Inkjet multifunction printer
HP’s OfficeJet 150 is an ultra-compact
color inkjet printer, with integrated sheet-fed scanner. With paper tray
closed, it measures just 350 x 171 90mm, and weighs in at just 3.1kg. What
really makes it special, though, it’s the included Lithium-ion rechargeable
battery. Fully charged, the OJ150 will print up to 500 pages without the need
for mains power.
A portable color printer, scanner and
copier can be an amazingly useful tool for mobile professionals. If you run
your business out-of the back of a van, or from a site office, even more so. In
the most basic example, you could use the OJ150 to churn out invoices on the spot.
It prints monochrome at five pages per minute, for around eight cents per page.
A perfectly reasonable use, but it feels like a waste of the printer’s
capabilities.
The OJ150 also prints in color at 1200 dpi,
up to 3.5 pages per minute, for around 22 cents per page. Full page
illustrations and photographs take upwards of two and a half minutes, which is
about average.
Battery
power and a portable design
What’s really surprising, however, is just
how good the print quality is. When printing on photo paper, resulting were indistinguishable
from some of the top photo printers we’ve tested. There’s no banding or other common
printing artifacts, colors are true and the ink dries quickly to prevent
smudges. When printing text and line-art, the print quality is comparable to a
basic color laser very impressive. Borderless printing is supported for 4x6
photos, but not full A4.
The printer’s duty cycle is 500 pages per
month; coincidentally, 500 pages is also the stated capacity of the black ink
cartridge. If you’re printing arounda-25 pages each workday, it’s a fair load
for something so small.
Two
cartridges load easily into the ink bay that sits in the center of the unit:
one for tricolor inks and a separate black cartridge.
The scanner is sheet-fed and accepts a
single page at a time, up to A4 size. Scan quality is high, and we didn’t
experience a single jam or alignment problem during our extensive testing.
Connection to a PC is supported over USB
2.0 and Bluetooth. There’s also a PictBridge host USB port for direct printing
from compatible cameras, and an SD card reader. The OJ150 will act as a
standalone copier, without a PC attached.
The
Officejet 150's appeal is its versatile connectivity options, and Bluetooth is
its latest tool for integration.
The printer is operated via a 2.4-inch
resistive touchscreen. It’s a great design, with easy-to-press onscreen
buttons. The menu system is painless to navigate, without a whole lot of
unnecessary functions that you may find on some consumer models. Certainly,
it’s one of the easiest printers I’ve come across in terms of both setup and
day to day use.
The downside to the OfficeJet 150 is the
price. Yes, it’s an amazing device, and easily compares with the print quality
of good desktop photo printers in the $150-$200 range. However, its compact
nature and battery power push the OJ150’s price up to a slightly cringe-worthy
$579. So, you’re paying a 200-300% premium for mobility.
If you’re a business user who can make use
of that mobility to its fullest, the cost is justifiable. If you simply need a
black and white invoice printer for the back of the van, you may be able to
find yourself a better deal on a simpler device.
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Specifications
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Price: $399
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Display size: 2.36 inches
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Processor speed: 0.22 MHz
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8 cents/page mono, 22 cents/page colour
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Print up to 500 pages on included Li-Ion
battery
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USB, PictBridge, Bluetooth and SD card reader
§ Weight:
6.8 pounds
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