Take Your Printer to Starbucks
How many times have you been sitting in Starbucks and you needed to print something? Wouldn’t it be great if you could slip a printer into your laptop bag and take it with you to your favorite coffeehouse?
Sound crazy doesn’t it?
Late 2009 or early 2010, you will be able to do just that. A company based out of London called PrintDreams has created a printer that fits in the palm of your hand. It is called the PrintBrush™ and is easy to use and extremely user-friendly. They tout it as the “world’s smallest printer device” and it can print A4 or letter sized documents.
Need to print out an e-mail? No problem. Map to your next destination? Simple. Address label for an envelope? Easy. Check out their demo video to see how it works.
Notice how the user wipes the information onto the paper almost like a brush. This kind of technology is similar to the cloning tool in Photoshop or even a stylus tool. The PrintBrush™ remembers where it is located on the page to make sure it prints out the entire document. If you miss a spot, simply move the printer up to that area and wipe it. Based on the demo, it looks to me that you need to do this before you lift the printer from the document.
It can even print out a logo on a cardboard box as evidenced by this demo.
There are other pros to the PrintBrush™ as well.
“In many ways it will be even better than stationary printers or other so called “mobile” printers. For example, it will be possible to print directly in notebooks or other media that would never fit into a conventional printer device. It will also be completely silent allowing you to print during ongoing meetings, etc. On top of all that, no wires, no cables, no mess!!” – PrintDreams.com
Another plus to note is that it is 600dpi, allowing you to print good quality graphics. It weighs a little over 8 ounces and it runs on a Lithium-Ion battery. The preliminary price is not cheap… $199 dollars. But the ease it brings to your day is worth the money.
There are two things about the PrintBrush™ that could be issues. First, how big is the ink cartridge and how long does it last? Is it going to be widely available or do you need to special order it from PrintDreams? How expensive will it be?
Second, the PrintBrush™ only prints in monochrome, so no printing out something that is colorful. I am hopeful that they will figure out a color version in the future, but my guess is that it would be bigger to fit a larger ink cartridge. However, a printer twice as big as this one would still be super convenient.
Keep your eyes on this printer. It could revolutionize the way we do things.
You can find out more about the PrintBrush™ at the PrintDreams website. Can’t wait that long? Go to Printer.com and do a search for the best printer for your needs.
