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Printing Power

Have you considered printing on the road with your Zaurus? If you have, here’s something to consider. Do you really need to purchase a portable printer, or can you get by without one. I guess to answer that you have to ask yourself a few other questions. Like, how often do you need to print when you are on the road? And how much are you willing to spend and lug around for the convenience of printing from practically anywhere.

Fax Yourself
If the answer to the above questions is "not too often" and "not too much", then you may want to opted for the old "in-a-pinch" style of getting a document while on the road, you simply fax it to yourself. It sounds so simple. Yet many of us forget this trick. You simply go to the nearest fax machine find out what the incoming number is, find another analog line to dial out on and send your document to the fax machine (provided of course that you have a modem for your Zaurus). If you are in a hotel room, you can include your room number on it and fax it to the front desk and they will even bring it up to your room. How’s that for room service?

Z-Friendly Laser Jets
In your travels, you may get lucky and stumble across a laser jet (or some other type of printer) with an infrared port that is compatible with the Zaurus. One such printer is the HP Laser Jet 6P. This is a very common printer so you may find it in quite a few places. And with the HP 6P you can pint directly from your Zaurus. Thus eliminating the need to fax yourself. So be on the lookout for "Zaurus Friendly" printers in your travels and you may be pleasantly surprised by what you find and what you save.

Pentax
If you find that you do need to purchase a portable printer, here are a couple printers that may be of interest to you. The Pentax Pocket Jet II is actually a thermal printer that is very small and compact. It’s unique because it is thermal, so there is no need for ink ribbons or cartridges. If you can get over the fact that it takes special paper and that it is not compatible with serial printing or DOS. You are sure to love the size and weight of this unit! What I object to the most with the Pentax is the cost, about $400 to get everything you will need. (note: infrared port may not be compatible with the Zaurus)

Canon
If thermal is just not your cup of tea, or you need color printing, you may want to consider my personal favorite, the Canon BJC-50. This is a color printer that promises to hold true to the name printed on it. At 720 by 360 dpi the BJC-50 provides the print quality you would expect from Canon. The BJC-50 includes a built in infrared port (may not be compatible with the Zaurus) and a lithium ion battery that will allow you to print about 100 sheets per charge. A universal AC adapter is also included all for around $350.