What is a Portable Printer?
A portable printer is a small, lightweight device that makes it easy to print documents and images on the road or when not occupying a desk. It can print straight from memory cards and digital cameras and connects to laptops, tablets, and smartphones via USB, Bluetooth, or Wi-Fi. A portable printer, which typically uses thermal printing instead of ink cartridges, is small, inexpensive, and mess-free. Business professionals, traveling entrepreneurs, offices, schools, and students use it.
The top portable printers enable you to print from anywhere, whether on a business trip or on a beach. They’re enjoyable to use, as you can easily tuck one into a laptop bag or backpack, allowing you to print photos or documents anytime and anywhere. With Wi-Fi connectivity and often a battery option, these mobile printers provide the freedom to print even when you’re away from an electrical outlet.
Most portable printers are compact, weighing less than 5 pounds. Many come equipped with rechargeable batteries and car chargers, making them ideal for use on the go. Despite their small size, numerous portable models still offer full-page printing with the familiar inkjet technology. Additionally, many include scanning and copying capabilities, providing full functionality even when you’re away from the office.
Some models enhance portability by utilizing innovative technologies, such as black-and-white thermal printing, or by transferring certain functions, like document scanning and copying, to another device, like a smartphone. Regardless of the method, the result remains the same: the ability to print on the go, wherever you are.
The 4 benefits of a portable printer are listed below.
- saves time because they print quickly.
- Because it is lightweight and compact, it is easy to carry.
- Easy to use and suitable with various gadgets, including cameras and smartphones.
- Quality printing of various media types on usual printing paper, photo paper, and even label
How to choose the Best Printer
When choosing a portable printer, consider several key factors, including how you plan to use the printer, your document printing needs, and the level of portability that best suits your circumstances.
Printing Needs- Do you need color printing or photo printing capabilities? All the printers mentioned above are inkjet models, except for the Brother PocketJet 773, a direct thermal printer that prints only in black-and-white. The HP OfficeJet 250 is the only model with an automatic document feeder for copying and scanning.
Portability- Portability largely depends on size and weight. The HP Tango X is the largest of the group, measuring 15.3 x 24.4 x 10.2 inches (W x D x H) when printing and weighing 7.5 pounds. In contrast, the Brother PocketJet 773 is a slim, bar-shaped printer weighing only one pound. With dimensions of just 10 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches (W x D x H), it is unobtrusive and unlikely to be in the way, even in tight spaces like a car.
Battery- Most of these printers also offer optional batteries, allowing you to print even without access to an outlet. These accessories must be purchased separately, so plan your purchase accordingly. Additionally, many of these printers have car-charging options, making them ideal for use in a vehicle during sales calls or printing on a road trip.
Function- Most portable models are single-function printers, too small to include a flatbed scanner for copying and scanning. However, the HP OfficeJet 250 can scan and copy, featuring a partial lid that folds forward to reveal a slender automatic document feeder. Additionally, the HP Tango X offers “copy” and “scan” functions via the HP Smart app on a smartphone. This involves using your phone to take a picture (or “scan”) of a document and then print it (“copy,” in HP Smart terms). However, as detailed in our full review of the HP Tango X, the results were sub-par.
Price To help you find the right mobile printer, we evaluated a range of models and selected five that best represent the available variety. The printers we reviewed are priced from $200 to nearly $500, including accessories like batteries. Prices in this article include a battery, sometimes as part of a kit, except for the HP Tango X, which does not offer a battery option.
- Brother PocketJet PJ-773- Thermal technology gives this portable printer a sharp and competitive advantage.
Specifications:
Printer Type: Direct thermal features:
PrintDisplay: NoneInk: N/A (Uses thermal paper)
Connectivity: USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi DirectCost per page: 10.3 cents (black only)
Travel Size (W x D x H): 10 x 2.2 x 1.2 inches travel Weight (with battery): 1.1 poundsBattery life: 600 pages
| Pros | Cons |
| Durable, compact design | Limited to black-and-white printing with limited graphics capability |
| Compatible with continuous paper roll | Printing speed is slow |
| Many accessory options | Thermal paper is expensive |
By employing inkless thermal print technology, which uses fewer moving parts, Brother has downsized this portable printer to the dimensions of a small baguette. Additionally, the only consumable required is the special thermal paper, making this pocket-sized device ideal for travel or for carrying on a plane.
