Traveling? Quick printing tips

By Kim Komando

Thanks to Wi-Fi hotspots, wireless broadband and hotel room Ethernet connections, you can compute with full connectivity from just about any (civilized) place in the world.

However, despite the seemingly paperless nature of the modern world, there are times when nothing but good, old-fashioned hard copies will do. Sooner or later, you'll need to print an important document on the road.

Option one is to bring along a printer. There's no shortage of portable printers on the market; all the major printer manufacturers offer them. Prices range from $100 to $400 or more, depending on features.

The key, then, is getting the features you need without extra features you don't want. Here are five features you should consider:

Text quality: Portable printers are notorious for mediocre text. If you're going to be printing important documents, e.g., final contracts, you may have to spend some money for a portable printer that's up to the task.
Paper handling: If you're going to be printing on unusual sizes of paper, or on envelopes, buy a printer that can handle the job.
Wireless printing: Wireless printing comes in two flavors: infrared and Bluetooth. An infrared printer can communicate with any infrared-capable laptop. The same goes for Bluetooth. But you can also print from other Bluetooth-capable devices, such as your Pocket PC or even your cell phone.
Cordless printing: If your printing is limited to your hotel room or other locations with electrical outlets, this is no big deal. However, if you need to print a contract on a flight from Los Angeles to New York, you'll want a printer that includes a rechargeable battery.
Printer speed: Manufacturers' specs for print speeds vary widely, from a couple of pages per minute up to 17 or more. If you regularly print large documents on the road, this may be an issue. Manufacturers commonly overstate their printing speeds. Time the printers in the store.

If your printing needs are less demanding, explore the options at the hotel where you'll be staying. For example, more and more hotels now offer in-room printers along with high-speed Internet connections. A quick check of the hotel's Web site can verify this. Be careful though. Some of these charge per page and can be quite expensive.

Most hotels offer a business center where you can print documents. You'll have two options: You can tap into the business center's network and print your document on one of its printers. Or you can burn your document to a disc, load it on a PC in the business center, and print away.

While the latter option is generally less complicated, the business center PC may use different software. This is where having Adobe Acrobat or some other software that can produce PDF files on your computer comes in handy. Every PC in every business center in virtually every hotel in the world supports the PDF format. Burn a PDF version of your document to CD and you're assured printing success.

If you use Apple's OS X, PDF ability is built in. Open the document and click File > Print. In the PDF pop-up menu, click Save as PDF.

Windows requires that you use a separate program. Adobe's Acrobat is available, but at a list price of $300. Before you go for that, check PDF ReDirect and PDF Ghostscript. Both are free. There are many other inexpensive PDF programs.

Sometimes, your needs may exceed the capabilities of the hotel's business center. For example, you may need 500 copies of a report, or some sort of elaborate collating and binding. For these occasions, consider an expert. Most printing shops can whip together a decent product.

Personally, I like FedEx Kinko's, because it is everywhere. You can submit your order online to any of its retail outlets for later pickup. Or you can have it delivered via Federal Express. The downloadable software is easy to use. There's no need to worry about file compatibility.

Finally, make sure the people with whom you're doing business prefer hard copies. Businesses often prefer electronic documents. Why print when an e-mailed attachment will do?

Most businesses use Microsoft Word. I recommend that you use it, too. If you're not, or your customer does not, save your documents as Rich Text Format (RTF). All word-processing programs can read and write this universal format.