Small/portable printer recommendations

SquareLeft

SquareLeft

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OK, I know - who the hell still uses a printer?

Answers: Old people and crazies involved in rally sports. I qualify on both counts.

And, it's OK if you don't have a good answer - I understand. I'm just hoping to find someone who has some recent experience with these things.
I really hate asking questions like this, but doing searches on office equipment usually results in my getting a headache but not the info I was looking for.<_<
So, if you've read this far, here are some basics:

1. My current portable printer, which just died, is an HP color inkjet. That combination is OK, but:
2. A laser printer would be nice (and I'd be willing to pay extra). I don't want to spend a fortune either, because I won't be using it that often ($100 - $200 is where I'd like to be).
3. A black-ink-only would probably work, but I do use the color at times
4. MUST be Windows 7 compatible
5. Can be wireless, but I'd just as soon use a cable
6. How small is 'small'? I'd like to be able to carry it in a medium-size sports-type duffel bag
7. Brand isn't that important, but I usually gravitate to HP peripherals

There you have it! Many thanks in advance if you have experience with these things - and - the time to reply to dinosaurs. :mrgreen:

SL
 
What power source would be available to power the printer? Laser printers require significant power, whereas there are inkjets that can run off integral batteries.
 
Now that i think about it, I'm kinda shocked Makita, Milwaukee or Dewalt haven't come out with a jobsite printer that runs off their tool batteries.


One my my old co-workers use to use an Epson Workforce, and as far as i know, never had any issues with it. She used it all the time, and traveled with it a lot.
 
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NecroJoe said:
Now that i think about it, I'm kinda shocked Makita, Milwaukee or Dewalt haven't come out with a jobsite printer that runs off their tool batteries.


One my my old co-workers use to use an Epson Workforce, and as far as i know, never had any issues with it. She used it all the time, and traveled with it a lot.
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Not economical against the competition the last time they looked, I'd expect. They'd have to buy a printer mech from someone else and then have to charge more for it than the other company charged for theirs. Hard to do that when (until very recently) you could get a portable battery powered Canon BubbleJet printer for $75.
 
Spectre said:
Hard to do that when (until very recently) you could get a portable battery powered Canon BubbleJet printer for $75.
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I think this is less of the issue than licensing or co-branding the printer tech. The same argument could be said for, say, a Ridgid or Ryobi impact driver over many of the Makita models (or Milwaukee, owned by the same parent company as Ryobi and Ridgid)...some Makitas are out-performed in many specs and yet cost much much more. I think if anyone, the three brands in my original post could pull it off...if not Span-On or *ha* Festool. People will pay for the name, and because they are already invested in the battery system.
 
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NecroJoe said:
I think this is less of the issue than licensing or co-branding the printer tech. The same argument could be said for, say, a Ridgid or Ryobi impact driver over many of the Makita models (or Milwaukee, owned by the same parent company as Ryobi and Ridgid)...some Makitas are out-performed in many specs and yet cost much much more. I think if anyone, the three brands in my original post could pull it off...if not Span-On or *ha* Festool. People will pay for the name, and because they are already invested in the battery system.
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Thing is, all those companies already have well established tech and production bases for tools and the like. Printers are very much a different technology and any tool maker would have to sink millions and millions into getting both set up for a printer. The more economical solution would be to outsource it, but then you run into the pricing issue. Another factor is that a lot of the portable printers sold on the market over the past decade have better batteries than tools could provide and better battery life as a result.
 
Spectre said:
What power source would be available to power the printer? Laser printers require significant power, whereas there are inkjets that can run off integral batteries.
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I have a heavy duty power inverter that's part of my portable office when I'm working out of my truck. I can power multiple devices without any problem.

That said, most of the time it just gets used in motel rooms when I'm working rallies or other events.

SL
 
The Canon Pixma ip110 might be worth checking out. The price is right but it is only inkjet. No personal experience with this machine but I've been very happy with my own Pixma. Ignore issues with wireless mentioned in reviews if you're using USB, I tried wireless printing with mine once and it wasn't worth it anyway.

http://m.newegg.com/Product/index?itemnumber=N82E16828143031

Apparently it takes up to letter and legal (don't you use A4? :p) and is compatible with Win 7.
 
SquareLeft said:
I have a heavy duty power inverter that's part of my portable office when I'm working out of my truck. I can power multiple devices without any problem.

That said, most of the time it just gets used in motel rooms when I'm working rallies or other events.

SL
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Is your inverter rated for 1100-1500 watts? If not, forget about a laser in the field as that's what you need for safe operation of one.

If you're willing to just use it in the room or when wall power is available, there are loads and loads of little lasers that would work.
 
