12 volt printer - RV-Dreams Community Forum

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

12 volt printer

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Not cheap. I did a search for 12 volt printers and they were all more expensive than a regular 110V printer. You might consider an inverter to convert 12 volt to 110 volt, but unless you have numerous batteries, that would likely use a lot of power for a printer.

Terry

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Terry and Jo wrote:
Not cheap. I did a search for 12 volt printers and they were all more expensive than a regular 110V printer. You might consider an inverter to convert 12 volt to 110 volt, but unless you have numerous batteries, that would likely use a lot of power for a printer.
Terry

Thank you for helping, Terry

I'm in a bit of a quandary as to what to do!

You see, my 'old' HP Inkjet - All-in-one - 110 volt printer just packed-it-in!

I rarely have a use for a printer. - Just some photo copying, scanning and type taken off my computer once in a blue moon.

But, here is my dilemma!

I will be writing - to print - 'an extreme amount' when I purchase a motorhome in 2 years, and go live in the mountain forests of northern British Columbia, where there is no electricity.

I don't want to purchase another 110 volt printer for $39.96, because I won't be even close to using $39.96 worth of print jobs within 2 years!

The printers at the local public library are junk, because they always print very inferior and faded copies ...and 'printing stores' are too inconvenient for me to get to.

Thank you for your suggestion of an inverter to convert 12 volt to 110 volt, Terry ...but if it's likely to consume a lot of power to run a printer, I won't want 'that'!

I don't know, but maybe a 12 volt printer 'won't' use a lot of power?

'Maybe' I'll go up to $150.00 for a 12 volt printer, if it's not a heavy battery drainer.

In lieu of that, I could get another 110 volt printer to do my printing jobs out in the boonies using the power generator.

But, maybe a 12 volt printer only sips a small amount of electricity? ...of which I would much prefer than cranking up a loud clamorous noisy generator!

-- Edited by Millie on Friday 5th of July 2013 09:06:12 AM

nightsky · RV-Dreams Family Member

Is there a way to power a normal 110V AC printer off 12V by removing the wall wart and perhaps putting in a resistor with a current limiting feature? Seems wasteful to have 12V (battery power) and having to step it up to 120VAC with an inverter that consumes some of the power, then the wall wart reconverting it back down to 9V or whatever a printer runs at.

Disclaimer: I'm electrically clueless for the most part, but it seems to me there should be a way to do it.

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

Www.powerstream.com has dc to dc converters, 12v to 9v and other output voltages as needed. RadioShack has a few. Check the voltage required by your printer. It might be 12v. I bought an LG TV for use in my truck. I figured I'd run it off an inverter at 120v. I got to looking it over and found that the wall wart voltage was 12 volt. I just made up a 12v power cord and it works fine.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

The printers I have seen do not have external power bricks that convert from 120v alternating current to DC (direct current like 6 or 12volt battery power). That does not mean they are not DC internally, but it would not surprise me if many needed alternating current.

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

if you are worried about power on the inverter......save a few bucks over the long run and add solar or if you have panels already ,add another ........a printer does not have that much draw that it should be considered a problem from your battery bank......just purchasing another battery would increase your output over-all

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

I’m surprised that apparently no one here has a printer in their trailer! – It’s a pretty useful item for many things. – Printing recipes off the Internet, for one.

Thank you, …nightsky, MarkS, and bjoyce …but I don’t understand all that technical talk.

I just need to know if I can get a dual 110/12 volt printer, under $150.00.

Thank you, Lucky Mike, for saying that “a printer does not have that much draw that it should be considered a problem from your battery.”

That is encouraging.

I’ll try to get to a ‘Staples’, or ‘Best Buy’ soon, and see if they have a dual 110/12 volt printer there.

I hope your caboose is coming along, nightsky.

Millie

Terry and Jo · RV-Dreams Family Member

Millie,

I would imagine most of us have printers. Personally, I've even been a store manager for a major national electronics company and I've never even heard of a dual-powered (12V and 110V) printer. As I mentioned in my first post, if there are any 12V printers, I'm not sure you will ever find one even close to $150 or less.

My wife is also an executive in the IT field (Information Technology), and she's never heard of anything like you are looking or either. If you can, I'd like to know about them, so be sure and check back if you find some.

