My New Portable Printer Is Small Enough to Stash in a Drawer

As much as it feels like we live in a fully digital world, sometimes life demands a good old-fashioned hard-copy document. Before the pandemic, I was in the habit of printing what I needed at the office—easy. A few years of working remotely has made that convenience a distant memory, but I still need to get those return labels and tax forms printed somehow. Going to a local printing facility is inevitably a hassle, and a bulky eyesore of a machine wasn’t going to cut it. But I’m now the proud owner of Bisofice’s PeriPage portable printer. The solution is clear (and delightfully discreet). 

PeriPage Portable Printer by Bisofice, Amazon ($135)

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Like nothing I’ve seen before, this printer is quite literally smaller than a roll of paper towels (it’s 10.5 inches long, 3 inches wide, and 2 inches deep). I keep mine tucked away in a desk drawer with my other office supplies. The chargeable device operates from an app on my phone; I just air-drop or email myself the document, open it in the app, and press print. You can also scan a document from the app and print that, too. 

Rather than typical printer paper, it calls for special thermal paper, which is rolled up; you just tear it off at the perforated seam. Twenty-five pieces come in each roll, and refills are sold in sets of two for $14; however, the machine comes with three rolls, and after a few months, I’m not even done with the first yet. The thermal paper doesn’t require ink cartridges, which means it only prints in black and white—but if you’re mainly dealing with paperwork like me, that’s not a problem. At $135, Bisofice isn’t necessarily giving the printers away, but think about how much you’ll save never buying ink. While the idea of printing may feel outdated to some, this nifty machine is anything but old school.