There are many battles going on between the big four printer companies – Brother, Canon, Epson and HP. While most of these battles are behind the scenes, some are obvious. These companies will do everything in their power to stay ahead of one another, which is beneficial to the consumer.
Not only does this competition lead to price wars, but also fast innovation, which only has the potential to improve your business. That is, of course, as long as you stay up to speed.
The best approach is to find printer models that match what you need, will last for several years, and offer fair prices. While this might be easier said than done, if you’re willing to put the effort in, it’s very possible.
In this article, we will be covering a couple of portable printers for laptops. Owning a portable printer today is essential if you want to gain that edge. The two options below offer to give you that edge without having to break the bank.
The HP Officejet H470 Mobile Color Inkjet printer
The first model we’ll review is the HP Officejet H470 Mobile Color Inkjet printer.
It wouldn’t exactly qualify for the ‘cheap portable printers for laptops’ category, but if there were a category for ‘good value portable printers for laptops,’ it would be at the top of the list.
Currently, the H470 brand new sells from $190 at Amazon.com. As in most cases, your best bet for a fair deal will be on Amazon. You also have the option to get it in used or refurbished conditions.
The H470 is best known for its speed. It can print up to 22 pages per minute in black and 18 pages per minute in color. For a portable printer, these are incredible numbers.
It also has optional wireless connectivity via Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and is PictBridge compatible. It originally comes with USB connectivity with the USB cord included in the box. This model’s look is very sleek and attractive. Its dimensions are 13.4 x 6.45 x 3.25 inches and it weighs 4.5 lbs.
The negatives are that the driver on the CD that came in the box is not compatible with Windows 7, and you will need to download a compatible driver from the HP website, quite a high incidence of ink consumption, has no reception tray for printouts, with quite a high incidence of ink consumption, and poor customer support service.
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Planon PrintStik PS900 Black and White Direct Thermal Printer
The best portable printers for laptops are usually made by the big four, although there may come another printer company that will design a model that will allow them to compete.
In this case, I’m referring to the Planon PrintStik PS900 Black and White Direct Thermal Printer. It is available new at Amazon for $172. It can only print up to 3 pages per minute, resolution will only reach as high as 200 x 400 dots per inch, and it can only handle up to 20 pages. So, why the $172 price tag? Because it’s the smallest office in the universe. Its dimensions are 1″ x 10.75″ x 1.5″ inches.
In addition to being exceptionally easy to carry, this machine is also very easy to use. Its best feature is that there’s no need for ink or toner, which will save you a lot of money. Everything is done thermally. A similar model with Bluetooth capability is also available, the Planon PrintStik PS910, selling at a price range from around $190.
Conclusion
In my assessment, in terms of portability, the Planon PrintStik PS900/PS910 wins as it is very small and you can place it in your laptop carrier.
But that’s where this product’s pull stops for me. Although some people go for thermal paper printing, documents printed on thermal paper has the tendency to get erased over time.
If you need to keep copies of your documents, you will need to scan or photocopy them first before storing to assure that they don’t get erased eventually.
Also, little capacity of 20 pages per cartridge of paper will not be as cost effective. So you will really have to be careful when you do your prints. There’s no room for spoilage. This is perfect for the one-off printings that you may require in a jiffy.
As always, HP wins my vote when it comes to reliability and durability. With the HP Officejet H470 Mobile Color Inkjet printer, although many had unfortunate experiences as far as driver compatibility with Windows 7 was concerned, the issue has already been addressed with the availability of the proper compatible driver online through the HP website.
Maybe a little heavier than the Planon PrintStik PS900 printer, the HP Officejet H470 still is a more reliable printer at the end of the day. With the fast printing capability for both documents and photos, and getting high quality prints with bolder blacks and vivid colors. Most of all, it is Energy Star® qualified. So you’re not only getting good prints, you’re even helping the environment.
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About James Wikkee