DNP vs Citizen
Both brands make good dye sublimation printers, and a Citizen photo booth printer will hand out a copy that looks the same as ours. Only one of the two is what the event industry standardised on, and DNP vs Citizen is settled by that, on a Saturday night, rather than by a line on a spec sheet.
DNP vs Citizen, Model by Model
Manufacturer figures for the models operators actually shortlist. Capacities are for 4x6 prints unless stated.
| Model | Brand | Print sizes | Prints per roll | Weight | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| QW410 | DNP | 4x6, 4.5x8, 4x4, 2x4 and metric equivalents | 150 (4x6) | Under 6 kg | Mirror booths, tight venues, solo setups |
| DS620 | DNP | 4x6, 5x7, 6x8 | 400 (4x6) · 200 (6x8) | About 12 kg | All round booth work, corporate formats |
| DS-RX1HS | DNP | 3.5x5 to 6x8, including 2x6 strips | Up to 700 (4x6) | About 14 kg | High volume nights, strip heavy weddings |
| CY-02 | Citizen | 6x4, 5x7, 6x8 | 700 (4x6) · 350 (6x8) | Just under 14 kg | High capacity print all events |
| CX-02 | Citizen | 6x4 up to 6x9 | 400 (4x6) | 12 kg | Compact kiosk and booth work |
Why We Fit DNP
Read the table and the two brands look close, because on paper they are. The reason we build our booths around DNP has nothing to do with a spec that wins by a margin and everything to do with what happens around the printer.
- Software support is universal. Every serious booth application supports DNP out of the box, in every print size, with templates already built. That is one less thing to discover at 7 pm in a venue.
- Media is everywhere. Genuine DNP media is stocked across Europe by multiple distributors. When you need a roll on Thursday for a Saturday wedding, availability beats every other specification on this page.
- Resale and spares. The standard has a second hand market, spare parts and technicians who have seen the fault before. A less common printer is worth less and is harder to fix.
- Range coverage. Between the compact QW410 and the DS620 you can cover a slim mirror booth and a corporate print all event with the same media supply chain and the same workflow.
Where Citizen genuinely competes is capacity: the CY-02 matches the best per roll figure in the class, and if your events routinely run long enough to change media mid night, that is a real argument. We would rather solve that with a spare roll and a printer the whole industry can support.
Our booths ship with DNP configured and tested against the software you will use, which is covered on the DNP photo booth printers page. If you are choosing between DNP models rather than brands, read QW410 vs DS620.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is DNP or Citizen better for a photo booth?
For a working photo booth business, DNP is the safer choice: it is the de facto standard of the event industry, every booth software supports it, and genuine media is stocked across Europe. Citizen builds capable printers, and the CY-02 in particular has a strong per roll capacity, but you are more likely to hit a compatibility or supply question at the worst moment.
Citizen CY-02 vs DNP DS620: which one for a booth?
The CY-02 wins on capacity, at 700 prints of 4x6 and 350 of 6x8 per roll against 400 and 200 on the DS620, at a similar weight. The DS620 wins on everything around the machine: template support built into every booth application, media stocked across Europe, spares and a resale market. If your nights are long enough to change media mid event, the CY-02 argument is real. Otherwise the DS620 is the safer machine to depend on.
Which printer gives the most prints per roll?
On paper the Citizen CY-02 and the DNP DS-RX1HS both reach around 700 prints of 4x6 per roll, which is the top of this class. The DS620 sits lower per roll but covers more print sizes, including 6x8. Per roll capacity only matters if your events are long enough to hit it.
Can I use Citizen media in a DNP printer?
No. Dye sublimation printers use their own media, and mixing brands is not an option. That is why the printer you choose also chooses your consumable supply chain for the life of the machine.
Which printer do you supply with your booths?
DNP, and specifically the QW410 and DS620 depending on the format you sell. We configure and test the printer with the booth and the software before shipping, so the setup that leaves here is the one that runs your first event.
How much does a DNP photo booth printer cost?
Our DNP printers start at €723 plus VAT, supplied configured and tested with the booth and software. Media is bought separately per roll and works out at a few cents per print. The model by model comparison is in our DNP printers guide.
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