Polaroid’s cool PoGo has made portable printers fashionable again. You can
instantly see the appeal of such devices, particularly at parties when hard
evidence of drink-induced misbehaviour is required.
But what about the business environment? A few weeks ago I came out of a
conference and realised I needed to check in online for my flight and print
out a boarding pass. Cue much gnashing of teeth as I tried to get the
conference hotel to give me access to a computer with a working printer
attached.
Oh to have a printer I could have slid out of my pocket. The PrintStik PS910
is one such device.
The PS910 is really dinky. Incredibly, the thermal paper rolls fit within the
body of the printer. It comes in a sleek case and is small enough to slide
into a moderate-sized coat pocket or at the bottom of a briefcase. The case
is particularly useful to avoid damage to the printer’s brushed metal and
matt black exterior.
Apart from its slim profile, the PS910’s other killer feature is its
Bluetooth, allowing you to connect the printer without the need to resort to
a (provided) USB cable. The company also has written drivers for BlackBerry
and Windows Mobile devices as well as PCs, meaning you can print out
attachments from your email on the road.
To achieve its portability, the PrintStik uses thermal printing technology.
This also means that it uses very few moving parts, making it robust for a
life on the road.
The spec
Dimensions 25 x 273 x 50mm. Weight 0.68kg. Maximum resolution 200x400dpi.
Print speed up to 3 pages per minute. 20 pages per paper roll.
The hype
They say: Print what you need, when you need it, with the convenience that you
have always wanted.
The reality
We say: Not exactly. The output is mono and isn’t suitable for some purposes
that require a clear output. It is convenient, though, if you need to print
out short reports or correspondence.
The bottom line
$309 from PlanOn.
Replacement paper rolls, $60 for three.
The verdict
On my key test – the ability to print out a DIY boarding pass – the PS910
failed. The slightly fuzzy output this gives took me right back to the 1980s
when I had a thermal printer for my Commodore 64. The barcode could not be
properly scanned. For other, less critical printing applications, it proved
a handy, if slow, companion. The price of paper could be a deal-breaker for
some.
The roadwarrior rating
5 out of 10
