A printer in a home office in a mobile home is a good idea, working from home on the move. On a holiday, taking photos, printing.
At a writing convference, the venue's printer broke. People wanted to run of twenty copies of a poem or course note handouts for meetings. One man had a printer in his van and printed off his own handouts. His friends found out and asked him to oblige. Others joined in clamouring for help. He then had to ask for money to reinmburse the spiralling cost of the ink and paper. We all realised he had a potential business opportunity, not at that venue, which would have banned any commercial enterprise.
However, for one's own use, it is a great idea for travellers.
I saw a small printer in use recently, for printing the meeting programme at a Toastmasters Speakers meeting. Normally, the committee member would print copies out at home, or work, working from home, but sometimes this would be wasteful as more copies were printed than needed. If too many people came to the meeting, the audience had to share.
On this occasion the committee member had travelled several miles to visit his elderly mother, at home or in a care home. He had bought the portable printer second hand on ebay to print items for her. Correspondence.
Since he was travelling, he had no time to print the programmes. When we went for coffee in another room, he did not want to leave it unattended because of the possibility of theft, or unathorised use, or somebody thinking it belonged to the building and moving it. It was light to carry and not to bulldy. So he had the choice of carrying it with him or locking it in his car boot.
I thought this was a great idea.
Children's Prizes & Certificates
Later, I saw my grand-daughter being presented with a certificate or badge for various activites, first at classes near home for swimming alone for the first time. Then at a Club Med on holiday overseas. skiing alone for the first time, partaking in fancy dress, posing like a model to have her while ouphoto taken with mother.
I could not see the certificates, and she sometimes just got a sticker. I suggested half-jokingly that her father or mother could print of certificate to reward her for an achievement. You could print off a colouring page for the restaurant table. If the restaurant runs short of kiddie colouring menus, find one not yet used, copy it and print it for the child or children which was waiting hoping to receive one.
Print extra copies of the menu or wine list, in large print for somebody who forgot their reading glasses.
Create a window sticker for glass so you don't bump your head, or to warn birds not to fly into it. Printe instructions for the printer!
I thought of all the possible uses. A photo you have to supply for a ski lift pass. A replacement passport.
Printing your boarding pass for a budget airline which sends you the online version, charges you at the airport to print it, and delays you queue for their machine and try to work out how to use it.
Some business centres in hotels and conference centres provide printing services, in the hours when they are open. Your own printer is abailable evenings weekends and national holiday.
You also need a printer for business. Invoices, receipts, contracts. Letters requesting appointments. Letters of introduction. For businesses which open by appointment only, and have answering machines.
For happy occasions. Last minute birthday cards, gift tags, holiday greeting cards, thank you notes. And certificates. Extras needed in a hurry when you mis-spell a name, smudge the ink, or two people are joint first so you need an extra certificate.
A consolation for a child who didn't win at the fancy dress contest. Or just something to make them smile. Something you made up to reward and encourage a small child, like sitting quiety and well behaved in a restaurant.
Endlessly joys and oportunities.
I want online to look at the possibilities, the prices.
The cheapest ones are about twenty pounds sterling. For small items. The larger ones start at about sity, seventy, eighty. For businesses, and machines which are business expenses, to justify the expense, or to claim money for printing from the company, or offset the cost against tax, you could pay between two hundred pounds to three Humdred. I looked on Amazon.uk and ebay.uk You might get better deals elsewhere. Or buy overseas on holiday ir you find a need and then bring the used item home with you.
Online Search Tips
1 Note that some of the cheaper and recommended printers are mini= printers, for printing small photos, not A4 paper. Fine, if that's what you are looking for, smaller paper, small to carry, and a cheaper price.
2 Also don't click too fast on what looks like a page being printed A4 size. If something is cheap, and you have set your search as price low to high, the first, cheapest items to come up are A4 mobile printer paper. Note, the paper, refill paper, not the printer.
If you considering buying and want to print off a picture of your preferred printer and specification for companrison later, or to show somebody else when you are offline, you may find that you cannot copy the website picture. The way around this is to screen capture, paste, and print what you have captured.
Websites
The portable printer my friend uses is an Epson.
Epson WorkForce WF-110W Portable single function Inkjet printer.
Amazon has it new at 178 pounds sterling eighty pence, free delivery.
