A full-size page, printed from your phone, in a machine the size of your forearm
Most of the time you do not need a printer. Then a contract needs signing at a client's kitchen table, a customs form needs a hard copy at an airport hotel, or a form has to go back today and the nearest print shop shuts at five.
This is a battery-powered printer for exactly that. It weighs about 1.5 lb (690 g), measures 10.39 x 3.07 x 1.77 in (264 x 78 x 45 mm), and lies flat in a laptop sleeve. Your phone sends the file over Bluetooth, or a laptop sends it down a USB-C cable, and a full-width page comes out of the slot along the top.
There is no ink, no toner, no ribbon and no cartridge to run out, because nothing is sprayed onto the page. The print head heats the paper and the paper darkens where it is heated. Which brings us to the one thing you have to know before you buy this.
Read this first: it prints on thermal paper, and nothing else
This is a direct thermal printer. The image is made by heat, and only thermal paper reacts to heat. Put ordinary copier paper in it and you will get a blank sheet. Not a faint one - a blank one.
So the paper you buy is A4 or US Letter thermal paper, sold as flat sheets or fanfold packs. It looks and feels much like ordinary paper and it goes in the same slot; it is simply coated. The manufacturer also lists 2.08 in (53 mm), 3.15 in (80 mm) and 4.33 in (110 mm) thermal rolls for receipts and labels.
Thermal prints also fade. Heat, sunlight, friction and time all darken or wash out a thermal page - it is the same coating that makes shop receipts go blank in a glovebox. That is fine for a boarding pass, a label, a delivery note or a copy you will read this week. For a signed contract you need to keep, print it, sign it, then keep a scan or a laser copy for the file.
And it prints in black and white only. There is no color mode, and there is no photo mode worth the name.
How the file actually gets there
From a phone or tablet: pair over Bluetooth and print through the manufacturer's free companion app, which the quick-start guide points you to. It runs on iOS 13 and later and Android 7 and later, and it works on an iPad as well as a phone. The manufacturer lists Word, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and image files as supported.
From a computer: plug in the USB-C cable. The manufacturer lists Windows, macOS, ChromeOS and Linux.
The effective print width is 8.5 in (216 mm) - full US Letter width, which also covers A4 - at 300 DPI. That is sharp enough for contracts, invoices, itineraries, packing labels and study notes. It is not a photo printer.
Battery, and how far a charge goes
The 2600 mAh battery charges over USB-C at 5 V / 2 A. The manufacturer rates it at up to 150 sheets on a full charge, which is a working week of the kind of printing anyone actually does away from a desk.
Print speed is 12 - 15 mm/s, so a full page is a matter of seconds rather than instant - this is a quiet, unhurried machine, not an office laser. There is nothing to warm up and nothing to prime.
Four colors, one machine
White, Purple, Pink and Black. The finish is the only difference - every color is the same printer, the same battery and the same 300 DPI head. Pick the color above before you add to cart.
What this replaces, and what it does not
It replaces the panic of needing one page printed when you are not at a desk. It does not replace a home or office printer: no color, no photo quality, no duplex, no scanning, no copying, and prints that are not meant to last for years.
If you print a hundred pages a week at home, buy a laser. If you print five pages a month in five different places, this is the machine for that.
Specifications
Printing methodDirect thermal - no ink, no toner, no ribbon and no cartridges
PaperThermal paper only. A4 and US Letter thermal sheets or fanfold, plus 2.08 in (53 mm), 3.15 in (80 mm) and 4.33 in (110 mm) thermal rolls
Print width8.5 in (216 mm) effective
Resolution300 DPI
Color outputBlack and white only
Print speed12 - 15 mm/s (manufacturer)
Battery2600 mAh rechargeable
Pages per chargeUp to 150 sheets (manufacturer)
WirelessBluetooth to phone or tablet, through the manufacturer's free app (iOS 13 and later, Android 7 and later, iPad supported)
WiredUSB-C to Windows, macOS, ChromeOS and Linux computers
File typesWord, Excel, PowerPoint, PDF and images (manufacturer)
Power input5 V / 2 A
Size10.39 x 3.07 x 1.77 in (264 x 78 x 45 mm)
WeightAbout 1.5 lb (690 g)
HousingABS plastic
ColorsWhite, Purple, Pink, Black
What you get
One printer, in the color you choose, with its USB-C cable and quick-start guide.
Thermal paper is not included. Order A4 or US Letter thermal paper at the same time, or the printer will arrive with nothing it can print on.