The Need for Small Printers
Back in the day, traveling with a printer either meant that you were going around with something the size of a small desk in a moving truck (and providing printer support on site to a business), or you were traveling with an ink jet, or you were traveling with a thermal printer, like grocery stores use for printing receipts.
All of these had drawbacks; thermal printers had special paper requirements, and their output often looked strange. Inkjets had lovely output, but would be temperamental about changes in temperature, humidity or just being jostled; you ended up spending more time clearing the heads with the head cleaning utility than you ever did printing. Plus, the cost per page went through the roof.
Or, you’d get a ‘laptop’ printer which needed to be babied, and had an average service life between failures of about three months. None of these were particularly great solutions; they tended to make people cranky and make IT departments unhappy at supporting them.
The nice thing, though, is that desktop printers have actually shrunk from being upwards of seventy pounds down to compact printers that are around twenty pounds. You can find ink jet printers and laser printers that are this small, and the ink jet printers are much sturdier than they were before.
The real champ in all of this, however, is the laser printer. These small personal printers that were originally marketed for college students who were short on space are pretty impressive and when you think about the fact that they can print 12 pages per minute, have good durability styles and can fit inside a suitcase, you know that you have a winner.
When you are working on a laser printer, you’ll find that you are looking at printing that costs about 7 cents a page in black and white at about 10 percent coverage. Regular paper won’t hurt them. When you want photo printers, you’ll find that the cost goes up, but the immediate access and high quality print job is usually worth it.
The nice thing about these printers is that they are small. Our own HP 1006 Personal LaserJet is just a bit larger than a toaster and when we’re off to the trade shows, we can print out data sheets and sales reports for our customers. It measures in the neighborhood of 14” wide by 18” deep by 9” tall and it fits happily into its box.
The pass through tray is something of an annoying thing to deal with, but you really don’t need it at all. Getting set up is simple, the functionality is excellent and the low cost of the consumables make this a perfect tool for anyone who needs to travel and print while they are on the road!
The market for small portable printers is still in its infant stage and you will need to be careful before purchasing a portable printer. If you’re in a hurry read our review of the Hewlett Packard h47wbt OfficeJet mobile printer. It has received raving reviews from a lot of people.
Tags: computer, office, portable, printer, travel, travel-tips, work
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February 16 2010 07:35 am | travel-tips