Printer

[RRTom]

We will soon be able to take our MH out for 2 to 4 weeks at a time, maybe 3 or 4 times a year. We will be taking a laptop, cell phones and IPad with us. Would one of the small portable printers be worth while for us? Does anyone use one in a scenario such as above?

[Gdetrailer]

RRTom wrote:
Ok, as the original poster, I am interested in the NECESSITY to have a printer along. And if so, what you use it for and any general tips on the subject. Sorry, maybe I should have been more clear in my post. Thanks for all the responses.

In our case, I will not be printing airline boarding passes while in the motor home. With the GPS apps on our personal electronic devices I don't necessarily see any need to print out directions. But is there a need for a printer that I am not thinking of?

RR, ONLY YOU can answer YOUR question, no one else can answer it.

Perhaps the better way is to reverse the question to you..

How much printing AT HOME do you do?

Very little, 1-2 pages a month? (most likely no need)

More 1-2 pages per WEEK? (most likely NICE TO HAVE)

Reams of pages PER DAY? (TOTALLY ESSENTIAL TO HAVE)

How important to you is having a hard copy printed document in your hands immediately while camping?

Can you DELAY printing a document until you get home?

What DO YOU PRINT AT HOME that you might want to be able to print while camping?

High resolution pictures?

Junk Farcebook pictures?

Hard copy operation manuals?

Hard copy of reservations? (yeah, having a hard copy did save our bacon once when the campground LOST our reservation we made a yr in advance, but we printed it at home BEFORE we left).

Type of printer also depends on your desired outcome, color high res photos, Inkjet will give better results than color or B&W laser, although for longer lasting photos in a snap, send them to Walmart or Sams and have them printed on a professional photo printer (prices are much cheaper when adding in ink cart cost).

Simple text with some photos you don't care about, B&W laser is the way to go.

Simple text in color and some color photos in the text would be nice to have then color laser might be the ticket.

Camping style, with shore power 100% or completely off the grid?

Shore power camping laser is a good choice.

Off the grid, inkjet would be the better choice since it will operate from an battery/inverter with no problem.

Laser off grid while might be do able, but would require a hefty inverter to be able to deal with the high startup surge that they draw so much less ideal for this stye of camping.

As far as small "compact" travel size printers goes, they are pretty much a novelty. Often have no paper tray and will just gravity feed just a couple of pages at a time making a large print job an long aggravating process of refilling the small feed hopper.

Only YOU can really answer your question..

[fj12ryder]

We've printed out a few things over the years, but mostly the printer stays in its little case, unloved and unused.

[JAC1982]

I used to like to print out our campsite reservations because often, there's no phone service to pull up the email with the confirmation number etc. But our last trip it dawned on me that I could take a screen shot with my phone of the reservation confirmation email, so it would save it on my phone that way and wouldn't require any kind of internet or phone service to view it.

If I'm on a computer, I often use a Print to PDF program so it saves whatever I wanted to print as a PDF, which I can then email to myself, or save as a copy on my phone or laptop. If you email it to yourself or save on a thumb drive, then it makes it easier to print when you actually get to a printer.

[accsys]

Like I said in an earlier reply, we carry a B&W laser and use it almost daily, going through a ream of paper about every three months. I print out every reservation we make as proof we have made it and the deposit we made if any. I also read our hometown paper every morning and print out four of the puzzles for me to work later in the day. There are also numerous other occasions we use the printer. Since it's also a scanner and copier, it also gets occasionally used for those purposes. I wouldn't be without it.

[Takamine]

Never have taken a printer while camping, but there are times it would be nice. Like when purchasing a fishing license online and it has to be printed out to be valid. As stated before, you're better off with a laser printer. An inkjet will dry out if it's not used on a periodic basis.

[RRTom]

Ok, as the original poster, I am interested in the NECESSITY to have a printer along. And if so, what you use it for and any general tips on the subject. Sorry, maybe I should have been more clear in my post. Thanks for all the responses.

In our case, I will not be printing airline boarding passes while in the motor home. With the GPS apps on our personal electronic devices I don't necessarily see any need to print out directions. But is there a need for a printer that I am not thinking of?

