Portable Inkjet Printers For Less
Portable Inkjet Printers can be great to own, but they can also be expensive. In this article, I’m going to briefly review two affordable portable inkjet printers. Not only are these two machines affordable, but they’re also well designed, offering great value. The two printers I’m referring to are the Olympus P-11 and the Epson PictureMate Dash PM260. The Olympus P-11 sells for $150, and the Epson PictureMate Dash PM260 sells for as low as $99. And, yes, I am referring to new units. These two machines are absolute steals at these prices. There’s a good chance one of these machine’s features will be more attractive to you than the other, so let’s get to it.
The Olympus P-11 is a dye-sublimation printer. Dye-based machines aren’t as high quality as ones that use pigment-based inks; however, they are very good at defending against smudging, fingerprints, UV light, and water. This can be especially helpful if you expect children might be able to get their hands on prints. That said, this inkjet printer can also come in handy if you’re a business traveler. Being on the road doesn’t often lead to clean, neat, and tidy situations.
The dimensions for the Olympus P-11 are 7.3 x 7.1 x 6.2 inches. It weighs 5.1 lbs. While it’s small compared to a desktop, it’s slightly larger than most portable printers. This does lead to some benefits, though. For instance, there’s a built-in 50-sheet paper tray. While size might not factor into speed, the speed is great. A 4 x 6-inch borderless print takes only 33 seconds. This is an amazing number. Of all the portable inkjet printers I’ve reviewed – and there have been a lot of them – it’s the fastest I’ve seen.
The Olympus P-11 is PC and Mac-compatible. It’s also PictBridge-compatible, so you will be able to print directly from many digital cameras and some cell phones. This machine offers a USB interface.
The Epson PictureMade Dash PM260 is 9.1 x 6.5 x 8.7 inches and weighs 5.3 lbs. It’s slightly larger than the P-11. It also offers fast speed, capable of printing a 4 x 6-inch borderless print in 37 seconds. Prints will be resistant to water, smudging, scratches and fading. Print resolution can reach as high as 5760 x 1440 dots per inch. In addition to that, it will automatically help reduce red eye.
The Dash PM260 has a 3.6-inch LCD display and control panel, which makes for easy previewing and adjustments. This machine is PC and Mac-compatible, as well as Bluetooth-compatible. It works on a USB interface. With the Dash, you will have an opportunity to add sepia tone and create borderless prints. It can handle several sizes, including normal, jumbo-wallet, and passport. It can also print 2 x 2-inch and 3 x 3-inch square documents, as well as create portrait packages. With the portrait packages, you can place either 4 or 10 portraits on a page.
While both machines offer tremendous value and their speed stats are similar, everything else about them is very different. Hopefully, this short review can give you some idea of which direction to go. Once you have decided, it’s recommended you gather more information prior to making a purchase. Amazon is usually a good place to find detailed information and pricing for the best portable inkjet printers on the market.
