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I will have to look tomorrow at the exact model number, but we use a mobile HP printer that serves the purpose well, its very small but still prints on a full standard page. It has a battery that lasts all day if plugged in over night. You can plug it in for use if the batter is low. I was skeptical at first but it really kicks ass. All the invoicing done on a Samsung tablet, they sign the tablet, plug usb into the battery powered printer...boom done. I carry in the tablet and printer in a small laptop bag, looks nice and fits well. The tablet also has a camera, so we take a picture of the house or furnace to be printed on the invoice as well. Helps to personalize it to them as well. I'll look up the model tomorrow, Im sure if you look at HP website the mobile, rechargable printer you will see it. Can't be that many options.

Well I got my Panasonic Tough Book computer now, and it is all set. I have it hooked to an old HP printer we had that wasn't compatible with the new Windows 7, and so far so good, but it is suppose to get down into the singe digits again tomorrow night, so I guess we will see how it goes.

I tried like crazy to find a cheap printer that would put up with cold. I gave up. I think brother still makes a portable printer. It is really small and designed for printing on the fly. They were not cheap like most ink jets you see at the office store.

I should clarify that the old paper forms are carbonless so I leave the original with the customer and file the copy at the office. The computer is the copy for on the road.
I do mainly residential, so I collect on most calls, and here in Idaho were we are still 10 years behind the times people that I deal with prefer a hard copy, and don't want it emailed. I tried that with Invoice2Go and my IPad.

We do not print anything. Everything is digital Via emails. The office then sends hard copy bills out if needed. We are all commercial. Everything is signed on the computer. Customer signs and an invoice is sent right to there computer and also main office. In the event they do not have email office sends out a hard copy.

Originally Posted by Baloo2327

I still have the old paper forms for backup. Yes I print a copy for the customer, and one for myself to file away. I like to have hard copies of everything. I love the convenience of the computer, but trust it completely.

i usually write hard so it goes through onto the the customers copy when writing up my invoices but some customers like to make a copy of the original copy so over time its still readable. but with the printed invoice it will save the hassle. do you file them in the van or in the office? but i guess you can save a copy in the computer so that will count as in the van so you can refer to it when dealing with the customer

I still have the old paper forms for backup. Yes I print a copy for the customer, and one for myself to file away. I like to have hard copies of everything. I love the convenience of the computer, but trust it completely.

i write mine up on carbon copy, the regular style invoice. would love to switch do you print 2 copies one for the customer to sign and save for yourself and one for them to kepp??? how do you do it when printing them.

Thanks for replying. My son has an old HP printer, but isn't compatible with windows 7, but my new computer has XP Pro, so I might give it a shot. I'm not impressed with the Brother.

Believe it or not I have been using a dirt cheap HP D1530 printer for years. It lives in the truck and I've never had a problem printing when cold.

Printers in van?

I've finally come to the 21st century, and given into using a computer for scheduling, invoicing, and keeping track of everything. I already found out a cheap Acer laptop doesn't hold up to everyday use, so I ordered a Panasonic Tough Book. My problem is I just found out my all-in-one Brother printer wont work when it gets cold.
What does everyone use for printing in the field? I love typing up my invoices, and it looks much better then my handwritten invoices, so I don't want to go backwards. Do I just need to get a small printer I can pull out of the van every night, or do they make something like the Tough Book that handles the extremes. I do bring my computer in each night to finish up paper work.