Portable Laptop Printers

Portable laptop printers have now become a necessity for any traveling businessperson. Anyone who doesn’t own one will be at a serious disadvantage to their competition. Portable laptop printers are also important for students, as they increase the potential times and locations to complete work. Regardless of your need for a portable laptop printer, it’s best to stick with the top two brand names, which are Hewlett Packard and Canon. Hewlett Packard has been a staple in the printer market for decades, but Canon’s technology is also superb. At the present time, you can’t go wrong either way.

The top portable laptop printer from Canon is the Canon Pixma iP100 Mobile Photo Printer. Before getting to the performance stats and features, you should be aware of the customer feedback. 92% of consumers have stated being pleased with this product; 72% of them gave it the highest rating possible. This information alone should motivate you to do some more in-depth research. That said, much of that research will be provided for you here.

There are several reasons why the Canon Pixma iP100 is one of the best portable laptop printers on the market. The biggest reason is quality. The iP100 has a 1,856-nozzle printhead. This fine detail leads to print resolution as high as 9600 × 2400 dots per inch. There is no other portable laptop printer that is capable of this. The speed is also pretty good. The iP100 can print up to 20 pages per minute black and 14 pages per minute color. A 4 × 6 borderless print will take 55 seconds, which is around the industry standard. As far as features go, the most important one is that it’s PictBridge-compatible. This will allow you to print directly from digital cameras and mobile phones. An optional BU-30 Bluetooth interface will also allow you to print wirelessly from a PC, PDA, or camera phone. If you want maximum portability, consider purchasing the optional car adapter and rechargeable battery kit. The iP100 uses a 5-color ink system and has an Auto Image Fix feature, which will adjust exposure, brightness, color, and contrast. The cost for a new unit ranges from $199 to $250.

If you’re willing to spend a little more money and want even more features for your portable laptop printer, look into the HP 470wbt OfficeJet Mobile Printer. Aside from price, the only area where the 470wbt can’t compete with the iP100 is quality. The 470wbt can reach resolution as high as 4800 dots per inch for color, which is still very good. For speed, it can print up to 22 pages per minute black and 18 pages per minute color. It has a 50-sheet foldable input tray, a manual duplexer, and a low-ink alert. The minimum print size is 3 × 4 inches and the maximum print size is 8.5 × 14 inches. Like the iP100, it’s also PictBridge-compatible. In addition to that, it comes with an AC cord, lithium ion battery, and cigarette lighter adapter. The cost for a new unit ranges from $279 to $425.

If you don’t choose to go with one of these models, there are still a few things about portable laptop printers you should be aware of. You want to stick with models that at least offer the industry standard in several categories. The following facts should help you with your search. The average print resolution for a portable laptop printer is 4800 × 1200 dots per inch. When it comes to speed, look for at least 15 pages per minute black and 14 pages per minute color. The average speed for a 4 × 6 borderless print is 55 seconds. As far as convenience goes, make sure whatever model you’re considering is PictBridge-compatible.

If you’re looking for superior quality and convenience, the two models listed above are by far and away the best portable laser printers to consider.