HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer review

We gave the HP Officejet H470 a mediocre rating in 2008 for hardware flaws and poor quality graphics prints, but its latest mobile effort sports a sleek design, wireless connectivity, and capable simplicity. Its $270 price tag might be hard to swallow when you frame it against similarly priced all-in-one desktop printers, but with few other options in the mobile-printing category, we recommend the HP Officejet 100 if your work depends on the ability to print high-quality documents anywhere.

Design and features
The HP Officejet 100 Mobile Printer's physical composition is nearly identical to its predecessor with the exception of simple updates to the silver color scheme and a larger lid that extends coverage over the entire machine. Like the older version, the corners are contoured and the output bay, lid, and ink cartridge cover all fold neatly into the body of the printer for streamlined transport.

This time around, HP does away with three separate model options and gives you a single model instead, but offers accessories like a Bluetooth dongle and a carrying case for purchase on the HP Web site. The Officejet 100 is compact for easy transport, measuring just smaller than a single-function inkjet printer at 13.7 inches wide, 6.9 inches deep, and 3.3 inches high. With the included lithium ion rechargeable battery (rated to last an unverifiable 500 pages with a full charge) installed, the printer only weighs 5 pounds, which is roughly the weight of the average laptop computer.

The top of the rectangular printer pops up to reveal an integrated 50-sheet paper input guide with an adjustable slider to fit a short range of media sizes from regular 8.5-inch-by-11-inch paper down to 3-inch-by-5-inch index cards. A simple control panel lives just below that with four buttons for power, paper feed, job cancel, and a Bluetooth button to put the printer in pairing mode.

Part of the Officejet 100's appeal is its versatile connectivity options, with Bluetooth being the latest tool for integration. You can also set it up using a standard USB cord, although it's worth noting that HP doesn't include one in the box. Additionally, this printer mysteriously omits the SD/miniSD/MMC card slot, so your only possible choice for direct media transfers is the PictBridge USB port on the back.

The omission of a media card slot is a hassle for snapshot photographers, so you'll likely prefer the previous Officejet model if you fall into that group. Keep in mind, however, that the Officejet 100 is HP's first mobile printer to include integrated Bluetooth, so you'll need to rely exclusively on the USB connection to connect the H470 or your computer.

The actual printing technology is handled by two cartridges that load into the center of the Officejet 100: one tricolor and one black. Using the calculations and page yields for the standard-size cartridges listed on the site, a full page of black-only ink will cost 5.5 cents per page, while a full-color print will run you 8.8 cents per page. Along with the high premium you'll pay for the initial hardware purchase, you'll also shell out more cash than average to refill it. At least HP cuts you a deal with its extra-large ink cartridges that cost slightly more but save more in the long run.