Have you ever needed to print a photo or document in the car or away from home? If you run into this situation frequently, it might be time to grab a portable printer.
Not everybody needs a portable printer (some people don’t even have a printer in their house, let alone one that they can slip in a briefcase). But if you’re out in the field a lot for your job, and your job required printed documents like invoices or estimates, a good printer you can use right from the seat of your car or a client’s kitchen counter is invaluable.
Portable printers are more powerful and affordable than ever before. For the price of a regular, full-sized printer, you could buy a portable, battery-powered printer that’s about the size of a shoe box. Most portable printers are compatible with your cell phone, and some can even connect to the cloud, which makes it easy for you to print documents for work or school at the last minute.
But, like any other piece of technology, it’s hard to shop for the perfect portable printer. They all have different features and specifications that may be good for one person and bad for another. For example, if you need to print high-quality photos, then you don’t want to use a printer that has a low resolution. Luckily, most of the work’s been done for you. We’ve selected our favorite portable printers and figured out their strengths and shortcomings. Whether you need a cloud-compatible device or a dedicated mobile photo printer, we’ve got the right portable printer for you.
HP OfficeJet 250 Portable Printer ($280)
If you need a portable printer that can also scan documents, then you should take a look at the battery-powered HP OfficeJet 250. It features a 10-page document feeder, so you can easily process a large stack of papers or documents in the car or at a hotel. When you need to print a photo or document on the OfficeJet, you can do it via USB, Wi-Fi, or from your phone with the HP ePrint app. The OfficeJet prints documents at a resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi, which is a good resolution for business documents or schoolwork (but not really good enough for photo printing).
Really, this is a great all-around portable printer. It’s got the scanner, it’s got the app, and it can fit in your backpack. While the OfficeJet may not be your first choice for photo printing, it’s a great tool for scanning and printing documents on the go.
Epson WorkForce WF-100 Mobile Printer ($230)
