Canon Pixma TR150 Review: Photo Quality on the Go

1. Introduction & Overview

The Canon Pixma TR150 is a dedicated mobile printer built for traveling professionals, photographers on location, and students who need a compact printing solution. Unlike competitors such as the HP OfficeJet 250, the TR150 does not feature a built-in scanner. Instead, Canon has focused entirely on making this printer as small, light, and high-quality as possible, delivering incredible photo and document prints from a device that easily slides into a standard messenger bag.

By shedding the scanner hardware, Canon created a machine that prioritizes mobility and print resolution above all else. If you are looking for a device that prints gallery-quality photos and sharp text while sitting on the tray table of a train or in a small hotel room, the TR150 is a top contender.

2. Design and Build Quality

Portability is the primary draw here. The Pixma TR150 is incredibly sleek and compact. Measuring roughly 12.7 x 7.3 x 2.6 inches and weighing just 4.5 pounds (without the optional battery), it takes up virtually no space. The build quality feels sturdy and robust, designed to survive the bumps and jostles of regular travel.

The top cover lifts to reveal a 50-sheet paper feeder. On the control panel, you'll find a highly legible 1.44-inch monochrome OLED display alongside intuitive physical navigation buttons. This display makes it wonderfully simple to monitor ink levels, connect to new Wi-Fi networks in hotels, and perform maintenance tasks without needing to decipher confusing LED error lights.

3. Setup Process and Connectivity

The TR150 supports standard 2.4GHz and 5GHz Wi-Fi, Apple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, and Google Cloud Print. One of its standout modern features is the inclusion of a USB Type-C port, allowing you to charge the optional battery using a standard power bank or your laptop charger, reducing the number of cables you need to travel with.

4. Print Quality and Performance

The print quality is where the Pixma TR150 truly outshines other mobile printers on the market.

• Text Documents: Utilizing the dedicated pigment black ink tank (PGI-35), text documents come out crisp, dark, and highly professional.
• Photos and Graphics: Canon’s heritage in photography is obvious here. Using the dye-based color cartridge (CLI-36), the TR150 can print gorgeous, vibrant, borderless photos up to 8.5 x 11 inches. Color gradients are smooth, and skin tones are remarkably accurate.

Speed: Mobile printers are rarely speed demons. The TR150 outputs black text documents at approximately 9 pages per minute (ppm) and color documents at 5.5 ppm. A 4x6 borderless photo takes just under a minute to print. While not suitable for 100-page reports, the speed is perfectly adequate for on-the-fly contracts and invoices.

5. The Missing Scanner

It is important to reiterate that this is a print-only device. There is no flatbed scanner or ADF. If you need to scan documents on the road, you will need to rely on smartphone scanning apps (like the one built into the Canon PRINT app) to digitize documents before sending them to the printer. This trade-off is what allows the TR150 to be significantly smaller and lighter than all-in-one alternatives.

6. Running Costs and The Battery

The most controversial aspect of the TR150 is the battery. The battery is not included in the base price of the printer; it is sold as a separate, somewhat expensive add-on. If you strictly print in hotel rooms with access to a wall outlet, you won't need it. But if you want true mobile printing from your car or a coffee shop, you must factor the battery cost into your purchase.

As for ink, the TR150 uses two small cartridges. The black cartridge yields about 200 pages, while the color yields about 260 pages. Because the cartridges are small, the cost per page hovers around 7 to 9 cents for black and over 15 cents for color. This is typical for the mobile printer category, prioritizing form factor over ink volume.