Brother showcases new line of portable products

In addition to the Brother QL line, Brother will showcase three other categories of printers – their Mprint™ mobile printers, P-touch® Electronic Labeling Systems and laser printers– at NRF ’08 BIG Show. The Brother MPrint line of wireless mobile printers are among the world’s smallest, ultra-portable printers, and feature Bluetooth®, IrDA, USB and serial² connectivity options for use in retail applications like mobile point of sale, shelf edge labeling and more. “The MPrint printer is truly a technological breakthrough; our engineers have developed a full-featured printer, in a slim and compact form factor, that prints professional-quality cut sheet receipts on demand,” says Mr. Panjwani. “Conventional mobile printers are bulky, heavy and print on receipts that curl. We wanted to give our retail customers another option for printing applications that require ultimate portability.”

P-touch® electronic labeling systems print professional quality, glossy laminated labels that enhance the customer experience and customer loyalty in a retail environment, with time-savings features that help increase workers’ productivity. These laminated labels are used for retail shelf edge labels, price markdown, UPC bar code product labels, name badges and asset management applications. P-touch labeling systems are available in handheld and desktop models. The portable, hand-held models are lightweight and have an integrated display, a built-in keyboard for easy data entry, and a built-in cutter. Some handheld models can even be programmed with a customized user interface, and can print from a downloaded database. Commercial P-touch desktop models connect easily to a computer using USB interface³ and can be shared over a network. The model PT-9500PC prints sharp looking labels at 360dpi resolution and is ideal for pre-printing a strip of easy to peel labels or to print a label on demand.

Polaroid goes back to the beginning

Once well known for their cameras that would instantly spit out a print, Polaroid brings that concept back, with a modern twist - portable printers for images from cellphones and digital cameras.

Just like the cutting-edge technology used by their original cameras in the 1960s, the new arrivals from Polaroid will make use of a new invention, thermal ink.

The thermal ink, technology provided by startup company Zink Imaging, allows the printers to turn out 2" x 3" pictures that cost roughly 40 cents a piece.

The printers, which will retail for around $150, will connect via USB or Bluetooth technology, and will be available in the United States later this fall.

Planon Systems debuts new lightweight printer

Planon Systems, a Canadian company, has announced a new printer priced at $300.

The Printstik weights in at just under 2 pounds, and prints in black and white on 8 1/2" x 11" paper.

Connectivity is available via Bluetooth and USB, and the device is targetted at the Blackberry and PDA user markets.

HP Photosmart A626 Portable Photo Printer

The HP Photosmart A626 compact photo printer is a great partner for your traditional desktop printer.



It offers a lightweight, portable form factor with the usual multiple-memory card compatibility that you would expect, and an easy-to-read LCD screen.


The screen offers the ability to edit pictures without an attached PC.


With a charger available to make the A626 a truly portable device, this printer comes highly recommended by technology publication PC Magazine, and is priced under $200.