Canon PIXMA TR150 Review, Pros and Cons

A few decades ago, printing on the road sounded impossible. But today, Canon PIXMA TR150 has proven that printing documents anywhere and anytime does make sense. The wireless and portable printer is specifically designed to print on the road, allowing you to handle office documents even if you’re outside the office. Coming with a competitive initial cost, this is a printer every business owner should have.

The PIXMA TR150 is a printer-only device that lets you print color documents. It boasts tons of features to improve your printing experience on the road. The printing machine is highly portable, thanks to the Li-Ion portable battery that supports quick charging to make your printer ready all the time. Not to mention it comes with ease-of-use features for easier outdoor printing.

Easy to Carry with Streamlined Design

What do you expect from a portable printer? Yes, it should have a compact and lightweight design, allowing you to carry the device easily. The TR150 comes with a streamlined design that enables you to conveniently print almost anywhere. This model is also a great space-saver so it can slip easily into the case for easier transport.

The printer measures 2.6 inches by 7.3 inches by 12.7 inches and weighs 4.5 pounds. With such dimensions, it can fit nicely on your car seat, park bench, or anywhere else. It comes with trays that can be lifted whenever you use the device and closed for secure transport. Personally, I really love this design idea. Not only does it promote secure transport but also it keeps the interior clean.

To meet its high portability, this model does not feature too many buttons. Under the closed tray, you can find a 1.44-inch OLED monochrome display where you can configure the printing task. Next to the display, there are function buttons including arrow buttons, OK button, and power button.

The portable printer is also equipped with three slots for AC power, USB port, and anti-theft lock. The least mentioned features a Kingston-type lock that helps prevent thieves from stealing your printer.

Printer Only

Canon’s TR150 comes with print-only functionality, both monochrome and color documents. Supporting up to 4800 x 1200 dpi print resolution combined with inkjet FINE print head, this small machine promises high-quality output. The print result is comparable to other home office printers such as the Lexmark MC3426adw color laser printer.

Not only can you print formal documents, but it can also print creative projects. Thanks to photo printing and borderless printing capabilities that give a lot of conveniences to handle marketing projects, brochures, leaflets, and many more. It also features ChromaLife100 that boasts extended longevity to make your photos last longer. This mini printer does not support two-sided printing but I think it is tolerable.

Competitive Print Speed

The PIXMA TR150 is rated at 9.0 pages per minute for mono and 5.5 pages per minute for color. For a portable printer, I should say this speed rating is pretty competitive. Even though the rate is rather slower than home office printers, this is not a printer that will make you wait.

How about borderless photo printing? As I tested the printer, it took approximately 53 seconds for a borderless photo. With such a speed rating, this printer can easily handle your creative projects or marketing purpose without difficulties.

Acceptable Paper Input

This device is equipped with a foldable rear tray that serves as a lid when the printer is not used. The foldable tray can handle up to 50 sheets of plain paper. This paper input capacity is more than enough for urgent printing during your business travel. It does not support a multipurpose feeder, so the rear tray is the only paper input it offers.

Despite its small size, the TR150 supports a variety of paper sizes and types. It can handle various sizes including B5, A5, A4, envelope, square, card size, and 8 inches by 10 inches. A number of paper types can be used to print your documents such as plain paper, removable photo stickers, magnetic photo paper, matte paper, envelopes, and more.

Canon PIXMA TR150 Output Quality

This portable Canon printer’s speed rating is not impressive but its output quality is worth the wait. This model redefines portable business printing with outstanding results for text, graphics, and photos. The document I printed showed highly legible texts, even to the smaller ones. It was not comparable to laser printers but it’s more than enough for office documents.

Several issues did appear, especially on spacing. However, it would not affect the overall result of the documents. When it came to gradients and fills, this printer worked amazingly—this device printed much better than I expected. Whether you need to print handouts with Excel charts or PPT slides, the TR150 can easily handle it.

The same case with photos, it also delivered high color accuracy and amazing details. The photos I printed look vivid with bright and accurate colors. Even for borderless photos, this model did not find significant problems. I came to the conclusion that for such a small printer, the TR150 is worth using.

