World’s first modular portable inkjet printer claims revolutionary capabilities for printing on any surface – Chinese startup makes big promises, but beware of consumables price
If you’ve ever wished you could print on anything, Printisian might be for you. The portable inkjet printer allows users to print on a variety of materials and surfaces, including wood, paper, metals, fabric, leather, stone, and even food and skin.
The modular design allows you to easily switch between different accessories, such as an edge positioner, laser aligner and code scanner, to meet specific printing needs.
The printer has a 5-inch touchscreen, runs SianOS (powered by Android), has 1 GB of RAM and 8 GB of storage and a replaceable 300 mAh battery.
Beware of ink costs
The device can print text, images, date and time, and QR codes or barcodes at a speed of 35 cm/s. To use it, connect it to your phone via Bluetooth, add a file and slide the printer over the area you want to print on.
Printisian supports two ink cartridge sizes and offers variable print heights and a resolution of 600 DPI. It can cover up to 39.3 inches per print, and you can expect “up to” 1,531 yards of print per cartridge.
As with all printers, you need to consider the cost of the ink. A small color cartridge for the device currently costs $59 (usual price is $79), while a large cartridge costs $129 (usual price is $169). The makers say you can use any compatible ink cartridge from other manufacturers – this one is designed for standard-size cartridges – although they (obviously) recommend their own cartridges, as some inks may not print as well on certain surfaces.
As with all crowdsourced projects, please be aware that supporting a product does not mean it will be completed or that you will receive the item you are supporting. That said, $65,601 had been pledged at the time of writing, well above the $6,385 target, so things are looking positive.
You can pledge a choice of available rewards, with the basic Printisian Standard costing $399, for which you get the printer itself and a small black ink cartridge (0.5in). The price increases significantly if you want to buy a version that includes the various accessories, but extras can be purchased separately.
More information can be found on Printisian here.