BJC 80--A Great Little Printer

As a "road warrior," I travel extensively with my job. I frequently have the need to create and print documents while traveling. In the larger metropolitan markets, the hotels offer business centers where you have access to computers, printers, copiers, and fax machines. But in some of the places I've been sent to, like Paducah, KY (a wonderful place, by the way) or Beaufort, SC, the notion of a business center might mean that they have a fax machine they might let you use.

Tired of looking for a Kinko's after a long day of travel and reluctant to ask the client to borrow their printer (which seems rather unprofessional), I finally bit the bullet and began shopping for a portable ink-jet printer. Contenders included devices by Canon, Brother, and H-P. Canon actually offers two models, the BJC-50 (without a built-in sheet feeder) and the BJC-80 (sheet-feeder built in). After looking at the specs and sampling the output from each printer, I opted for the Canon BJC-80.

The price, at $299, is a little steep. However, when you realize that the unit is half the size and one-fourth the weight of your laptop computer and will easily fit into the computer case or your briefcase, you begin to appreciate it even more and to justify the price in your mind.

The BJC-80 comes with separate black and color cartridges, infrared communications capability, and a 30-sheet feeder. An interesting option is a scanner head that can take the place of the printhead, turning the machine into a sheet-fed scanner with OCR capabilities. The printer does a great job on labels, envelopes, and transparencies as well as plain paper. Print quality is adequate, though not outstanding. Although the colors are bright, there is noticeable banding in color prints, especially on transparency stock. The black text is sharp, nearly laser-quality.

On the downside, the ink cartridges are tiny, necessitating frequent replacements. I typically carry a handful with me whenever I travel. But they are also easy to locate. Staples, Office Max, Office Depot, and even Wal-Mart carry them.

The printer is very quiet and highly reliable. I've carried it on planes and hauled it around in the trunks of rental cars all over the country. It has never offered a complaint or failed to work. I did have some trouble with the infrared communications, even though that was a selling point for me, and wound up buying an 18-inch parallel cable that I throw into the case when I travel.

To show you how much I like this printer, I decided not to let my company pay for it so I could own it personally. Anyone who travels or has a very cramped workspace with only occasional printing requirements might find that the BJC-80 will fill the bill nicely.