BIOS: Technology Means Business

Pentax Imaging Company has added embedded Bluetooth connectivity as an ordering option for its PocketJet 3 and PocketJet 3 Plus portable printer product line.

The addition of Bluetooth should provide a simple, reliable cable-free printing connection of up to 100 meters (approximately 300 feet) to a variety of laptop and handheld Bluetooth-enabled devices.

Since 1993, Pentax has been providing lightweight, compact, and extremely portable printing and scanning solutions to meet the needs of mobile professionals. The PocketJet portable printers produce 'laser-quality' prints with sharp text and graphics at speeds up to three pages per minute, according to Pentax.

'Bluetooth connectivity is the next logical enhancement to the Pentax mobility line as we continue to develop products to meet the needs of the constantly evolving mobile work environment,' said Ned Bunnell, director of marketing, Pentax Imaging Company.

The PocketJet 3 and PocketJet 3 Plus printers measure just 264mm wide and weigh less than 264g while promising to produce dependable full-page printing of crisp, high quality text and graphics without ink, mess or hassles. The PocketJet 3 offers 200dpi printing while the PocketJet 3 Plus up this to 300dpi. Using direct thermal printing technology, the printers eliminate the need for messy and expensive ink, toner, or ribbons.

A thermal printer (or direct thermal printer) produces a printed image by selectively heating coated thermochromic paper when the paper passes over the thermal print head. The coating turns black in the areas where it is heated, producing an image. Two-colour direct thermal printers are capable of printing both black and an additional color (often red), by applying heat at two different temperatures.

In order to print, one inserts thermo-sensitive paper between the thermal head and the platen. The printer sends an electrical current to the heating resistor of the thermal head, which in turn generates heat in a prescribed pattern. The heat activates the thermo-sensitive colouring layer of the thermo-sensitive paper, which manifests a pattern of colour change in response. Such a printing mechanism is known as a thermal system or direct system.

The paper is impregnated with a solid-state mixture of a dye and a suitable matrix; a combination of a fluoran leuco dye and an octadecylphosphonic acid is an example. When the matrix is heated above its melting point, the dye reacts with the acid, shifts to its coloured form, and the changed form is then conserved in metastable state when the matrix solidifies back quickly enough.

Early formulations of the thermo-sensitive coating used in thermal paper were sensitive to incidental heat, abrasion, friction (which can cause heat, thus darkening the paper), light (which can fade printed images), and water. However, more modern thermal coating formulations have resulted in exceptional image stability; theoretically, thermally-printed text should remain legible at least 50 years.

The PocketJet 3 with Bluetooth has a suggested list price of $449 (£262 inc. VAT), while PocketJet 3 Plus with Bluetooth will be $529 (£308 inc. VAT). The pricing represents a packaged kit which includes the printer, AC adapter, battery, USB cable, 100 sheets of Pentax paper, printer driver CD-ROM and documentation. Both models are available now in volume.

More information about the printers can be viewed here.