Spectre said:
Is your inverter rated for 1100-1500 watts? If not, forget about a laser in the field as that's what you need for safe operation of one.

If you're willing to just use it in the room or when wall power is available, there are loads and loads of little lasers that would work.
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My small Brother laser printer is 546 watts while printing. Wow...I had no idea. .7w while asleep, which I understand, but then nearly 60 watts when it's awake, but idle. That seems high...but apparently not.
 
Small/portable printer recommendations

Yup, but real world experience tells me that if you try to run a laser printer rated at (say) 750W peak draw off an inverter, you're going to have severe problems if your inverter isn't rated for roughly double that. I've seen a 650W laser printer set a series of 750, 800, 900 and 1000W rated inverters smoking, on fire or just plain dead.

The big power draw of the printer is the fuser - and the faster a laser printer is to 'ready' (I.e., the fuser gets up to temperature) the more power it draws on startup, in general.

I do actually have a unit in mind that would do well in this application, but I need to find out what kind of power that inverter can handle before making the recommendation.
 
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Thanks for all the comments so far... certainly food for thought.

I'll be in Columbus today, doing final measurements on a TSD rally we're putting on later this month. I'm hoping to have time to run by MicroCenter and see if they have any deals.

SL
 
If you have at least 780W "free" on your inverter (including other devices plugged in) or your inverter is rated at at least 1000W, this is the one you should get. It's a very small laser that will easily fit in the specified duffle bag.

http://www.microcenter.com/product/390277/LaserJet_Pro_P1102w_Printer

Technically, the LaserJet Pro P1102W has a max power draw rating of 370W, but as I said before you generally need twice the rating to not have problems. This is actually a great little laser printer even for non-portable usage.
 
I was just going to suggest the HP P1102w. I too have a need for a somewhat portable printer at the outdoor theater I'm involved in and I hate inkjets with a passion. I needed wi-fi and Airprint compatibility since i'm taking credit cards via iZettle on iOS and wanted to be able to print receipts. I run my entire mobile office (macbook, ipad, printer) off of a Huawei 4G hotspot and it's been flawless.

The only downside I can find is that wi-fi setup is a bit shit since there isn't a display on the printer itself. You have to install terrible desktop software and configure the printer via USB. Good thing you only need to do it once, at least until you need to connect it to another SSID. It connects fine every time I turn it on, as long as I make sure the 4G hotspot is turned on and properly working first.
 
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We've had older version of that machine at work, I can also confirm that's it's very small. Never had any reliability issues with those little workhorses.
 
As usual, my timing sucks. While you nice folks were busy recommending the P1102W, I was in Columbus visiting MicroCenter. And, please remember that I don't have internet on my phone...

The guys at MicroCenter listened to my 'wants' and recommended a refurbished Chinese laser printer called a Pantum P2500W. I'm not much for off-brands, but it was only $29.99 and they had several in stock, so I bit on it. Now that I've read the specs on the P1102W, I'll probably take back the printer that I bought and swap it.

Also, in regard to the inverter question, I have several. I've just kept increasing the power size over the years. The 'big' one is a 1200W unit that has 2 outlets, but I normally use a power strip with it. I'll just make sure to plug the laser printer directly into one of the outlets. Depending on how this goes, I may just disconnect everything else when I'm using the printer.

Thanks again for all the good advice!
SL

Edit: After thinking more about this, I'm probably also going to make up a dedicated, fused power source with heavier gauge wire that draws directly from the battery...
 
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That is always a good idea.
 
Small/portable printer recommendations

That Pantum is a pile of crap. They have a ton of refurb ones to sell because the new ones break so often and are returned under warranty. Salesman gets a good spiff when you buy one, though.

I've heard from other consultants in the area that specified them that they will sometimes be so badly made they go on fire soon after you take it out of the box and start printing. Not seen that myself, but I don't spec the things for my clients either.

And yes, you really should get Internet on your phone. It is a stupendous resource to have in your pocket.
 
Spectre said:
And yes, you really should get Internet on your phone. It is a stupendous resource to have in your pocket.
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This is a small part of an on-going battle at our house. I really do love my wife, and we've been married for 43+ years.
That said, there are two things she REALLY hates... technology and spending money on it. How bad is it? I still don't have the toaster oven I wanted when we were setting up our FIRST kitchen! We both have pay-as-you-go mobile phones that will only talk and text. No internet or email.

Every tiny step forward is a tedious negotiation. I won on cable TV years ago, but we still don't have call-waiting or caller ID on our land line...

That's the thing about marriage - you have to pick your battles. I tend to save my ammo for all of my old-car expenses.:rolleyes:

SL
 
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