mobile printer temperature range

[cubby1223]

I'm trying to figure out how to make my life easier, and looking at buying a mobile printer to hand people invoices on the spot (connect back to the office from my laptop & mobile phone as hotspot and input an invoice into Quickbooks).

Question is the temperature range, official specs say minimum 32 degrees. As a "for instance", I live in a Chicago suburb and the current forecasted high next Monday is (-9) degrees.

Obviously the car will be heated up as I drive to the location, the temp when I try to run the printer should be higher, but would the inkjet be able to function at all? What kind of problems do they have sitting around in very low temperatures?

 

[fralexandr]

http://forums.anandtech.com/showthread.php?t=2125195
a similarish thread from 4 years ago about ink and freezing.
suggestions from that thread: thermal printer (if printing few pages), dot impact printer

dot impact printers seem to have an operating temperature range of 0C-40C+ (32F-104F+). Most of these say they can be stored at or below 0F.
Impact printers still use ink.

The only printer i found listing a 32F operating min temp is the Ithaca BANKjet 1500
It doesn't recommend storage below 14F.
http://www.racoindustries.com/ithbankjet-features.htm

You should be fine as long as you let the printer and ink warm up to the recommended minimum temperature before operating.
http://www.ehow.com/facts_7910697_effect-freezing-inkjet-cartridges.html
http://www.printerknowledge.com/threads/winter-storage.1930/

If you're planning on bringing the printer around with you, you should be aware that when moving cold objects into warm environments there tends to be condensation. Typically this means waiting at least a few hours before turning any electronics on (If the printer isn't properly sealed).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humidity#Electronics

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Some thermal printers seem to have operating temperatures starting at below 0F, so those might be better if they'll work for you.
http://www.zebra.com/content/dam/ze...atasheets/mobile/rwseries-datasheet-en-us.pdf
says operating temperature -4F to 131F, ruggedized for extreme environments/climates, supports bluetooth and has an optional add in for 802.11b/g
prints ~2-4" wide invoice/receipts.

The RW 420 is ~$750 new, ~$300 used/like new/refurb