Printing on the Road

I have an epson wf-2540 wireless printer that connects on my hotspot on my iPhone...works wonders...makes life easy out here..

 

I got a 2512 HP Deskjet and it has held up great for the last six month. It has not fallen out of the cabinet yet, but the frost heaves on the Alaska Highway are brutal. If you work of a cell phone get a printer that has blue tooth. That will save you messing with USB cords. I bought mine at Walmart and they had a two year free replacement plan for $5.00 that I got with it. I figured that was not much money for the warranty and Walmart is usually easy to find and has parking. Ink is not to expensive for the refill. The black is about $15.00 and had one refilled at Costco for about $10.00. I use mine almost everyday and would not want to be without one these days.

 

Epson workforce-630. Have one in the truck and one at home, exact same. Easy to carry extra ink. Connects to laptop via USB. Wifi (usa) through verizon data/hotspot. Canada internet - have a Telus internet card. Saves tons of money not paying for faxes. Reduces headaches considerably also. It also scans documents.

 

where did you get a bluetooth. cuz they don't seem to be around these parts. and what i can find on the net. is EXPENSIVE.

 

I don't have a blue tooth set up. I plug my cheap printer into my lap top. Just heard somebody mention Bluetooth, but maybe they misspoke and meant wireless. I am severely challenged when it comes to stuff like that. I go by the kiss principle and usually still struggle or figure out a way to screw it up. I just got an Iphone and people close to me are rolling on the floor laughing while watching me trying to make it work. Not feeling your fingertips and touch screens are a not a good combination, but provide a great source of entertainment for others watching me.

 

For any current inkjet printer, the vibration shouldn't be an issue. As long as you don't let the printer go bouncing around on the floor, it should be fine.

The big killer is dust. Every once in a while, blow the dust out of the printer, and then clean the feed rollers. Do this once a month or so, and it'll last.

While I'm not a fan of extended warranties/service policies, I do make an exception for things going into a truck. $5 is cheap piece of mind... provided you don't lose the paperwork!

 

I've got an Epson XP-300 multi (print/scan) that works well. Ink is more expensive than I like, and I print a lot, but for on the road it isn't bad (and Walmarts tend to stock the ink for it). Been looking at one of the compact laser multi's but my small 400W inverter might not be able to handle it.

 

A 400W inverter isn't going to handle a laser printer. You're going to need a 2000W+ true sine wave inverter to even hope to run a laser.

The problem is that a laser printer needs a huge surge of power when it starts to print. The main culprit is the heating elements in the fuser section. Most laser printers will blink the lights in the room when they start up.

 

I got a Canon MG3200 at a WalMart. Don't remember the price, but it was not expensive. It also works as a scanner, so it has saved me a ton of money by scanning and emailing what I had to fax in the past. It has wireless connectivity, but I don't use it. You can also get oversize capacity ink cartridges for it. I bought a plastic drawer type box for it, lined it with some foam padding, and it has not given me any trouble in the past year or so that I have had it, and used at least weekly.