As more consumers hit the road for business and pleasure, they demand increasing portability from their printers. Today’s lightest models have wireless connectivity, weigh around 2 lbs., and still have room for an LCD preview screen. But imagine if you could shrink your printer even more so it could fit in the palm of your hand. A Swedish company called PrintDreams has developed Rapid Movement Printing Technology (RMPT), a new system that enables motion-based printing and eliminates the need for a paper tray. This technology has spawned a line of cordless products that you can hold and use like a scanning device to print text and images on just about any flat surface.
RMPT-powered printers work in 3 basic steps. First, you pick a flat surface on which to print. From traditional paper to fabric to boxes, you can make your mark on mediums that wouldn’t fit in your traditional printer’s paper tray. Next, you send your designated file from your PDA, laptop, or other portable device to your printer. Finally, you move your device over the surface to print the image. It feels like a scanning device and works like a can of concentrated digital spraypaint.
As of today, PrintDreams has one product currently available with a couple others in the works. Look for RMPT products to weigh just under a pound and cost anywhere from $150 to $200. Keep in mind that for now, you can only print in monochrome at a resolution of about 600 dpi, and waving around your magic wand for any document longer than 10 pages will likely give you tendinitis. But for arts and crafts or rolling out a page or two in a pinch, RMPT technology provides a revolutionary new way to make printing truly portable.
