Portable Printing

Portable printers have been around for a while now. There are just a few significant models on the market. This week, we take a closer look at the portable printing trend and weigh up the advantages and disadvantages for these on-the-go devices.

Convenience

Obviously the biggest advantage of portable printing technology is the convenience it offers. These devices are ideal if you’re a travelling business person and need to print things on the go like tickets, directions, customer information and documents on a relatively small scale.

Portable scanners are also very useful if you want to keep a digital record of documents such as receipts or business cards whilst travelling or need to scan bulky items which would be difficult to manoeuvre onto a traditional flatbed design.

Price

In the tech world, smaller generally carries a bigger price tag and the same is true for portable printers. Consumers have to pay for the privilege of carrying around their printing technology. A portable model can cost as much as a mid range multifunction desktop printer.  Good portable printers start around $399.00.  Pricing can vary widely depending on the number of functions offered.

Functionality

Mobile printers like the Canon TR150 are relatively lightweight and offer intuitive button operation, so they’re easy to carry in a backpack or briefcase. HP’s Officejet 200 printer has the same functionality while the HP OfficeJet 250 includes a scanning function builtin to the printer. They are practical enough to carry them in your briefcase and they are great when you need a print out to provide to a client on site or in meetings or business trips.

Quality and speed

Considering the significantly scaled down size of portable printers, it’s impressive that many models remain competitive with standard designs in terms of both speed and print quality. Models like the HP OfficeJet 200 Mobile Wireless Printer boast fast, quiet printing, high page yield per cartridge, and best in class print quality.  It is small fast and lightweight so easily stores in your laptop bag.  The OfficeJet 200 is a new update from the previous 100 series.

Canon’s updated model TR150 has been around for a number of years in a few different forms.  The TR150 now has wireless connectivity a large battery and compact design.  The previous IP110 has always been an extremely reliable and functional portable printer.

Epson have just entered the market with the Workforce 100 printer which has wi-fi and wi-fi direct so you can print from your network and direct from a tablet or phone.  The battery will charge from a USB connection and uses a LCD display for functionality.

Although portable printers and scanners are no replacement for their full sized counterparts, they can be a useful tool for the person who is on the go.  If you’re the kind of person who travels for business and often in need of on the spot printing, then these portable devices are likely to make your professional life on the road easier.  If not invest your money in a full sized printer with more office situation functionality.