[hypoxia]

valhalla360 wrote:
Example, we used to print boarding cards for air flights...then they started letting you download them to your phone (plus you can always get a printed copy at the airport). Solved the problem without maintaining a printer.

I used an airline app with a boarding pass recently. It showed on the app so I did not download it (that won't happen again). When I showed up at security after waiting in line the app wouldn't show the boarding pass and I had to go to ticketing, the kiosk wouldn't print it either. I had to get in line and get an agent to print one and start over. Lesson learned, paper if available always works.

[hypoxia]

RRTom wrote:
We will soon be able to take our MH out for 2 to 4 weeks at a time, maybe 3 or 4 times a year. We will be taking a laptop, cell phones and IPad with us. Would one of the small portable printers be worth while for us? Does anyone use one in a scenario such as above?

As you can see, everyone has an opinion. I want a printer with me for many reasons. The inkjets will dry out but are so cheap I just throw them away after 2 or 3 years. I like color for troubleshooting diagrams. I'm currently using an HP 3700 series FWIW.

[Gdetrailer]

RRTom wrote:

That's one thing I'm trying to figure out by posting here. Curious to see if others have/use a printer while traveling.

We haven't taken a printer the 15 yrs we have been camping, YET.

However, when we camp there is almost always one of those moments that I wished I DID have a printer :S

Things like RESERVATION acknowledgement paperwork or even printed directions to some obscure scenic place..

When you are used to having a choice of printing to three different printers at home or multiple printers at work camping with a PC and NO printer IS roughing it..

My preference goes to a laser printer for extremely low usage or extremely long periods of time between printing.. Toner does not freeze, does not clog and most likely will still be good for the next 100 yrs..

Inkjet printers on the other hand the cartridges dry up in short time after you open them OR even more diabolical is the fact that most of the major inkjet printer manufacturers LOCK down the printer to FRESH OEM ONLY cartridges! Many of the inkjet printers read a chip on the cartridge and if the chip says it is out of date, NO MORE PRINTING HAPPENS.

For those who say go with inkjet and if the cartridge dries out, just change it..

Perhaps you would be willing to fork out the $30-$60 PER cartridge when it dries out for the OP after sitting a yr?

For $40-$60 you can buy a new inkjet printer.

You are better off buying brand new inkjet printers every yr or less for the cost of the replacement cartridges.

Yes, there are "tank" inkjets, however they DO have issues with the printhead clogging from lack of use and they cost more upfront.

That is the cold hard facts of inkjets, USE THEM OR LOSE THEM..

[RRTom]

Jebby14 wrote:
I don't even have a printer at home anymore. What could you need to print while on vacation worth the space taken by a printer?

That's one thing I'm trying to figure out by posting here. Curious to see if others have/use a printer while traveling.

[fj12ryder]

BobsYourUncle wrote:
I have a small battery powered printer I carry for those times when I need to print something.

Canon iP100. It has an onboard rechargeable battery, so you could be out in the middle of a field somewhere with a laptop and you can print stuff. Or run it off AC power.

It's compact so doesn't take up much room.

Yeah, we have the same printer, and it works pretty well. We've used it a couple times over the last few years. The key word here is "small". A 3-in-1 printer is a pretty fair sized piece of furniture. I guess it all boils down to what you have to use it for. Laser printers are sweet, and what we have at home, but also a pretty big footprint.

[FlatBroke]

enblethen wrote:
I would get an inexpensive Canon 3 in one printer. Wireless version around $40

Yep.

[enblethen]

I use the printer off and on. I use the copier nearly as much. I have had to do some scanning and coping for a design project while on the road.
The 3-1 has worked for several years in MY. It is hard wire as wireless printers were too expensive at the time.
Ink drying could be an issue for some places. We normally try the installed ink cartridge, run nozzle clean, works fine if no get a new cartridge set.

[mgirardo]

I work out of our RV and we camp seasonally. I use a printer often enough that it would be a real hassle to have to take it somewhere to print. My wife uses it from time to time as well.

I would recommend a laser printer as the (powder) toner won't dry out like an inkjet printer. The last three years, we have left the printer in the TT over the winter (along with all the networking equipment) and haven't had any issues with it.

-Michael