Fujifilm launches Smartphone printer “instax mini Link 2”

TOKYO, July 7, 2022 – FUJIFILM Corporation (President and CEO, Representative Director: Teiichi Goto) announces the launch of the smartphone printer “instax mini Link 2” (Link 2) on July 28, 2022 in Japan. The Link 2, which supports card-size instax film, is the latest addition to the Link Series of smartphone printers offering a variety of unique functions that allow users to have fun with friends. It not only prints out images taken with a smartphone on the spot with ease, but also features a new function which users can draw “in the air” as an AR (augmented reality) effect when taking pictures by using the dedicated app.

Fujifilm will also release a new instax mini film “SPRAY ART,” which features a vivid design with a spray-painted look.

The logo for the Link 2’s new function “instaxAiR”

The Link Series of smartphone printers has been embraced by the young generation around the world for their ability to connect with a smartphone through a dedicated app^*1 using Bluetooth^*2 and print images stored in the smartphone onto instax films anytime and anywhere, in high quality. The Link offers more ways to enjoy photographs with friends, such as the “Match Test” function, first introduced in the instax mini Link released in October 2019, which can print user’s compatibility with a friend or someone special, and the “Video Print” function that allows users to choose the best frame from a video and print it out.

The latest “Link 2” is the first instax series^*3 product that features the new “instaxAiR,” in which users can use the dedicated app to apply an AR effect when taking pictures to add drawings or writings “in the air”. The users can simply press the Feature button on top to enable the side LED of the Link 2. When the device is conncected to a smartphone, the users can aim towards the smartphone to draw “in the air”. When making an instaxAiR print, the Link 2 vibrates in line with its movements and plays special effects sound that matches the AR effect, bringing an added excitement. Users can also draw images or writings directly with their finger to the dedicated app on the smartphone, producing an original instax print.

The Link 2 also has a function of recording the action of drawing “in the air” using the instaxAiR, and saving the footage as video. The saved video can be easily shared on social media including TikTok, thereby providing new way of enjoying instax to users who explore their creativity. The “Match Test” function, made popular by the instax mini Link, now has a “Go with your instinct” mode that allows users to choose a color that represents how they are feeling at the moment, and check their compatibility with their friends based on the colors they choose. These unique features amplify the fun of playing with instax.

• *1 A free app compatible with Android phones and iPhones. It can be downloaded from Google Play in the case of Android phones and App Store for iPhones. Android and Google Play are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google Inc. iPhone and App Store are trademarks of Apple Inc. The iPhone trademark is used in Japan under license from iphone Co., Ltd.
• *2 The Bluetooth^® word mark and logo are registered trademarks of Bluetooth SIG Inc. FUJIFILM Corporation uses these marks based on a license agreement.
• *3 “instax” products including smartphone printers, instant cameras and hybrid instant cameras

• The Link 2 features a new function “instaxAiR,” in which users can use the dedicated app to apply an AR effect when taking pictures to add drawings or writings to the space. Hold down the Feature button at the top of the Link 2 body and move the printer with the LED on the side pointing to the smartphone. The shape or text drawn with the trajectory can be applied to the app’s screen as an AR effect. The function comes with five brush effects. The “Bubbles” and “Petals” tools show bubbles or petals streaming in the screen, producing prints that are slightly different each time.
• While using instaxAiR, the Link 2’s body vibrates to coincide with its movements, making users feel as if they are actually drawing pictures with a spray can. The realistic sensation helps build a sense of excitement.

• Users can use their finger to directly draw a picture or text on to the screen of the dedicated app for detailed photographic expressions.

Users can film the instaxAiR action for up to 15 seconds and save it in the smartphone with an instax frame. The saved video can be converted into a QR code for printing. Users can scan the QR code with a smartphone to replay the video. Similar to the hybrid instant cameras “instax mini Evo” (released in December 2021) and the “instax mini LiPlay” (released in June 2019), users can select a favorite background and easily prepare data with an instax print frame for sharing on social media.

The “Match Test” function can print compatibility with a friend or someone special and show the result in percentage. The function has been enhanced with a new “Go with your instinct” mode, in which two people choose colors that match their mood of the day. Their compatibility percentage and chosen colors are incorporated into their instax photo. The feature complements other modes such as “Match test” involving two people answering a series of questions for compatibility diagnosis and “Quick Diagnosis” that gives compatibility diagnosis immediately, providing a sense of excitement and anticipation while waiting for diagnostic results.

The “instax Camera” function turns the Link 2 into a remote control for your smartphone’s camera. With the motion sensor that is built into the Link 2, for example, users can zoom in by tilting the printer to the side with the power button at the center facing down and zoom out by flipping it to have the power button facing up to adjust the angle of view. The power button becomes synched to the smartphone’s shutter button, so that users can take pictures with the Link 2 while standing away from the smartphone. Moreover, users can reprint an image by holding the Link 2 with the printout end pointing down and press the power button.

Image data can be directly transferred from the FUJIFILM Camera Remote app^*4 to Link 2’s dedicated app to produce prints.

• *4 The FUJIFILM Camera Remote is a free app for smartphones and tablet devices, provided to users of the X and GFX Series of Fujifilm digital cameras. Images in a WiFi-enabled digital camera can be sent one by one to this app so that users can view them on their smartphone (tablet device).

• Mini-format film featuring a vivid design with a spray-painted look
• The film can be used with instax instant cameras, hybrid instant cameras and smartphone printers that support mini-format films
• Ten films per pack

Fujifilm will run a promotional campaign for the Link 2 on its website, social media accounts and in stores with the tagline, “Creativity is in the AiR.” This message is designed to inspire playfulness in instax users by the “instaxAiR”. The campaign will promote the Link series of smartphone printers, namely the Link 2 and the instax Link WIDE, which was released in October 2021 and supports wide-format prints, twice the size of the regular card-size prints.

The “instax” series of instant cameras, launched in 1998, is affectionately called “Cheki” in Japan, where it has enjoyed wide popularity for over 20 years. Today, it is sold in over 100 countries and regions around the world. The brand has been expanded to add a lineup of smartphone printers which allows users to print images stored in smartphones with ease , thereby broadening the user base. Today, the instax series has been globally embraced as a communication tool or a tool of self expression for its ability to capture those precious moments in life in the form of photo prints, and convey emotions that go with them.

• * Please note that the contents in this website are current as of the date of the press announcement and may be subject to change without prior notice. Information in each release, including the product availability, specification, prices, contacts, are those at the time of publication.