Hands on: Planon PrintStik PS910
Mon Aug 25, 2008 11:05PM EDT
See Comments (4)
One of the biggest annoyances about traveling is having to physically check-in at the airport on the way back from your trip. Why? Because you can't print out your boarding pass in your hotel room. (Pay to use the business center? Ugh.)
Enter the portable printer.
Now portable printers have been around for many years, but rarely have they been either very portable or very good at printing. Planon's PrintStik isn't laser-class (like most of these devices, it uses special thermal paper and can often look like a jittery old fax printout), but it's good enough for a quick print on the road, especially the occasional airplane boarding pass.
At just 1 pound, 0.6 ounces and measuring 10.75 inches wide, 1.9 inches tall, and 1 inch thick, the PrintStik PS910 is the smallest full-page printer I've ever tested. Design is sturdy: It's mostly built out of metal, and a cartridge gets you 20 full-page prints at a max speed of 3 pages per minute. And while resolution is just 200 x 200 dots per inch (the competing Pentax PocketJet 3 Plus gets you 300 x 300 dpi), the printer includes both USB and Bluetooth connectivity, and the battery can recharge whenever it's plugged in. Drivers are included for Windows computers and the BlackBerry, so you can get a hard copy of anything without even cracking your computer or plugging in a single cable.
The best feature of the PrintStik, however, is its price. Competing printers can run up to $450, while the PrintStik PS910 is just $300. One big advantage over other similar products: A lithium-ion battery (rechargeable via USB or wall power, both adapters are included) is used instead of the old-school NiMH cell.
PrintStik isn't without its flaws, mind you. I was never able to cleanly tear off a printed page without ripping it, and the manual is written in some of the worst pidgin English I've seen in years. (Even the reviewers' guide is nearly illiterate.) Still, I had relatively few problems figuring out how to install the driver on my own and get pages to start printing, so I figure PrintStik is likely intuitive enough for even novice users.
If you're considering a mobile printer, check it out.
LINK: Planon PrintStik
Top 5 Posts
More About Printers
Comments on Hands on: Planon PrintStik PS910
Post a Comment
Join in the discussion. Here you'll see the comments in the order they were posted.
-
2 Posted by rogueist on Thu Sep 3, 2009 8:49PM EDT Report Abuse
There are other portable printers that will print on an actual piece of real paper that may be better suited for this. There is a lot of discussion on this matter since so many people are using FAXed thermal paper boarding passes, which is actually causing issues at airports, especially during the summer months. They may not allow this soon if the FAX is not on normal paper.
-
3 Posted by fromandrewvanbeek on Thu Sep 3, 2009 4:03PM EDT Report Abuse
I WANT ONE!
-
4 Posted by damian.bunko on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:34PM EDT Report Abuse
I wonder ,if it's portable?
Sponsored Links
My Tech
Please enable your browser's cookies to activate the My Tech column.
Also on Yahoo! Tech
| Computers | Home Office | Wi-Fi & Networking | Phones & PDAs | Cameras & Camcorders | TV & Home Theater | Portable Audio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 Posted by bbelford62 on Thu Sep 3, 2009 3:03PM EDT Report Abuse
I find that I can always walk right up to the kiosk, place my credit card in the slot, and presto! The technologically challenged stand in line, wishing they knew this magical trick. BTW, some hotel desks, if you give them your confirmation number, and they are between rushes, will gladly print it for you. I don't think I'll buy a portable printer just for this application. There may be other times when a portable printer is essential though.