Back in May just before the total lockdown started, I found a cheap portable printer online while doom scrolling on Lazada (online shopping platform here) and I bought it. The Paperang P2 was a thermal printer, same type of printer for receipts you get after you purchase items at the store with your credit or debit cards. It does not require ink for printing, and the papers are cheap, hence I decided to get one, just for the fun of it. You do need to connect to the smartphone via the official app to print your images. The pairing of printer to smartphone was easy and printing process was relatively fast, just a few seconds. Of course, the print is only in black and white.
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| I like how small and portable the printer is |
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| Fast and cheap black and white prints, what is there not to like? |
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| The "lens" is fake and only for decoration. It does nothing. |
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| Not exactly high resolution, but hey, it is a cheap printer |
If you intend to purchase one to beware of the app compatibility issues, the latest Android App is reportedly problematic, having connection issues from printer to smartphone. I am currently still using the older version (version 4) being sideloaded into my Android phone, and it worked with no issues.
The print quality is nothing to shout about. It is a cheap printer, and you get grainy looking output. The resolution is quite low, and you don't get a lot of tonality or dynamic range - the whites will be blown out to white and blacks will be crushed. For a budget, basic gadget, I am not expecting fine art quality of course. It is what it is, and I still find the prints to be quite fun to play with, and I particularly like the
There are various papers to choose from, you can even print directly into stickers. You can also make notes, or to do lists to be printed, instead of images. I can totally see how this can be a popular device for bullet journals, or stick on notes for productivity and organization purposes. The original paper from Paperang has a claim of 10 years life guarantee. Whether that is true or not, I cannot tell at this moment, as I only had this printer since May. There are many third party paper options, some as cheap as RM1 per roll, and this is the main reason I bought the printer. I cannot imagine the running cost if the papers are expensive.
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| Very easy to print, and the process is fast |
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| You can change to different types of paper, even stickers, and the papers are selling for cheap. |
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| Replacing the printing paper is easy too. |
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| Official companion App to transfer images to the printer, and print. |
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| Output is not great, but I like the high contrast black and white look. |
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| I can see myself doing a mini project using this printer. |
I personally think the Paperang P2 can be a great conversation starter. It is small and portable enough to carry around during photowalks, or even for dinner meets. I can walk up to someone and ask if they wanted their images printed, and I can do that on the spot!
Overall, I did have plenty of fun playing with the Paperang P2. It is not a device for any serious work, but hey, photography is not all serious, it should be fun!
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