A mobile printer scanner is basically made up of two things. It is both a printer and a scanner, but it should also be small enough for portability purposes. You may be able to find a printer and scanner unit put into one, with the additional function of copier, but these tend to be the heavy and bulky all-in-ones.
To date, there are no multifunction units released by any of the popular manufacturers, i.e. Canon, HP, Epson or Brother, that offer these functions in its mobile form. What are available though are high-end quality mobile printers and portable scanners that may be attached to them. This way, the portability you are looking for may be achieved.
Choosing among many options available in the market, it would be a good idea to look at the top considerations you need to keep in mind before you make your final purchase.
Resolutions
Printing and scanning resolutions are the most important factors you need to consider. The higher the resolutions are the better as they produce quality results.
Size
Portable of course means small. So the smaller the unit is, the more portable it is to achieve easy mobility.
Speeds
Although not a deal breaker, high speeds could help you clinch a good deal, but at most, they may not easily be achieved in the portable versions of high-end desktop printers or scanners. However, amongst the top mobile printers and portable scanners, you may be able to compare which ones can achieve the fastest speeds.
Reproducibility
This is the ability of the printer and scanner units to reproduce your original document or photo. It is best to use a photo to do a test on this as you will be able to see clearly how exact or close to being exact your duplicate is compared to the original. If they are almost the same, if not exactly identical, then your printer/scanner can meet the challenge.
Options to Choose From
HP’s offering in the mobile printer department, the Officejet 100, together with its Scanjet Professional 1000 Mobile Scanner, is a powerhouse combination. Made primarily for people, who travel for business, as well as professionals who conduct their work in the field, and students who require printing and scanning functions from their various gadgets that make their projects easier to achieve, these two devices allow you to be productive and efficient while being mobile.
The HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer helps you produce professional quality documents and photo-lab quality photos wherever and whenever you may need to. An additional function, wireless printing, is a plus factor as you may be able to print with a variety of devices that are Bluetooth-enabled, like the laptop, PDA, and camera phones. It includes in the box a lithium ion battery that runs up to 500 pages worth of printing when fully charged.
Fast high-quality printing is another plus, with speeds of 22ppm in laser-quality black text, and 18ppm in vivid color graphics, and ISO (laser-comparable) speeds up to 5 ppm black/3.5 ppm color. It is PictBridge compatible as well, allowing you to print without a computer connected, and lets you print directly from PictBridge enabled gadgets as well.
You may save energy and extend its battery life, as this printer is Energy Star® rated and powers down automatically when idle. HP gives a one-year limited warranty on the hardware, and a year of technical support by phone with the purchase of the Officejet 100, which is listed at $280 at the HP home office store. You may be able to get it at much less at Amazon, so check the site regularly for good deals.
The Scanjet Professional 1000 Mobile Scanner, on the other hand, allows you to digitize your photos and documents anywhere you are with optical resolution of up to 600 dpi. Includes one touch buttons for easy scanning anytime you are ready, the Scanjet Professional 1000 can scan a variety of paper sizes, from business cards of minimum size of 2.0 x 2.9 inches, to long forms of up to 8.5 x 14 in. The Scanjet 1000 can be had at another $250 to complete the combination. But like the Officejet 100, you may most likely get the scanner at discounted rates when you choose to buy it from Amazon.
Canon offers the combination of its PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer and the imageFormula P-150 Scan-tini portable document scanner.
The PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer is by far the best and most popular from the latest offerings in the mobile printer department. With the highest resolution to date for a mobile printer, it can produce outstanding quality borderless photos with its 9600 x 2400 dpi maximum resolution. A 4” x 6” borderless photo takes only about 50 seconds to print.
The iP100 offers IrDA compatibility, and with the option of adding the BU30 Bluetooth adapter, it allows user to print wirelessly from any Bluetooth enabled device such as a laptop, a PDA, or even a camera phone.
The iP100 is listed at $250 by Canon, but you may be able to get it cheaper from Amazon, where it is currently listed at $190.
With the iP100, you may attach the personal document scanner offer from Canon, the imageFORMULA P-150 Scan-tini, completing the combo that provides value, productivity, and practicality. It is particularly designed for professionals with document capture needs and a view to improve personal productivity and efficiency while in transit or even at home or in small offices. This scanner meets energy efficiency guidelines making it qualified for an Energy Star® rating. The P-150 is a bit pricey at around $270 on Amazon but keep checking as prices are constantly changing.
With these combinations from both HP and Canon, you will surely be able to select your choices; and whatever you decide to choose in the end, you will not regret it.
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