The printer includes a power adapter and battery pack for use anywhere, and while it features built-in Wi-Fi, it doesn’t rely on network availability thanks to Wi-Fi Direct and a mini USB port. It prints quickly, producing black and white pages with sharp, detailed quality comparable to any laser printer.
This printer is excellent for printing text. However, for complex graphics and vivid, color-accurate photos, other options should be considered.
The Brother PocketJet 773 provides a convenient way to print documents in an exceptionally compact form. It is the smallest and lightest printer in this collection. As a direct thermal printer, it prints only in black-and-white and requires special thermal-reactive paper instead of standard printer paper, and it does not print on photo papers. Since it doesn’t use ink cartridges, you don’t need to worry about running out of ink.
Designed for various settings, including use in a police patrol car (with an available vehicle mount), the PocketJet 773 can handle roll paper, fan-folded paper, and individual sheets. Available accessories include rugged cases for roll and fan-fold paper, as well as a cigarette lighter adapter.
The PocketJet 773 produces text documents from a PC with dark letterforms and sharp edges, though some text appears lumpy around the edges, reminiscent of a dot-matrix printer. Text quality also suffers when printing from an iPhone. Graphics (converted to black-and-white) appear very pixelated, with noticeable banding and flat black shadows. Occasionally, the PocketJet prints pages crooked or incorrectly cropped, likely due to feeding a new sheet too quickly after the previous one (requiring one sheet to be fed at a time).
The PocketJet 773 prints more slowly than the mobile inkjet printers we tested, taking the longest time to print a five-page text document (1:02) and a six-page mixed text and graphics PDF (3:46), despite printing in black-and-white while the inkjets printed in color.
Going mobile isn’t cheap. A battery for the PocketJet 773 costs $123.99. Be cautious when purchasing the printer online, as it is typically sold without the power cable or battery needed to operate it.
Paper is also expensive. Direct thermal printers require speciality thermal paper, which costs $13.99 for a hundred sheets, or 14 cents per page. However, there are more economical options if you don’t mind curling or folding paper. A 600-sheet continuous roll of thermal paper reduces printing costs to 10.3 cents per page, and fanfold paper costs 9.5 cents per page. In comparison, desktop inkjet printers offer lower costs per text page, averaging 7.7 cents with standard cartridges and 5.9 cents with high-yield cartridges.
Although the PocketJet 773 is a costly compact thermal printer, it is a good choice if you need a durable and unobtrusive printer for generating necessary documents on the go without the worry of running out of ink.
- Canon Pixma TR 150- Inkjet-quality clarity on the go
Specifications
Category: Portable colour inkjet printer
| Dimensions | 7.3X12.7 X 2.6 inches |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi |
| Printing Technology | Inkjet |
Print speed: 9ppm
Paper sizes: up to A4
Paper capacity: 50 sheets
Weight: 4.6lb / 2.1kg
| Pros | Cons |
| Compact design | Small, monochrome OLED display |
| Low-Cost Inks | Battery not included |
| Attractive photo prints | Expensive cartridges |
| Optional battery pack | |
| Responsive control panel buttons |
The Canon Pixma TR150 is a compact inkjet printer that’s small enough to fit in a backpack while delivering excellent document and photo printing. Featuring a two-cartridge ink system, it can handle text documents, graphics, and glossy photos efficiently. Although it lacks copy and scan capabilities, its $199 price tag makes it an economical choice.
An optional battery allows for usage away from a wall outlet, enhancing its portability. Even without the battery, the Canon Pixma TR150 stands out as one of the most portable and travel-friendly printers available. It weighs less than the HP OfficeJet 250 and offers a more affordable print-only option.
