(Pocket-lint) - Brought out in Korea at the end of last year, it seems that the LG Pocket Photo - an Android-friendly portable printer with NFC capabilities - will be expanding out to other regions soon.

In among the 4K UHDTVs and OLED displays on the LG stand at the CES trade show in Las Vegas, the mini printing machine was sitting on its own stand and Pocket-lint got to savour its wares.

The Pocket Photo is about the size of a portable hard drive - a bit fatter, perhaps. It has a slot in one end, where the prints come out, a cartridge slot at the other to put in the specially treated Zink paper (more on that in a mo), and a USB port on the side for charging duties or to hook up to an Android phone if you don't want to use the wireless options.

At present, it is compatible with Android only, because to work it needs an Android app installed on a phone. It's also best used with NFC - something Apple is yet to introduce to an iPhone - although it does also feature Bluetooth connectivity, so is technically capable of running off other devices if LG decides to create compatible applications.

The printer uses Zink photo paper 2.0 and printing technology to work, which uses zero ink (geddit?). The paper is coated with four colour dyes which are heat treated to form the picture. It reminds us of the old silver printer paper used by the Sinclair printer that came out for the ZX Spectrum back in the day. We doubt it will discolour as much when it's sitting next to a radiator - it certainly doesn't react to the heat from your fingers.

As prints are determined through the Android app, you can also add text, borders, Instagram-style filters and even QR codes to your pics. The final photos are small, but it's meant to be a bit of fun rather than a professional printing kit. It's much like the Polaroid PoGo - which also uses Zink technology.

LG is yet to reveal when it plans to release the Pocket Photo outside of South Korea or its UK or US price, but it is 189,000 won in LG's home land, which equates to around £105 / $170. It comes in three colours, silver, orange and pink.

Writing by Rik Henderson.