Canon i80 Color Bubble Jet Printer

I print on the go all the time, and sometimes, at conferences and events, it's been more than a lifesaver. Printing good photos on the go seemed a natural addition.

Problems with this printer include: need really good quality paper for decent prints (consistent with Canon printers in my experience); Canon's warranty is lousy (and they have screwed me before with products that broke a couple months after warranty expired); photo quality is less than a dedicated 6or 8-ink desktop printer; expensive inks.

Primary use: printing at conferences or other public events that keep you away from an office. Kinkos beware--this thing handles most of the jobs that I'd run to a business center to do while on the go. HOWEVER, without buying the extra battery, you're still on the prowl for the power outlets, along with everyone else in the room.

Secondary use: traveling, where snapshots of friends can be handed over while still on the go. I tend to travel light, so carrying a printer is a bit nuts, and the inks run out quickly, but sometimes there's no replacement for printing a photo of some new friend and giving them a copy while on the go.

Tertiary use: desktop printer. There's cheaper, faster, better alternatives for this use though--but it does fine as a backup (or when I want to print from a room without a printer without getting up).

I bought this to pack with my eMachines notebook because we take 40 guys to Myrtle Beach each October. I needed less hassle than carrying a bulky laser (I was using a Samsung ML1210), and something faster than an older inkjet. Do not compare speed to much older inkjets of 4 or 5 years ago -this seems faster than my Samsung laser for one-off output. The black text printing is very quick for an inkjet. Posting scores and Team sheets should go rather quick. I do not plan to do color photos because I have less-expensive options. Size is about 12" x 7" x 2" thick -perfect for packing away. Now I have EVERYTHING in one carry bag -nothing to think about or lose. It does grab several sheets at one time every once in awhile. I can live with it if it doesn't become persistent. I just purchased the LK-51 Battery Supply to be truly transportable -works 6 hours on one charge with the included Lith-Ion Battery. Printer needs USB Male A / Male B Cable -order online very inexpensively (don't buy at local stores -$22 or $30 is a rip-off for these; you can get them as cheap as $2 at CyberGuys.com).

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The canon i80 is a good portable printer-not a replacement for a good workgroup printer or photo printer. I've had it for around 2 months now and put it through lots of use. In general, the quality is fairly good-monochrome printing is almost up to par with lasers. Color graphics are pretty decent-but remember that this is not a dedicated photo printer Speed is a bit slow-somewhat slower than advertised, but acceptable. It does tend to use lots of ink, and the ink cartridges are fairly expensive, though you do get 2 of them per pack. On the good side, the ink cartridges are easily refillable with any standard kit-but you will need to drill holes on the top after you peel back the label. It only holds around 20-30 sheets of paper and you'll need to fan through them before loading them in the sheet feeder or it will often pull in more than one sheet at a time. It seems pretty durable-I usually carry it with a laptop so it gets lots of travel and there are no alignment problems at all. My only real complaint is that I got it for its bluetooth capability. There is a dedicated bluetooth unit made for this printer, but it's not currently available from Canon or anywhere else I looked. I could get a universal, but that would defeat the purpose of having everything built in. If you're looking for portability, then this is the only way to go. Otherwise, you may be better off with a larger inkjet or a monochrome laser.

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I've owned several Canon portable printers in the past, including the Canon BJC-70, the BJC-80, and two Apple StyleWriter 2200's (BJC-70 bearing the Apple logo). I've also owned several portable printers made by other companies, none really as satisfying as the Canon printers.

I'm now using the Canon i80 (HP zd7000 & Windows XP). This printer clearly evolved from those earlier Canon printers, improving in some ways and not in others. On the positive side, print quality and speed is roughly on par with many desktop printers within this price range. Canon has also greatly reduced, and perhaps even elininated, the problem of the ink jets drying and clogging between print jobs (on earlier BJC models, the ink jets would dry out if the printer wasn't used for a week or so). And, unlike the i70, this printer comes with the multi-voltage power supply needed by international travelers.

Other things have not improved. Like those earlier printers, the i80 suffers from paper feed problems, ranging from paper not feeding at all (unless forced), to multiple sheets of paper feeding at the same time, to paper not feeding straight. Of course, this is more pronounced with very thin or very thick paper (thick envelopes are especially troublesome, often only solved by sharply creasing the envelope edges before using). All this is more of a nuisance than a serious problem, so should not automatically rule out this printer from purchase consideration. It doesn't happen all the time, or even most of the time, and can be reduced with experience.

The price continues to be high, especially with accessories often included with other portable printers (cables, battery attachments, batteries, and so on). If on-site portable printing is truly needed, requiring the purchase of accessories, I would have to recommend another printer with built-in battery. However, if one only needs to easily move a printer between hotel rooms, business meetings, or offices, the performance and convenience of the i80 wins out.

Some things are a mixed bag. The case design of the i80 has improved over earlier Canon models. The paper holder/cover now completely covers the printer, protecting it from dirt/dust or while packed in a bag. However, at the same time, Canon switched that case from a neutral near-black to an oddball copper/tan color which doesn't match any computer I've ever seen. Of course, this doesn't really affect performance, but it is distractingly noticable.

Finally, some things have gotten worse compared to earlier models. The i80 does not properly print some web pages in Internet Explorer without an external plug-in (Easy Web Print), which adds another IE toolbar complete with bright red Canon logo and buttons not matching other toolbar icons. Without this plug-in, the right side of some web pages are cut off. Canon either needs to reduce the intrusiveness of this plug-in or integrate this capability into the print driver as other companies do (the three other printers I now own handle these same web pages properly without a plug-in). Luckily, printing everything else with the i80 is entirely painless.

In conclusion, all portable printers are a compromise offering portable convenience with some inconveniences. The Canon i80 is no exception. However, the inconveniences associated with the i80 are minor, easily outstripped by overall convenience and performance. As such, I can comfortably recommend this printer to any fellow road warrier.

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I used this in my apartment and bought the Bluetooth module to make it wireless. The printer managment tools only work when the cable is used and the cartridges go fast when printing pictures. Usinf this with my Laptop and Canon A80 camera..love it