Printer in Airstream

[dont45]

Do you have a digital ink-jet printer or other sensitive equipment in your Airstream? It seems the jarring it receives during travel may cause major problems. I have two large format Epson printers (3880 and P800) which I use to produce quality B&W prints and would like to bring one along on a long cross-country trip so that I can produce some prints along the way.
I know that it is very sensitive to bumps and jars but thought that I might build a shock mount system into a custom desk to help smooth out the ride. At this point I have no idea of a specific design but it must support the heavy load (53 lbs) of the printer during turns, bounces, and breaking but also must greatly cushions the vibration and jarring. Has anyone done this?

[Wolfe]

If you can put it in the tow car, it will have a far softer ride.

[tvketchum]

We tried our ink jet Epson, but the cartridges leaked our in transit. We tried turning it upside down while in transit, but the cat ridge ports dried out and clogged up. Since we had little need to have a printer, and did not want to spend money on a laser style, we went to transferring the needed print items to a flash drive and find an Office Depot or Staples to print as needed.


Tom
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[Ponyfvr]

We have a HP printer that we carry, it will print, copy or scan in B&W or color we keep it in a travel bag in one of the overheads and pull it out when we need it. We just took a three month trip and used it more that we thought that we would. I think that we have the HP 100 which has been discontinued but HP has other travel / mobile printers. This printer is fine for printing, scanning, and copying but would not be that good for photos

[kb0zke]

As Wolfe said, putting it in the tow vehicle would give it a softer ride, but do you really want to be moving a 53-pound printer from the Airstream to the truck and then back again on travel days? What about making sure that it can't get loose and cause damage to you should you have to make a panic stop? What about those travel days that include liquid sunshine?

I would suggest that you find a place on or near the floor, centered left and right, above the wheels that will let you put the printer on an inch-thick (or more) foam insulation and securely tied down. Of course, this probably puts the printer squarely in the middle of the hall, right outside of the bathroom. That may not be a practical traveling place, though, but you get the idea.

If you think about the three motions that the trailer goes through (up and down, turning left and right, rolling to the left or right) you will see that there is a point about which it bobs up and down (pitch) and turns left and right (yaw). The third motion, roll, rarely happens on a highway as it does in an airplane or submarine since the road is there. What you want to do is to put that printer as close to that point as possible.

Another thing you could do is to mount the printer to some "vibration" donuts. That would require you to firmly mount the printer to a base which is then mounted to those shock donuts. They are mainly used for things that generate vibrations (washing machines, generators, etc.), most of which are quite a bit heavier than your printer. You might need to do some research on this if you want to go this route.

[Mark Wiltrakis]

I have an Epson 3800. It's one big puppy to move around frequently. Could yours ride on top of the bed while in transit, perhaps tied in place (probably not necessary)? I'd soon tire of moving it from the tow vehicle to trailer. Despite the work involved, it can certainly print some beautiful B&W images. I'm sure you already know this.
Mark

[Al and Missy]

We bought a small laser printer (B&W only) largely because of ink drying concerns. It was about the same price as a good inkjet (<$150 on sale) . We have an infrequently used inkjet and every time I want to use it, I end up buying ink. It seemed like a good idea at the time - we had just been on a trip where I needed to print some tickets and couldn't find an easy way to do it. Haven't needed it since.

Al

[bunni]

Originally Posted by Al and Missy

We bought a small laser printer (B&W only) largely because of ink drying concerns. It was about the same price as a good inkjet (<$150 on sale) . We have an infrequently used inkjet and every time I want to use it, I end up buying ink. It seemed like a good idea at the time - we had just been on a trip where I needed to print some tickets and couldn't find an easy way to do it. Haven't needed it since.

Al

We did the exact same thing for the exact same reason. We keep ours under the bed on a thick rug. Just pop up the bed and plug it in to use it.

[Steamy1]

I use the HP officejet 250 mobile all-in-one. Scans, copies, b&w and color in a small size. Even has a battery if power is not available.

[sgschwend]

How about taking the cartridges out and just carry those in the TV?

We purchased a Cannon laser for $150, BW, lots of high quality prints with one cartridge, more waterproof too.

[Al and Missy]

Originally Posted by sgschwend

How about taking the cartridges out and just carry those in the TV?

We purchased a Cannon laser for $150, BW, lots of high quality prints with one cartridge, more waterproof too.

On some of the newer printers, the cartridges are serialized and once installed cannot be installed again, presumably to combat the refill industry.

My HP 86xx all in one is like that.

I think our little laser printer is the Canon, as well.

Al