Considering Small Printers

Not so very long ago, when you wanted to travel with a printer, that meant that some truly impressive travel arrangements had to be made. You might be stuck with something the size of a small desk that would need constant support and attention. You might have been using an ink jet printer or a thermal printer.

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 gem in this lineup is the shrinking laser printer, however. They were initially produced for college students who had little space and these small personal printers worked out quite nicely, produce pages in the rage of 12 per minute. They had good durability cycles and they could be packed up tidily at the end of the semester.

Cost per page on consumables for a laser is about 7 cents per black and white page with 10% coverage – typical reports (or papers) won’t strain them. For some of the more robust photo printers, the cost per page is upwards of a dollar, but it is kind of neat to be able to print out hard copies of your photos on your vacation while you’re there.

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.

Though the pass through tray is something that you can use, we leave it off, as it is something of a pain. The ease of getting it set up, the low cost of its ink cartridges and the impressive functionality all make this a great printer and when you are on the road, these factors are all things that you need to look for.

The market for 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 HP h47wbt mobile printer. It has received raving reviews from a lot of people.

Possibly Related Posts:

• The Key Reason Why You Need A Registry Cleaner For Windows
• SEO Quantumlinx Common Mistakes That Hinder Good Search Engine Ranking
• Pro Gamers And How They Contribute To Game Makers
• Article Submitter Software
• 10 Easy Causes To Take Away Spyware And Adware From Your Computer System