Top 5 Mini Printers
1 |
Canon Pixma mini320 Compact Photo Inkjet Printer (2172B002) |
  I’m very happy with the quality of the prints that come out of this little printer. I have a Canon MP560 (multi-function) as well and the quality is nearly if not as good. I set it up without being connected to a PC, and it was easy. The only concern I have is with the casing that it’s in. The plastic is thin and cheap. For being a ‘portable’ printer, you would think that they would build it to take at least a little abuse. |
|
2 |
Canon LK-62 Printer Portable Kit Battery & Attachment (2446B002) |
 I got this to make my iP100 printer even more portable. It works very well. However, because the optional Bluetooth dongle is worthless to me and I have to plug a printer cable in anyway, it’s not that much more difficult to plug the printer into an outlet. Pros: Good build quality. Simple to set up and use. Cons: Expensive. Not worth it because the Bluetooth dongle is a waste. |
|
3 |
HP OfficeJet H470 Mobile Printer |
 I think of myself as a fairly savvy PC user. However, I was amazed when at the end of the install, the install program reported that the H470 does NOT run with my Windows 7 operating system. I figured the install disk was old so I Googled and found the windows 7 drivers. Installed them, reconfigured the printer to use the new drivers – yet the printer did not respond to the test page. So deleted the printer, reinstalled the drivers, reinstalled the printer, and still to no avail. After 2 hours of effort, I finally gave up trying to install this on my current PC and installed the drivers on an old XP laptop. The printer still would not print a test page. How frustrating! It’s going back to the store. |
|
4 |
Canon PIXMA iP100 Mobile Photo Printer |
 As another reviewer noted the printer does not come with a case. The CaseMate Glovez 15″ case is no longer available, but the Case Logic MacBook Pro 15″ sleeve fits the Ip100 perfectly (with room for the optional battery to be attached) and has an outside zipped pocket that accommodates the power adaptor and an USB cable…perfect fit! |
|
5 |
Polaroid CZA-10011B PoGo Instant Mobile Printer (Black) |
 I bought two and received them today, and they are both missing the wire that goes from the AC adapter block to the wall. It’s one of those oblong oval plugs with two holes in it and a notch on the outer plastic. but, once it was working my initial opinion is this little printer is awesome. It took me all of 60 seconds to get it up and running and to get my blackberry to connect via bluetooth and print a picture. Amazing. It’s very small, much smaller than I had thought. It is about 4.5 x 2.75″ on the face and the height is about .8 inches. The pictures print very very quickly, considering. I purchased two so that I have can two working at my wedding printing out pictures for guests to paste into my guestbook with a nice message!! I’m on the phone now with polaroid and they are going to send me cords once they verify my receipt. yay. |
Mini Printers: Why They Are So Great, And What To Look For
The mini printer is a convenient upgrade of the already convenient wave of at home printers. When computers began to be produced for people to own in their homes (rather than just in research facilities and government agencies, such as NASA), the average consumer suddenly had a whole new world open up to them. Computers with word processors and, yes, printers, let people type up, edit, and save documents, rather than type them out one time (errors and all) on a typewriter.
The printer is an important part of this convenience, and with the advent of smaller and more portable computers, it is only natural that printers would become smaller and more portable as well. Hence, the mini printer.
These printers are not super-tiny, in that they must be at least the width of a sheet of paper (generally 8 inches by 12 inches for most office and printing documents). But besides that constraint, the modern mini printer is more convenient, lighter, and easier to transport that the large, clunky, desk space-hogging printers that were produced even a few years ago.
Of course, the advantage of the larger, bulkier printers is that they come with a great many functions (or at least they should, to justify the size). Large printers will often include faxing, scanning, and copying functions as well.
But the small, portable printers are intended for another purpose. That is to simply give you the option of printing out documents whenever, and wherever, you need to. Modern, convenient portable printers will attach to your mini laptop (or desktop) via USB cable. All you need to do is make sure you have the correct driver installed to allow your computer and printer to ‘talk’ to one another, and voila- you can print things out right at your business meeting, or even in the coffee shop!
This convenience is the number one reason that people are flocking to these smaller, lighter mini printers. But they have a lot more going for them. Because they are portable, they are smaller, meaning that even in at-home use, they take up less space. They’re easy to store on a shelf and just pull out when you need them. And because they use less materials (and are simpler in their functions), they often cost less, as well.
Mini Printers Make Home Businesses Even Better
If you work from home but aren’t sure exactly what sorts of office equipment are best suited to your needs, then one thing you should make sure you look into is a mini printer. Many people who do freelance work, or who run a whole business from their home, have trouble finding exactly which equipment is right for them. They need more functionality and options than standard personal office equipment. But they don’t have the space or budget (or often, even the need) to buy the large, industrial or business grade equipment like you would find in a large office.
The mini printer makes a lot of sense for these folks for a number of reasons. The biggest reason of all is that it is portable and easy to use. Because small business owners often meet at cafes, coffee shops, or restaurants to have business meetings with clients (or, in the case of freelancers, just to get some work done), the portable printer is especially ideal.
Imagine meeting with a client or potential client, discussing an upcoming business deal or sealing the deal that they will go with your company. You can print out information (or even a contract) for them, right on the spot, because the small and portable printer hooks up easily to your laptop with a simple USB cord.
Or say you are going to the post office to mail some invoices and realize you forgot to print one for one of your highest-spending customers. Just pull the mini printer out of your trunk, hook it up to your touch tablet, print the invoice, and mail your bills promptly, without having to back track or delay the mailing.
In the case of many home businesses, you will find that the mini printer works very well on its own, but may be even better when used as a ‘travel’ printer, in addition to the larger printer you keep in your home office. Larger, more heavy duty printers often fulfill multiple functions. They can print, scan, photocopy, and fax, making them ideal for a home business, but they are also larger. This makes the small, portable printer a perfect complement to your main printer, for those times you need to print but aren’t at your office.