Mobile Office

ProWallGuy

I have been thinking about using my laptop in the truck to print out contracts, estimates, etc. on site. I know a lot of contractors do this. My question is anybody have a suggestion for a good printer for this application?
Brands, models, types, any info would be appreciated.

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Wallpaper Hanger St. Louis
Digital Murals Installation

Grumpy

Pro, YOu need something compact and portable. If you leave the printer in your truck 1 of 3 things will happen. 1) Theft. 2) Damage from extreme heat. 3) damage from extreme cold.

I have the Canon i70 with batter capability. It's very light and portable. It's marketed as a portable printer. The print quality is good. It even prints pictures with a decent enough quality to use as a picture printer. It has IR (infrared), USB and flash card capability.

Portable printers are a little pricey as far as printers go. You can get one of equal print quality for less if you choose one without all the portability options. I don't know your budget but maybe you can find one small enough to fit in a briefcase but not have the portability options.

Teetorbilt

You can install a 110 alternator and run most anything. I have them in most of my trucks, they'll pull up to 10-15 amps, enough to power most tools.

Grumpy

Yes you can do that. I mentioned th ebattery because it's sometimes nice to walk into a customers house and have the ability to print and not have to ask "Do you have an open outlet?"

I have one for my truck but have only used it a few times. Too bad they don't have enough amps to run a gutter machine

Glasshousebltr

yea grump.....it's not like the seamless guys already don't make enough....just kiddin

Grumpy

I started out installing gutters, gutter men don't make crap. When it comes to gutters the money is in repairs, and for repairs you don't need a machine. You can carry lengths up to 50' on a normal van ladder rack.

Grumpy

I just bought a tablet PC to replace my hand held. I should have it any day now... I am also going to purchase a laptop mount for in my truck. Pretty soon I'll have the ultimate mobile offce. I'll post pics for you guys.

In the past I had some plans but I have improved those plans! I can't wait.

tncontractor

I bought a Tablet PC about a month ago and love it. It is very helpful in many aspects of the trade. Some very helpful links are:

www.tabletpcbuzz.com
www.tabletpchome.com
www.tabletpcawards.com

Tablet software I use:
Microsoft OneNote

Windows Journal (included)

Acronis TrueImage (not Tablet PC specific, but it allows you to image your pc
while in Windows, even saving the image to the same hard drive you're running your OS from) - I've restored from it before, and it works great.

Zinio

Microsoft PowerToys for Tablet PC

Let me know what you think of it when you get it.

Grumpy

Journal is excellent. What's one note? I've been installing necessary software recently and havent had a chance to dig into what it's got.

I'll take a look at those links. Thanks. I also joined a few mobile computing forums.