Consumables and Running Cost

The PIXMA TR150 inkjet color printer runs with two ink cartridges. It uses PGI-35 Black and CLI-36 Color to ensure high-quality output. The pigment black cartridge yields up to 200 pages while the color cartridge yields up to 260 pages. But if you print photos sized 10 x 15 cm, the black cartridge produces up to 7113 photos while the color cartridge produces up to 102 photos.

How much do you think the small printer costs you? Well, I am about to say that the TR150 is one of the printers that will drain your budgets. According to Canon’s math, this model costs around 7.5 cents per monochrome page. The cost increased significantly up to 15.1 cents for the color page. Now you can calculate how much you would spend per month according to your print volume.

But when compared to other inkjet printers, this running cost is quite competitive. If you occasionally print outside the office, the TR150 can be a good choice for your business and budgets.

Portable Battery

The model is powered by a Lithium-Ion battery that features quick charging to ensure its availability at all times. This portable battery only takes approximately 2 hours 20 minutes on AC adapter and 5 hours on USB. Coming with a 4-step LED indicator, you can easily monitor the power of your batter so the device won’t run out of power when you use it.

On a full charge, this battery is able to support up to 330 sheets on USB to PC. This rating is more than enough to handle your business document while you are outside. Just make sure the battery is fully charged before using it.

Connectivity Options and Smart Assistant

Canon’s TR150 comes with myriad connectivity options. The standard interfaces include USB, Wi-Fi, Wireless LAN, and Wireless PictBridge. Additionally, it allows you to establish connection with mobile devices and enjoy mobile apps for iOS and Android including Message In Print app, Easy-PhotoPrint Editor app, and Canon Print app.

Furthermore, the printer features mobile connectivity options such as Mopria, Wireless Direct, Google Cloud Print, and Apple AirPrint. Not to mention it also supports PIXMA Cloud Link and Canon Print Service Plugin for improved printing experience.

Much like other today’s printers, the TR150 supports smart assistant and automation support that includes Google Assistant, Amazon Alexa, and IFTTT Support. These features ensure your printing convenience on the road and almost anywhere. When it comes to software, the printer driver is included so you don’t need to download the driver by yourself. The package also has IJ Printer Assistant Tool as included software.

Canon PIXMA TR150 Pros and Cons

The portable TR150 comes with a single function to make your business printing much easier and practical. This model has a lot of tempting aspects that make you fall in love with the device. However, it also has several drawbacks to take into consideration. Check out the following pros and cons.

Canon PIXMA TR150 Pros

• High portability

Being a wireless portable printer, Canon’s TR150 is a great space-saver. The model comes with a compact and lightweight design, allowing you to carry and print from almost anywhere. Even if you don’t travel, this printer won’t eat much space in your home office.

• Outstanding print quality

Small size is not a reason to belittle its quality. Supported by capable print technology, this machine delivers amazing output for business documents. Not only can it handle texts and graphics, but it also tackles photos without difficulties. The printer offers accurate color and impressive details for promising output.

• Detachable battery

When you are outside, it may be difficult to find a power socket. Thankfully, the TR150 is equipped with a detachable battery that lets you print away from the socket. The powerful battery allows you to print up to 330 pages

Canon PIXMA TR150 Cons

• Slow print speed

This is a printer that will make you wait. If you are a busy worker who doesn’t have much time, I’m afraid this printer is going to slow your work pace down.

• Expensive running cost

The TR150 comes with a high cost per page. If you plan to print a lot of documents, this machine is about to drain your budgets.

Bottom Line

The Canon PIXMA TR150 is a wireless portable printer to meet your high mobility work. The combination of compact and lightweight design with excellent output quality churns out a perfect printing device when you are outside. Overall, this printer can handle half of your job.

If you need to print crucial documents on the road, the TR150 will be your best partner. But if you can’t tolerate its slow output and expensive running cost, you might need to find other alternatives for wireless and portable printing.