The Pixma TR150 measures a compact 12.7 x 7.3 x 2.6 inches when closed and weighs just 4.5 pounds (5.1 pounds with the optional battery attached). It expands to accommodate a 50-page paper tray, a basic control panel, and ample connectivity options, though it lacks a card slot.
It also boasts excellent print speeds, producing a five-page document in 38.7 seconds or 7.8 pages per minute (ppm).
Along with its exceptional mobility, the portable Pixma TR150 excels in producing high-quality photos faster than other competing portable printers, delivering excellent color and detail. It can handle larger photo prints; however, it lacks copy and scan capabilities, unlike some of our preferred photo printers. Despite this, the TR150 is a robustly built portable printer with an optional battery and support for Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant voice controls. Its standout features include superb photo quality and low ink costs.
Canon has successfully miniaturized this full-color inkjet printer to a size that fits easily into a briefcase without sacrificing print quality. Key features include Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi Direct connectivity, an OLED screen, and the ability to store custom templates, which can be useful for regularly printing business forms.
It can be powered from any live USB port, such as those found in cars, and an optional rechargeable battery is available. The TR150 is compatible with AirPrint and Google Cloud Print, making mobile printing effortless.
Setting up the TR150 is straightforward. Start by lifting the lid and installing the print head, then download the software online or use the installation disc provided. The online setup is quick; simply use your phone to scan the included QR code to launch the installation process.
Canon PIXMA TR150 Price
The Canon PIXMA TR150 is priced at $190.40.
- Epson WorkForce EC-C110- The optimal portable printer for business
Specifications
Printer Type: Inkjet
Features: Print
Display: 1.4-inch color LCD
Ink: Two cartridges (black & tri-color)
Connectivity: Wireless, Wi-Fi Direct
Cost per page: 8.8 cents (black), 17.8 cents (color)
Travel Size (W x D x H): 12.2 x 6.3 x 2.4 inches
Travel Weight (with battery): 3.5 pounds
Battery life: 100 black-and-white pages / 50 color pages
| Pros | Cons |
| High image quality | Short battery life |
| Color LCD eases operation | Print speeds are below average |
| Below average color cost per page | Slow photo printing from iOS |
Among the four models equipped with a battery, the Epson WorkForce EC-C110 is the most affordable. Marketed under the WorkForce brand, this mobile printer is ideal for business users and is the lightest inkjet model, weighing just 3.5 pounds.
To use it, lift the lid and lean it back to serve as the 20-sheet input tray. This action reveals a small, 1.4-inch color LCD and four-way control buttons. Prints are dispensed through a slot on the front panel. The LCD and buttons allow you to change settings, configure Wi-Fi, and confirm the paper size each time you load paper.
The EC-C110’s print speeds are below average. Text printed at 5.8 ppm, compared to the average of 6.9 ppm. On battery power, text printing slowed significantly to 3.4 ppm. Printing a six-page PDF with mixed text and color graphics took 3:16 (1.8 ppm), slower than any other inkjet in this roundup, where the average speed was 2.4 ppm.
The EC-C110 printed a photo from a PC via USB at default settings in 1:11. Printing at high resolution slowed it to 3:59. Over Wi-Fi Direct at high-quality settings from an iPhone, it was very slow, taking 5:28 to print one photo, and almost 7 minutes for a second snapshot.
Despite the slow speeds, print quality was high. The text appeared dark and sharp, although letter edges looked slightly rough up close. Color graphics had natural-looking colors and sharp details, and glossy photos were very attractive.
Cost per page is better than the average for portable printers, with estimated costs of 8.8 cents for text and 17.8 cents for color.
There was a glitch when printing 4 x 6-inch photos from a Windows 10 PC, with an error message in the print driver stating, “photo doesn’t fit on selected paper.” Changing the default paper size to 4 x 6 in the Windows 10 printing preferences resolved the issue.
When printing from an iPhone, the EC-C110 sometimes dropped the Wi-Fi Direct connection before finishing the print job. Resetting the connection and re-entering the password usually fixed this issue.
Cloud printing might not always be seamless. The Epson iOS app reflowed text in.doc files opened from Box, the online storage service, turning a five-page document into a seven-page reflow unsuitable for a business meeting.
