Issue #0812/2 - Despite our appetite for all things small and portable, when it comes to A4 office printers, portability is something that does not tend to find a major place in the armoury. Portable printers are few and far between and are pricey in comparison to their desktop companions. Canon and Hewlett-Packard’s latest new models, PIXMA iP100 and Officejet H470 respectively, are small, fast and capable of printing borderless photos at A4. We check out the needs of the travelling businessman and compare the two devices.
Portable printers are not for everyone. For a start, as suggested, they are pricey because of the special design and miniaturisation that goes into making them small but durable enough to do the job asked of them. Secondly, instances where they are the individual’s main printer will be rare, meaning that volumes sold may be relatively low. In most cases they will supplement rather than replace a home or office desktop printer (whether laser or inkjet), fulfilling the essential away-from-base requirements of a road-warrior (e.g. out-bound salesperson).
As such, they are an essential piece of equipment to the few with a specific need. But, to anyone else, they would be a luxury.
There have been occasions when I have needed, and used, a printer while away from the office. For me though, the availability of a copy function is just as important as a print function. So, I have taken an AiO with me and powered it from a power inverter in the car. This is a solution that works very, very well – but it does require the right type of AiO to make it work effectively.
By this I mainly mean that it must be a compact device with simple maintenance demands. For instance, there would be no attraction in taking a Canon MP610 away on a business trip because it is just too big and heavy. Similarly, I would not wish to take a Lexmark because I wouldn’t trust it not to fall to pieces.
My preference is for the Brother DCP series and the box-like PSC series from Hewlett-Packard, both of which I have used very effectively as mobile AiOs. There is little more impressive than to be able to offer your business associate or customer a copy of a signed document or to print out a contract on the spot.
Either of these devices mentioned are perfect for the job because they offer basic but reliable functionality in a convenient package that can easily be stowed in a car yet pulled into service at a moment’s notice (a protective case would be handy!). In the case of the Brother, the large LC1000 ink tanks need changing very infrequently, and are very simple and quick to change, while the simplicity of the Hewlett-Packard integrated cartridges ensures easy maintenance.
Needless to say, this solution can save days in terms of postage time-scales where document signatures are required and has saved me hundreds of pounds in potentially lost income.
Ideally, a mobile AiO solution would bring everything together in one small, compact package. The trouble is that the scanner unit on a device defines the size of the product. Only by using a roll-feed scanner could the unit size be kept to little more than the size of these mobile printers – and that might compromise the paper feed mechanism.
So, these single function mobile printers are the order of the day.
Hewlett PackardOfficejet H470
It is extremely interesting and significant that Hewlett-Packard has placed its new model into the ‘Officejet’ family, while Canon appears to be positioning the iP100 as a portable photo printer (or perhaps it just looks better in marketing literature if it is photographed with an image appearing at the front!).
Both are fast machines, the iP100 is rated at 20ppm draft mono and the H470 at 22ppm. Colour draft print speeds are 14ppm and 18ppm respectively, so both are more then adequate for document printing. In addition, Canon claims a 50-second photo print speed whereas there is no quoted photo print speed for the Officejet.
Where specification is concerned, the two printers are almost identical, each sporting a 50-sheet paper feed, manual duplex and borderless printing capability, USB 2.0 and PictBridge interfaces and with Bluetooth, battery and vehicle power supply units as optional extras. There are, of course, models in the range that include these options.
Canon iP100Canon’s iP100 uses cartridges that are less than half the yield of the H470, although still fairly impressive for a mobile printer. These are the PGI-35 black (191 pages per cartridge) and the CLI-36 colour (249 pages per cartridge).
|
Germany (€) Mobile printer |
Street Price Duty Cycle |
Print Speed (draft mode) |
Nominal CPP |
Mixed mono/colour CPP over 3 years |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canon iP100 |
€249 Not quoted |
Mono Colour |
20 ppm 14 ppm |
5.23 cents 11.65 cents |
10.05 cents |
|
Hewlett-Packard Officejet H470 |
€225 500 pages |
Mono Colour |
22 ppm 18 ppm |
3.23 cents 8.64 cents |
7.52 cents |
Note that for this level of machine, the mixed mono/colour CPP over three years shown in the accompanying table is calculated on the basis of 250 pages per month; 70% pages in mono and 30% pages in colour; is based on the use of maximum capacity supplies; takes into account any standard, or starter, supplies shipped with the device; and also includes the cost of purchase. All prices are manufacturer’s recommended prices without tax.
So, the H470 is living up to the Officejet reputation and offering a significantly lower cost of printing than its competition. By the time a three-year period of ownership is taken into account, the Hewlett-Packard Officejet H470 will have cost 25% less than the iP100 – a massive saving! The only potential problem could be its slightly larger size in ultra-mobility applications.
~End~
