printer and fax for laptop

[Colorado Chick]

I have seen small portable printers is there a combo out there, and which one is the best to get?
Patty

 

[Tom]

Patty,

I've bought "small" combo machines in the past, so they're definitely out there. IIRC HP was the last one I bought, but I'm not at home right now to check the model number for you. The one thing you have to do without if you want a small footprint is a flatbed scanner. Unless you want to scan a book or photos, this shouldn't be an issue.

I should clarify that the HP machine I mentioned above isn't quite what I'd call "portable", as in stuff it in your computer bag, but it's way smaller than the desktop combo with a flatbed that I have.

 

[Colorado Chick]

Thanks Tom,
We are also looking to buy another lap top for the RV.  We have a Dell.  Anything out there as good or better?
I noticed my scanner has a USB port, why can't I use it?
Patty

 

[Tom]

Patty,

Since most/all the PC manufacturers use essentially the same components from one of a few sources, my belief is that there's not a lot to choose between them except personal biases (I have my own). Models and options are another issue and should be dictated by what you intend to use the machine for.

I noticed my scanner has a USB port, why can't I use it?

Are you saying that the laptop doesn't recognize or "see" the scanner when it's plugged into the USB port of the laptop? Did the scanner come with a CD that  maybe contains the necessary drivers?

 

[Colorado Chick]

Tom, you said, The one thing you have to do without if you want a small footprint is a flatbed scanner.
No, it is plugged into my desktop at the moment.
Patty

 

[Gary RV_Wizard]

I lean toward Toshiba laptops, but have owned some quite satisfactory HPs as well.

Canon makes a small BubbleJet printer, the BJC-55, that has a snap-in scanner cartridge that takes the place of the ink cartridge.  I've never used one, so cannot comment on how well this scanner works. Probably OK when you need a quick copy of something, though.
Canon BJC-55

Canon also makes the nice little I70 and i80 portable printers. Find yourself a portable page-feed scanner to go with them and you are in business.

 

[Tom]

Patty,

Not sure what you're saying in your last message, but I get confused easily.

I was merely trying to explain that, if you need a flatbed scanner capability in the combo, it will have a larger footprint than if you can accept a sheetfeed scanner (approx 1/3 the size).

 

[Wendy]

Thanks Tom,
We are also looking to buy another lap top for the RV.? We have a Dell.? Anything out there as good or better?
I noticed my scanner has a USB port, why can't I use it?
Patty

Office Depot has some great deals right now on laptops. We just bought a Toshiba yesterday for $599 after rebates. They had an HP for the same price but it had less memory.

 

[Tom]

Wendy,

Which model Toshiba did you buy? Any specs you can share? Our daughter has been shopping for a laptop and that price sounds better than anything she's found.

 

[Shayne]

Tom  about a month and half ago we bought one of our grandsons a 6130 HP  It has an AMD motherboard and he simply loves as do many of his friends.  Its about 9 big ones  He needed one for college and its the one 2 of the professors at ASU recommended.  Wish I had given hem the Sony Viao and taken that one LOL

 

[Wendy]

Wendy,

Which model Toshiba did you buy? Any specs you can share? Our daughter has been shopping for a laptop and that price sounds better than anything she's found.

Oh, sure, ask Wendy the Techno Dummy for specs Ok, here's what I've got on the receipt: Toshiba Satellite A105-S4164 15.4in Widescreen Notebook,1.86Ghz, something about a DVD+-RV double layer? 1.0 GB memory, 80GB hard drive.

I like the mousepad touch, I like the keyboard touch, and I like the brightness adjustments. The screen works well with my faulty vision. I let the techno geek husband judge the rest.

Lots more info here http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?id=180052 most of which I don't understand. It is so handy having an MBA 

 

[Shayne]

also I bought an HP2355 all-in-one for the laptop  Seems to be a nice unit but there are some smaller now.  However I put this in the MH when we travel  Have a 2175HP for the desktop.  Just wish I knew how the make them all function like you guys do.  For a computer expert, I make a good ditch digger, but have a bad back.  Should explain my ability.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Wendy. Between your message and the link, I got the info I needed.

 

[Tom]

Thanks Shayne.

 

[Alaskansnowbirds]

Thanks Wendy. Between your message and the link, I got the info I needed.

Tom,

I know you don't like Wal-Mart but if there isn't an Office Depot near you I think WM has the same laptop for the same price or very close to the same price. Our grandson bought on last week. Sounds like the same computer.

 

[Colorado Chick]

Thanks everyone, now I will go shop the net.
Patty

 

[Tom]

I know you don't like Wal-Mart...

LOL Don, didn't realize it showed. Actually, we do shop WalMart, just prefer not to overnight there. OTOH the WMs closest to us are kinda trashy, like the way K-Marts went.

I'll pass along the info on the computer to our daughter and SIL, thanks.

 

[Tom]

Patty,

We're home and I just remembered to check the make/model of the sheet feed combo machine hooked to my wife's PC. It's a HP model T45, about one third the footprint of my prior HP flatbed combo and about half the footprint of my current Lexmark flatbed combo.

The T45 is a bit old and I'm sure there are smaller ones out there.

 

[Colorado Chick]

Thanks Tom, went to Best Buy and Looked around.  HP has a combo than is nice and light.
Patty

 

[Tom]

Thanks for the feedback Patty. Glad you found something that will work.