Mobile Printing

[Originally written: Tue, Aug 25 2009 12:14 PM]


This topic is very close to my heart, since for me, the true measure of a smartphone is the extent that it can replace a portable PC (laptop, netbook, etc.) My long time use, and love, of Windows Mobile has been forged in the never-ending quest to have my computer in my pocket (ok, in a dorky belt pouch, but you get the idea!)

To truly replace a laptop, the mobile device has to do virtually anything a "real" computer can do, and that includes printing. My early adventures in mobile printing were with this little guy: http://www.geeks.com/search.asp?QUERY=sipix&FIELD=ALL, the long-discontinued Sipix A6 thermal printer with infrared port. Sipix must have built a gazillion of them, because Geeks.com has been selling them for years. My first cost me $30, the last one I bought was $15, now it's $13. (I have three- all still work, I just wanted spares as redundant backups and for convenience. One lives in my car, one at home and one in my travel kit.) It prints thermally on paper about 25% the size of a standard letter paper (using a special, now impossible to find, paper! I have to make my own by literally sawing fax paper rolls to the right size and rolling my own rolls!) The output can be copied to "real" letter paper if need be on a copier with an enlarging function by selecting "200%."

As anyone who regularly reads my missives here knows, I'm a huge cheapskate. Nothing is more satisfying to my frugal nature than stopping at a store or restaurant, quickly Googling/Binging an online coupon, and printing it out right in the car before going in. On my roadtrip vacation two weeks ago, I saved $25 on admission to a Phoenix attraction with coupons I printed on the Sipix. (The clerk remarked "what tiny little paper!") That coupon alone nearly paid for two of my printers! (They've paid for themselves time and again over the years, actually!) Despite my cheapskate status, I'm horrible with coupons- keeping track of them and having the right one when needed is a hassle, so having access to online coupons anywhere fits my love of both cheap and geek!

Unfortunately the included Sipix document printing software no longer works on modern devices (only PPC 2003 and earlier, unfortunately) but PrintPocketCE ($30) supports it, even on newer devices. The Sipix screen capture/print software still works though- this is typically good enough to print an internet coupon or a little cut-and-pasted text. This printer is one of the main reasons I lament the death of the IR port on Windows Mobile devices. Since my AT&T Tilt lacks IR, I have to copy anything I want to print to an older device first. My old Dell Axim X5 used to serve that purpose- now my backup WinMo phone Samsung i730 (with WiFi, BT, and IR) does the job and lives in my travel bag at the ready.

At home, I use Westtek's Jetcet Print (a steal at $10!) with my Tilt. I bought a WiFi-enabled HP OfficeJet recently that works beautifully with Jetcet. The HP isn't portable though- it's a desk-hogging monster, so it only gets use at home. Jetcet does support a ton of printers however, so if you're lucky enough to hit a hotel or office with a Wifi printer in your travels, it'll likely be able to print through it.

In a pinch, I have also relied on the "print to the nearest fax machine" solution. Several email-to-fax services allow you to email a document to them, and they send the doc as a fax to the machine you specify. Fax1.com sends faxes for (USD) $0.12/page and gives you a free $1 credit to try the service. If you like it, you can buy more credits. Faxzero.com is a free ad-supported fax service, but is browser-based (you use a web based form to select the fax number and upload the file) and problematic with most mobile browsers. With Fax1 you do it all by email- perfect for a mobile.