Portable Computer Scanner - Is There Such a Thing

For years the combination printer/copier/scanner/fax has been a standard in the office and now you can actually take it to the road with a portable version that employs a computer scanner with a printer and fax. Would this make your life easier? Would this help set you apart from the competition? Would this help you work from where ever you want whenever you want? I am sure that it would. And the best part about this piece of equipment is that it is actually very reasonably priced.

I have favored other brands in the past but when a different company comes out with a game changing piece of equipment you have to take notice. The Lexmark X7550 is an all in one portable device. And best of all it can be found for under $100, refurbished units can cost even less. Lets take a closer look and see if the features are something that you might find useful.

The X7550 has a USB port, which is fairly standard in the printer world and it also has built in wifi, so you can print without having to actually be plugged into the machine. This is nothing new but is certainly is nice in a price point model with many other features.

It also comes equipped with the ability to print off of some cameras and cell phones without needing a computer interface. You can preview directly from the LCD screen on the printer and make any changes and selections using the menus functions. It also has the ability to print on either side of a document without needing to remove the document. This is unheard of in a portable printer.

The print speed is slower than some models but at 30 pages per minute for black and white it is respectable. Print resolution is as high as 4800 x 2400 dots per inch, which is comparable to many other more expensive models. It can use up to a 6 color ink system which gives it the ability to print high quality photographs.

You have the ability to reduce and enlarge copies which is another nice feature added to this machine that is not added to many other portable laptop printers.

This model can produce up to 3,000 pages per month, which is quite a few more than most models that may be more expensive.

The machine is fairly quiet compared with other inkjet printers ringing the bells at 50 decibels. This is louder than a thermal image printer but we are not comparing apples to apples when we start talking about thermal imaging printers.

With all of this functionality comes a price in one form or another. It weighs in at a full 23 pounds which may rule it out for many even though it does actually still qualify as portable. Depending on what you are using this for it could be the ideal printer. If you work out of a car on a regular basis this extra weight may not be a problem at all.

The portable computer scanner handles a maximum size of 8.5 x 14 inches, this is larger than most documents so it can accommodate a wide variety of scans. Scans are a 48-bit color depth with a resolution of up to 600 x 1200. The flatbed scanning option allows you to scan documents to PDF, which will make keeping organized simple. It is a simple scanner but it can handle much more than many other portable computer scanners, some of which are specialized to only handle business cards or receipts.

So while this may not be a portable printer that you will stash in your luggage it can sit easily on your backseat or be taken to a trade show. It has many of the functions of a floor model printer but much of the portability of some models that carry a much higher price. If you are in the market for a portable computer scanner this may be just what you are looking.