Small Portable Printers
If you're looking for a small portable printer you've come to the right place. If you travel a lot a portable printer might be just the thing you need. Despite the fact that more and more hotels offer business centers and there are now online printing services available, the convenience of being able to print whenever and wherever you happen to be is always preferable.
Portable printer functionality
What kind of documents will you be printing? If you will be printing a variety of documents an all-purpose printer such as HP Deskjet 450 or Canon Pixma IP90 would fit the bit well. They both print black and white and color graphics and text on standard letter sized paper. They also offer decent photo output on photo paper.
If you're just printing small photos then a portable photo printer might be more suitable. They are considerably smaller and lighter than all-purpose printers but can only print on standard 6x4 photo paper.
Portable printer sizes and weights
However we dress it up a portable printer will be a reasonably heavy addition to your luggage. The lightest we've seen are around 3.5 pounds in weight (including battery) and go up to almost 5 pounds for some all-purpose printers. Make sure you are checking weights with the battery included as these can add an additional pound of weight to the overall package.
Sizes are a bit better. The smallest photo printers are now the size of a paperback, and even the biggest all-purpose models are only 12x6x4 inches or so in diameter so you should have no trouble finding space for them on your travels.
Portable printer prices
The good news is that prices are coming down all the time, the bad news is that like all electrical equipment if you buy one today you'll undoubtedly find a cheaper and smaller model in 6 months time. The cheapest photo printers start at about $100 bucks before discounts, and run all the way up to $500 or so for a top of the range model.