- HP OfficeJet 250- The top choice for a portable printer overall
Specifications
Printer Type: Inkjet
Features: Print, copy, scan
Display: 2.6-inch color touchscreen
Ink: Two cartridges (black & tri-color)
Connectivity: USB 2.0, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct
Cost per page: 9 cents (black), 23 cents (color)
Cost per page (high-yield): 6.7 cents (black), 17.3 (color)
Travel Size (W x D x H): 15 x 7.8 x 3.6
Travel Weight (with battery): 6.7 pounds
Battery life: 225 pages
| Pros | Cons |
| Automatic document feeder | Battery life could be better |
| Fast printing, scanning and copying | Relatively large and heavy for a portable printer |
| High-yield cartridges lower color page costs |
The HP OfficeJet 250 excels in portable printing, delivering fast copying and scanning, along with swift print speeds and high image quality. Though it comes at a higher price point, it packs numerous features and impressive performance into a compact design. One standout feature is the large 2.6-inch color touch screen, ensuring easy operation.
Additionally, it includes a 10-page automatic document feeder for copying and scanning, a unique offering among portable printers we’ve tested. Instead of a flatbed scanner, the OfficeJet 250 pulls paper through its body for these functions. While scans occasionally came out crooked, and the 60-degree paper path bend raised concerns about potential photodamage, the convenience of having scanning and copying capabilities on the go outweighs these minor drawbacks.
The OfficeJet 250 excels in printing speed, producing text from a PC at 9 ppm and 7 ppm on battery power. It also quickly printed a six-page PDF of text and color graphics in 1:57, compared to the average of 2:27. Photo printing was notably fast, with a 4 x 6-inch glossy photo printed in just 37.6 seconds at default settings and just under 50 seconds at high-quality settings. Its closest competitor, the HP Tango X, took 1:15. The OfficeJet 250 also proved to be the fastest when printing from an iPhone, completing a photo print in 42.9 seconds.
Copy and scan speeds were impressive as well, making a color copy in 19.5 seconds compared to the desktop inkjet average of 28.7 seconds. It produced a black-and-white copy in 13.1 seconds, versus the 16-second desktop average. The OfficeJet completed a 600 dpi color scan to JPEG in 1 minute and 21 seconds, and a 300 dpi black-and-white scan to PDF in 20.1 seconds, while desktop models averaged 11 seconds.
Best of all, the speed didn’t compromise image quality. The high-quality photo prints featured rich, well-saturated colors, smooth midtone transitions, and fine details. Text documents had sharp, dark letterforms and edges, while graphics on plain paper were equally impressive. Document scans were accurate, with only slight sharpness loss on text edges, and photo scans had accurate colors and ample detail.
The HP OfficeJet 250 supports mobile and cloud printing, though there are some quirks. The HP Smart iPhone app had issues, turning a five-page .doc file into a four-page document and reformatting a .docx version into six pages. Photos printed from Box cloud storage were incomplete, with only about two-thirds of the image printed and the rest of the paper left blank.
Ink costs for text document printing are average for portable printers at 9 cents per page. However, color pages are more expensive at 23 cents each with standard cartridges. High-yield cartridges reduce this to 17.3 cents per page, still higher than the Canon iP110’s 15.5 cents per color page with standard cartridges. Savings are possible with HP Instant Ink, a subscription service for ink refills by mail.
- Epson Workforce WF-110- Portable printer featuring precise inkjet technology
Specifications
Category: colour portable inkjet printer
Print speed: 7ppm
Paper sizes: A4
Paper capacity: 1 sheet
Weight: 3.5lb / 1.6kg
| Pros | Cons |
| Charges over USB | Expensive cartridges |
| Hi-res print quality | No auto duplex |
Epson has managed to condense all the components of a color inkjet printer into a size small enough to fit in a briefcase, and possibly even a handbag. It uses four smaller-than-usual ink cartridges to produce prints up to A4 size with a crisp and vibrant 5,760 x 1,440 dpi resolution. The plastic casing is textured for grip and unfolds to become the paper input tray, which can hold up to twenty sheets of plain paper.
