Portable printers are designed to be compact and efficient. They provide business and leisure travellers, office workers, students and home users, with a convenient means of printing photographs or documents from their laptops, smartphones, tablets or digital cameras while on the move. Many of them now work with rechargeable batteries and AC adapters and provide multiple options for connectivity. If you intend to buy a portable printer, here is our list of 5 highly rated models.
- HP Officejet 150 Mobile
The Officejet 150 Mobile by HP is a unique blend of portability and functionality. This dark sleek printer weighs about 6.4 pounds and has a dimension of 3.5 x 7 x 14 inches which makes it easy to slip into a bag on put it in a small opening on your desk. With its LCD touchscreen, you can control the printer and access the all-in-one functionality to scan, copy or print documents and photos.
Like most high quality portable printers, 150 Mobile comes with a rechargeable Li-ion battery that can print 500 pages before it goes flat. This printer makes use of inkjet technology which seems to be the standard among portable printers. Two inkjet cartridges: 1 colour and 1 black cartridge are used to print at a maximum resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi. Connectivity options include Wi-Fi, USB and an SD memory card slot. Unfortunately it does not have AirPrint so ipad and iphone users will not be able to send documents with this technology.
- Canon Pixma IP 110
This printer comes with advanced wireless technology, so you can easily use it to print from your computer, tablet, or smartphone. Pixma IP 110 was designed to be one of the most compact portable printers. The output and input trays fold in and out so you can easily transport this printer by putting it in your briefcase or backpack. Weighing about 4.3 pounds, it is one of the lightest printers in the market that can hold up to 50 sheets in its tray.
Like other portable printers, it can run on battery, but you will have to buy the rechargeable battery separately. To send photos and documents for printing, you can use the USB port or other wireless options such as AirPrint for iPhone users, or Wi-Fi for PC users. You can use Pixma IP 110 to print at 9600 x 2400 dpi, one of the highest resolutions available on a portable printer. The excellent print quality is made possible by Canon’s 8 dye-based ink cartridges that provide amazing colour and gradients. Three of these cartridges are dedicated grayscale inks that enable you to have outstanding black and white prints.
- Epson WF-100
Epson WF-100 has one of the most compact designs in the portable printer market and it weighs just 3.5 pounds. Its paper input tray can hold up to 20 sheets and it comes with its own built-in battery which is rated to print about 100 sheets of black and white documents. With a user-friendly design, the WF-100 has a small 1.4 inch LCD screen that makes the printer very easy to set up and use. WF-100 comes with a variety of connectivity options. You can print with your ipad or iphone using Google Cloud Print or AirPrint. Epson also provides an Android app that makes it easy to send jobs to the printer. Computer users may use the USB port or connect on their network using Wi-Fi.
- Canon PIXMA MG7720
This is one of the most recent portable all-in-one printers made by Canon with stellar reviews from thousands of buyers and users online. It has a 3.5 inch touch screen and several connectivity options to enable you print directly from virtually any computer, mobile phone, or camera. You can use AirPrint for Apple mobile devices, Google Cloud Print or the dedicated Canon app for Android-based tablets and phones, or connect through Bluetooth for digital cameras. Computer users can connect using Wi-Fi or the USB port. It supports or all major operating systems including Windows, Mac. In addition to printing amazingly high resolution photos, it may also be used to print directly on printable CDs, DVDs and Blue ray discs. Auto duplex printing is also available. However, the printer weighs about 17 pounds and it does not use battery power.
- HP Officejet 100 Wireless Inkjet Printer
Officejet 100 prints documents and photos from a variety of laptops, smartphones, tablets and digital cameras. Weighing just 6 pounds with the battery included, this ultra-light printer is ideal for travel since it can be slipped into your briefcase or hand luggage and used on-the-move. It prints lab quality border-less 4 x 6 inch photos and can print documents in black at 22 pages per minute and coloured documents at 18 pages per minute. With the large tray that holds up to 50 documents, you can easily manage large print jobs. A variety of connectivity options are available including direct wireless printing from smartphones and tablets using Windows Mobile, and Android operating systems. For more information about the cartridges go to Ink Station.
Those are our top 5 portable printers at this time. These printers were designed and produced by some of the best manufacturers of desktop printers who release new models every year. Before you choose a portable printer, you should consider the type of device you will be using to send documents or photos to the printer, and the quality and number of prints you will be making in one print session.