When it comes to packing for a trip, few people think about carrying a printer. Large, cumbersome printers are not ideal travel companions. Printers, like so many other technology goods, have gotten smaller and lighter in recent years, and a few feasible options for portable printers have emerged. Whether you need to print contracts, invoices, reports, or images, you’ll be able to locate one that will do the job and is small enough to carry with you everywhere you go.

Every device has a printer.

The large number of portable devices—whether laptops, tablets, or smartphones—with which you can read documents or images has also fueled the development in the quantity and variety of portable printers. Mobile printers that can handle a variety of input, including files received through multiple wireless protocols, from regular Wi-Fi to peer-to-peer connections such as Wi-Fi Direct, which don’t require the usage of a Wi-Fi network at all, have become increasingly popular. On some printers, including picture and document models, odd-size paper can be printed.

Traditional (if small) document printers designed to output letter-size information from PCs at a quality comparable to desktop inkjets should be considered by business travelers. Consumers who want to print and distribute photos at parties or other gatherings should look for a photo printer that can print 4-by-6-inch (and, in some circumstances, 5-by-7-inch) images from memory cards or USB keys, as well as from computers or mobile devices via a wired or wireless connection.

All-in-One Printers on the Go

There are also a few portable all-in-one printers available that can print, scan, and copy while being small enough to fit in a travel bag. If you can’t live without both a printer and a scanner while on the road, you won’t have to carry two different devices any longer.

You don’t need to be near a wall outlet to print because most of these devices include batteries (standard or optional). Wallet-size images can be printed wirelessly from cellphones or tablets on some of the smallest versions. There are also label printers, some of which print from label programs on a computer and others that are stand-alone versions.

Whatever you require, one of these portable printers should suffice. Check out our overall top suggested models or our best-rated laser printers if you need a full-size printer. Are you looking for a printer that is more specialized? Learn more about the top photo printers and 3D printers. Some of the best label makers we recommend are also portable.