Brother MW-260

Brother MW-260

Almost any way you look at it, the Brother MW-260 ($549.95 direct) is atypical. Simply being a thermal printer makes it unusual, but it's also an unusual thermal printer. It uses strictly cut sheet paper, and the paper has much the same look and feel as plain paper. It's also surprisingly small and light, at 1.2 pounds, and it prints only on A6 size paper - 4.1 by 5.8 inches. Most important, if you need hard copy on the go, but can do without letter-size output, it easily justifies its high price by offering what could be the ideal compromise between portability and features. There are few printers that are similar enough to the MW-260 to count as direct competition. Probably the closest two are the Planon PrintStik PS910 ($270 street, 2.5 stars), and Brother's own MW-145BT ($399.95 direct, 3.5 stars). Both are also thermal printers, and they effectively bracket the MW-260, with the PrintStik one step up and the MW-145BT one step down. The PrintStik prints letter and legal size output, and it weighs 1.5 pounds, not much more than the MW-260, complete with paper and rechargeable battery in both cases. The MW-145BT, in contrast, is a shrunk- down version of the MW-260 in many ways. It weighs 11 ounces, and it uses A7-size paper, which is about half the size of A6 paper.