttons, and ports of importance. On the front you will find the front door, the power button, and the indicator lights; on the right side you’ll find the side door; and on the back the power port, USB-C port, air vent, and paper ejection slot.

Installing the Ink Cartridge

To install the ink cartridge, open the side door and slide the cartridge in until it “clicks,” then close the door.

Filling the Paper Cartridge

This is the only time the instructions were worded in a way that wasn’t clear. It took me a few minutes to figure it out and was definitely the only step that took more than few seconds other than the printing itself.

To install the paper (maximum 20 sheets at a time), pull the end of the cartridge out, then open it by pulling the top cover out. The manual was worded in a way to make that difficult to understand, and the pictures weren’t helpful. Insert the paper, then close the cover and the end. It should really only take a few seconds.

Using the Liene Photo Printer

Powering On and Connecting

To power on and connect the Liene Photo Printer, insert the power plug into the back and the other end into a wall socket. Press and hold the Power button for one second to turn the printer on. The power indicator will turn white, and the Wi-Fi indicator will blink orange, then become a solid orange.

Instead of connecting through Bluetooth, the printer connects through a hotspot. Open the WLAN connection on your device or computer. In my case, I opened the Wi-Fi settings on my iPhone. Select the Liene Photo Printer hotspot. Type in the default password listed in the manual. The Wi-Fi indicator light will turn blue.

Note that you can change the password (and should!) in the app that will be discussed later in this review. You can connect up to five devices simultaneously. Note that if you are connecting to a computer, you have to download and install a driver before connecting.

Printing with the Liene Photo Printer

To insert the paper cartridge before printing, you must first fold back the end onto the back of the cartridge. It will fold down 180º.

Open the door on the front of the Liene Photo Printer and insert the open end of the paper cartridge. Be sure that there is at least four inches of space behind the printer, as the photo paper will slide back and forth while it prints.

Printing from an iOS/iPadOS Device

Photos are printed from an iOS/iPadOS device the same way you’d print to any other printer. Select the photo you want to print and tap the Share button. Select “Print,” and on the next page, select the Liene Photo Printer, the number of copies, etc. Tap “Print” in the upper-right corner.

Note: the instructions for printing on Android are very much the same: just as you’d print anything else on Android.

The Liene Photo Printer engages and begins printing. The photo paper slides back and forth as it applies ink to the paper. It only takes a couple of minutes.

This is the finished product: a photo of my dog Huver celebrating his birthday.

When you’re done printing, the paper tray magnetically attaches to the top of the printer for easy storage.

You can also print to a computer either via USB or Wi-Fi. The instructions for this are again the same as printing to any other printer.

Printing from the App

Printing can also be accomplished through the Liene Photo mobile app for iOS/iPadOS and Android.

Open the app, log in/create an account, and add the printer to reach the Home Screen.

You have two choices of photos to print: Classic or ID. You can save money and take your passport photo through the ID option.

To print a classic (regular) photo, choose a photo and edit it if you’d like. The editing choices are very basic, such as border/borderless, filters, contrast, sharpen, etc. When you’re happy with your edits, click “Done,” sending you back to the previous page, then click “Print.”

The options here are so basic that there isn’t much advantage to the app. You have far more editing options on most photo-editing apps. The ID option would be the reason you’d want to use the app.

Quality Assessment

I have to say I am impressed with the quality of the printer and the ease with which it prints photos. The photos I have printed during my testing have more clarity than they would have through my Epson printer. I was surprised they were that good.

Final Thoughts

You can pick up the Liene 4″ x 6″ Photo Printer for just $99.99 after clipping the Amazon coupon. To me, the quality and ease of setup and use are worth it. Even the photo paper and ink cartridge aren’t too unreasonable at $18.99 for 40 sheets of paper and one ink cartridge, though you’ll need to replace/refill often.

If you’re looking for an option to get hard copies of your photos, it’s a wise choice.