How Portable Printing Works

Most of the electronic devices carried around by the public these days are all about making task accomplishment more portable. We all used to have to be indoors in a chair or at a desk to make a phone call, access the internet, listen to music, get email, etc. Now all those things can be taken wherever we happen to be.  This now also includes printing.

There are several different ways that portable printing can be accomplished. The most basic is the use of a laptop to connect to WiFi or even hardwire to a network. While this isn’t completely “portable” or “mobile” printing, the creation of the document or image is still on a portable device.Portable printer img

Another way to get printing done while on the move is the use of email-to-fax machine technology. One downside to that is that the connected fax machine may be far from the user and it could be that the printed material is needed at the place the user is working.

One solution for printing at the place it is needed is mobile printing using a truly mobile printer. There are products available that are hand-held, small devices that can print receipts, barcodes, QR codes, images and many other graphics and textual things.  These find use in restaurants (where payment can be made at the table), in retail establishments such as moveable kiosks or large floorplan shops, in warehouses and storage facilities, and many other places.  One such use, where the printing must be mobile, it the printing of traffic tickets by the police.

In order to make use of mobile printing technology, one must have a device that has the capability to produce the required content, a connection with a printer, and, of course a printer.  The device may be as big as a laptop, but these days can also be a tablet or even a mobile phone. The smaller devices may require the addition of an app or other added software to enable it to print. Tablets and phones don’t have the processing power to format a document and print them properly. There is specialised software available to download that can efficiently work from the handheld devices.  This kind of software processes the document data and puts the document or image into the proper format. The best providers also have an extensive list of drivers to enable print capability on specific printers.

Connection to the printer can be done in a few different ways, too. It is very often done via a local WiFi network. Bluetooth is another option, and there are also still some older devices around that use infrared.  Most devices have WiFi and Bluetooth capability built in, as do many normal printers. Mobile printers, of course, will have one or both of those technologies fully integrated into their systems.

It is usually fairly a simple task to a get wireless, portable printer working with all devices. Plug-and-play capability is widely used and applicable to these technologies. Most devices available today will discover available printers through WiFi or Bluetooth.  If there are a number of printers that might be used, it can get a bit tricky as each printer model will require a specific driver.

For those whose printing needs are very often mobile (such as point-of sale receipt printing or for hose who are often on the road), the small portable printers available can solve many problems. These printers can be small enough to go into a pocket or hung from a belt. They weigh very little and are battery powered. Whatever use to which you plan to put the system, discuss those needs with our customer support group and they will ensure your new printer is right for you. To see our full ranges, start at our Home page and see how we can help with Portable Printers.

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