The printer has a top speed of 7 ppm, and it uses pigment ink instead of dye ink, providing more smudge-resistant pages.
The lithium-ion battery can be quickly charged with the included charger or by connecting the supplied USB cable to any powered USB port. While it doesn’t print quickly and lacks an auto-duplex mode, it offers excellent quality for mobile printing.
- HP OfficeJet 200 Mobile Printer- Compact inkjet printer for mobile color printing
Specifications
Category: portable colour inkjet printer
Print speed: 10ppm
Paper sizes: up to A4
Paper capacity: 50 sheets
Weight: 4.6lb / 2.1kg
| Pros | Cons |
| Small enough to fit in a briefcase | No auto duplex |
| Battery powered | Expensive ink |
HP has successfully miniaturized the inkjet printer to the size of a cigar box while incorporating a battery compartment. The result is a highly portable device capable of producing crisp color documents at a speed of 10 pages per minute in monochrome or 7 pages per minute in color.
This portable printer features a 50-sheet paper capacity that can accommodate letter-width sheets, with a monthly duty cycle of up to 300 pages. While it lacks a duplex mode, it supports envelopes, photo paper, and paper sizes up to A4.
Equipped with Wi-Fi Direct and a USB port, you can print from anywhere using this innovative device. However, note that the OfficeJet 200 does not include a USB cable, so you’ll need one for printing via USB connectivity.
- Fujifilm Instax Link WIDE- Portable printer for printing full-size instant photos from smartphones
Specifications
Category: Portable instant printer
Print speed: 2ppm
Paper sizes: 86 x 108mm
Paper capacity: 10 sheets
Weight: 0.75lb / 0.34kg
| Pros | Cons |
| Strong glossy print quality | Expensive photo film |
| Simple and fun to use | Slow to print |
This compact printer transforms your smartphone into an instant camera, offering superior print quality using Kodak’s updated instant film technology. Instead of ink cartridges, imprints are heat-seared onto special photo paper, eliminating ink costs and simplifying the printer for enhanced portability with battery power.
To print, you’ll need to purchase packs of Instax film rather than traditional paper, which can be pricey. However, Fujifilm’s new wide format delivers photos of decent size with excellent full-color quality.
The printer connects via Bluetooth 4.2 to other devices. While there’s a micro USB port for charging, it’s solely for that purpose. For printing, you’ll need the Instax Link Wide app on iOS or Android, even though the printer can connect to a computer.
- HP Sprocket Studio- Portable printer for instant full-size smartphone photos
Specifications
Category: colour 3-in-1 inkjet printer
Print speed: 2ppmPaper sizes: 10x15cm
Paper capacity: 1 sheet
Weight: 1.8lb / 0.8kg
| Pros | Cons |
| Vivid colours | Expensive consumables |
| x3 Bluetooth users | Not pocket-sized |
- Brother Pocketjet 763 MFi Portable Printer- A portable printer compatible with Apple devices
Specifications
Category: portable thermal mono printer
Print speed: 16ppmPaper sizes: up to A4
Paper capacity: 100 sheets
Weight: 14.6lb / 6.6kg
| Pros | Cons |
| Small and solid | Mono only |
| Prints up to A4 | Expensive paper |
This highly compact portable printer fits snugly into a jacket pocket yet supports A4-sized paper printing using thermal imprinting instead of ink, reducing the need for consumables. Powered by batteries, it exclusively uses special thermal paper.
What sets this model apart from typical portable printers is its MFi (Made For iPhone) compatibility, which facilitates seamless Bluetooth syncing with Mac and iOS devices. With a battery life capable of 100 prints and no ink constraints, printing from anywhere is effortless with this durable and extremely portable device.
While it connects to computers and smartphones via USB or Bluetooth, it lacks Wi-Fi connectivity, meaning it doesn’t support Apple AirPrint, Google Cloud Print, Mopria, and similar Wi-Fi-dependent features.
