| Portable
Printers
Introduction
Portable printers are small, battery-powered printers designed for
computer users on the go. Barely wider than the paper on which they
print, portable printers can easily fit in a briefcase alongside
a notebook computer. These units can weigh about one pound, and
are capable of printing documents, envelopes or acetates.
This buying guide is designed to help you find the best portable
printer for your travels. You can choose to read this guide from
beginning to end, or jump directly to a section of interest by clicking
on the links above.
Types of Portables
Portable printers work in one of three ways. Thermal transfer printers
work much like a typewriter, using heat and pressure to transfer images
from a ribbon to the page. Ink-jet printers use small cartridges of
liquid ink, spraying very fine drops through a nozzle to create images.
Thermal
printers operate like older fax machines These models use heat-sensitive,
which is marked with a small heating device.
The main advantage
of thermal and thermal transfer printers is that they can be very
small. The smallest thermal printer weighs only 14 ounces, while
the smallest thermal transfer printer weighs only 1.1 pounds. In
contrast, ink-jet printers start at about 2.4 pounds.
On the other
hand, ink-jets generally produce much better output than thermal
transfer and thermal models. Ink-jets can produce decent images,
particularly if very smooth paper is used. Thermal transfer machines
often leave large horizontal bands on dark areas, while thermal
printers require a special type of paper.
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