HPRT MT810 portable printer review

My time with the HRPT MT810 wireless printer has been fun. It’s a mighty mite of a printer for road warriors who need on-the-go printing. Although we’re using printers less than ever before, there remains a need to quickly print up a document, or in some cases, a receipt, and the $139 MT810 is a perfect solution for these scenarios.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I could print and get done with this little battery-powered dynamo. The idea of having a wireless mobile printer in my backpack, along with my laptop, mouse, camera, and backup battery, allows for a fully mobile office experience. 

However, there are a few snags to consider. First, you can only print in black and white as the MT810 exclusively uses thermal paper. Speaking of thermal paper, it’s a special paper that can only be purchased in certain stores, which can be a hassle. But for mobile professionals looking for a print-on-the-go solution, the HPRT MT810 is a great choice.

HPRT MT810 portable printer pricing and availability

The HPRT MT810 isn’t available on Amazon yet. However, you can snag one early for $139 during its Indiegogo campaign and save some money. Once it hits Amazon, it will run you $199.

The MT810 prints in A4 size, which is the most common international paper standard, however, it uses thermal paper, so although you don’t have to worry about ink, you do have to purchase thermal paper rolls. Thermal paper rolls will run you $39.99 at Staples for a four-pack of rolls.

HPRT MT810 portable printer setup

Connecting the HPRT MT810 to your laptop or smartphone takes only a few minutes. To pair via laptop, go to HRPT’s website and download the driver for either Windows or macOS, install, and you’re good to go — or you can connect via Bluetooth. You also have the option of using the supplied USB-C cable to connect it directly to your laptop. 

If you’d prefer to use your smartphone, you can go to your respective App store (Google Play Store or Apple App Store) and download the free HiPrint App. From there, you can quickly connect via Bluetooth.

HPRT MT810 portable printer design and ease of use

The HPRT MT810 comes in a black matte plastic housing that looks and feels reasonably sturdy. I had it banging around in my backpack for a week with no visible damage, and it worked without a hitch. Measuring 11 x 3.74 x 1.97 inches and weighing only two pounds, it’s just itching to jump into your laptop bag and travel. And its rectangular profile and rounded corners look nice no matter where it ends up.

You will find a slightly recessed ovular power button on top near the right that offers a nice tactile feel. An LED inside the power button lights up when the printer is on and blinks when you’re printing. On the right is a small indicator light that illuminates when you’ve connected via Bluetooth. At the top right, we find an HRPT logo. Centered at the top of the unit is the wide slot where your completed documents come out. Lastly, on the left, we find the USB Type-C port that can be used to connect to a laptop and charge the MT810.

On each side of the printer, you’ll locate a set of small tabs. 

When you press down on the tabs, the top will pop open, giving you access to the roll of thermal paper within. The paper roll is full width and the size of standard letter-sized paper. The roll has 22.9 feet (7 meters) of paper to print on. Just place the roll in; it’s that simple. There are no adjusting sheets of paper to make sure everything’s aligned and no potential paper jams. You just drop it in and go.

Take a peek inside the bottom of the lid, and you’ll see a black roller that helps feed the paper during printing. The printing element appears to be located in the front of the printer's chassis and in front of the lid.

The HPRT MT810 is available in four colors: midnight black, starlight, misty rose, and pearl white.

HPRT MT810 portable printer app

Using the free HiPrint app, you can choose any paper length you wish to print. It’s kind of fun, and I printed out a couple of scrolls.

It also comes in handy if you need to print long graphs or paper-sized legal documents.

The app allows you to print documents and images directly from your phone's most popular document-producing applications. I wonder how many rolls it would take to print War and Peace?

HPRT MT810 portable printer print speeds

The MT810 prints super quickly. HRPT rates it at up to 1.81 inches per second, and during my testing, it printed text and photos quickly and accurately. 

The speed of printing is 30mm per second. It takes about 10 seconds to print an A4 paper-length paper.

In one minute, it can print about four to fiveA4 paper-length pages. There will be a pause between each page printing so speeds fell just shy of six pages per min during my testing.

HPRT MT810 portable printer print quality

The MT810 prints at a solid 203 DPI for a small mobile thermal printer, producing tight, crisp documents and solid images.  The demo prints I made looked good, with the text quality coming very close to my standard inkjet printer.

It only prints in black and white; that's the only rub I can think of. It’s a small trade-off as you’ll get great prints without the need for a bulky setup.

HPRT MT810 portable printer battery life

The MT810’s battery life is rated at nine hours on a single charge, which is more than enough for your standard work day. And since no one is printing for eight hours straight, I found that I got three to five days on a single charge. The built-in 2,500 mAH battery is meant to endure  200 plus print jobs

Bottom line

The HPRT MT810 is a promising product at an affordable price in the mobile printer market that produces quality prints. It offers a nice compact design that’s perfect for most backpacks. Also, the MT810 grants users great flexibility thanks to its Bluetooth connectivity, smartphone app, and easy-to-download laptop drivers. For under $200, the MT810 is a win for HRPT and mobile professionals.