Terry

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

I just searched the internet in a dozen ways and cant find a manufacturer of one

MarkS · RV-Dreams Family Member

My Kodak runs off of 36V DC from a power box in the cord. Powerstream has a 12v to 36v converter that only costs $100. I would go with the 120V inverter and an off the shelf printer.

bjoyce · RV-Dreams Family Member

We have always run our 120 volt printer via inverter and have been doing so for over a decade. Currently we have an all-in-one that prints via wifi (or Ethernet, no USB printing), so to use it we need our wireless router on and the computer on, all on the inverter. Lots of us use 120 volt printers with inverters.

Howard · Host

Yep, same here. 120-volt wireless all-in-one printer running off our inverter when boondocking. No big deal. And we use it a lot - it's not that big a power hog. The inverter itself uses more power. We leave the printer off until we need it, get our print jobs done and turn it off. As long as you have a properly sized battery bank and inverter, you'll be fine (and probably happier) with a 120-volt all-in-one.

You could even have a dedicated, smaller inverter for the printer alone and use even less power - just make sure the smaller inverter is of the quality that can handle the printer electronics. Some smaller inverters are designed only for mechanical functions rather than electronic functions.

Technomadia · RV-Dreams Family Member

We've traveled with a printer for all of our 7 years as well. Even when we optimized for 12v and off-grid power (solar & generator) in one of our trailers, we just turned on the inverter to run the printer when we needed it. No big deal.

If a 12v printer exists, I've not heard of it either. I believe some of the ultra portable printers might have car kit adaptors you can get - but you're not going to obtain such a setup in your price range, and you will likely compromise a bit (or a lot) in print quality too.

- Cherie

Millie · RV-Dreams Family Member

Thank you 'everyone' for your input!

I've come to a decision!

It's obvious that I should just go ahead and purchase a typical HP Deskjet - All in One - 110 volt printer for $39.96!

I have been very satisfied with my old cheap HP Deskjet - All in One - 110 volt printer! - It has always delivered exceptional quality prints!

Ok! ...So 'now' I have 2 years before I hit the road to decide on whether to get an inverter, or just use the generator.

It's a relief to know that the inverter is no big deal, and won't fry-up my battery quick, using a printer!

When I'm out in the bush, I'll be printing a large amount of text 'all at one time'. - Probably an hour session.

If my auxiliary battery gets low, I'll just start up the motorhome motor ...and it'll sustain the inverter power draw.

'Or' ...if no inverter ...I'll crank-up the generator to power the printer!

...but, purchase of an inverter or use of the existing generator ...I can 'decide' when getting close to my departure for the wild unknown!

I don't like being without a printer in my present home ...so I thank you all again for enabling me to decide on the purchase of a typical HP Deskjet - All in One - 110 volt printer 'now'!

You know, it's a curious thing that RV places don't sell dual 110/12 volt printers, as they sell dual 110/12 volt refrigerators ...and 12 volt TV's, and whatnot!

Shortly before I motor into the wild, I'll be buying a laptop. - I know nothing about them things either. - I'm assuming it isn't going to be a big deal to get one in 110 volt, and also be able to plug it into the cigarette lighter too. - 'Again' 1 year and 6-10 months before I get one ...I'm not up for that brain drain right now! lol

Thank you for the suggestion of solar panels. - Solar panels is a good idea ...but the cost is prohibitive for me right now.

Still waiting to go on my adventure,

Millie

Lucky Mike · RV-Dreams Family Member

solar set -up of 200 watts complete can be had for 700.00 in a do it yourself package...(batteries not included)

www.homedepot.com/p/Grape-Solar-200-Watt-Off-Grid-Solar-Panel-Kit-GS-200-KIT/203505912

this would take care of 2 plus batteries every sunny day!!!!!

tibbar · RV-Dreams Family Member

This is copied from a blog I read(travelswithmiranda)......

****a professional-grade inkjet printer with low energy consumption and low ink costs. Would you believe that such a thing exists? Look no further than the HP Officejet 8600 series multifunction printers. There are three models, the Pro, the Pro Plus, and the Premium. Being multifunction, they also fax and scan, making them suitable for a small office setup.***

while boondocking at Magnolia Beach, TX we met Rae and I saw the printer. It is big but works well for her.