4 out of 4 people found this review helpful.
Desktop Features on the Go!
Date of Review: Jun 16, 2000
The Cannon BJC-80 is quite possibly the best mobile printer for the money that is currently available. This printer will cost you less than $300.00 in virtually any store or if you would like to save about half the cost, then I recommend logging on to either www.onsale.com or www.egghead.com and checking out their auctions. I purchased a refurbished Cannon BJC-80 about a year ago through an auction at onsale.com and it was less than $130.00, including shipping charges. You could probably get it for even less today!
The BJC-80 will print up to 4.5ppm in black and white and up to 2ppm in color at a resolution of 720 X 360 dpi for excellent print quality. I also own an HP Officejet 710 and I believe that the color print quality on the BJC-80 is nearly as good as the HP. I am a Realtor and often have to create color flyers for my listings or for open houses and the BJC-80 does a wonderful job of creating professional looking flyers. The sheet feeder on this printer will hold up to 30 sheets of paper.
I also have the IS-12 color image scanning cartridge, which came with my printer through the auction. It scans at 360 dpi, which is more than sufficient for most scanning needs. To more adequately utilize my printer's scanning ability, I also purchased WinFax Pro from an auction at onsale.com for under $25.00 and this has allowed me to scan documents into my laptop and then fax them. This also allowed me to scan documents into my laptop and then print out copies, like a copying machine. I can now go to my clients house, write an offer on my laptop, print it out for them, let them sign, then scan back into my laptop and print them copies, then fax to another Real Estate office, all from the comfort of my clients home.
If you don't like wires, then this printer is the printer for you! The BJC-80 has Infra-red technology which allows the printer to communicate with a laptop computer without a printing wire. It is a small flap on the side of the printer that pulls out and lines up nicely with the back of a laptop, most of which also have a small Infra-red window. Also, you can purchase an optional battery pack for the printer which will last you for up to 200 pages of printing. This way you can leave your power chord at home. The only negative that I can think of about this printer is that sometimes the Infra-red communication doesn't work the first time and I have to tell the computer to print a second time.
The BJC-80 is also so small and lightweight that I can put my laptop in one side of my carrying case and the printer, any chords, the scanning cartridge, and an extra ink cartridge, all on the other side.
All in all, if you want a printer that can combine with your laptop to allow you to do virtually anything, anywhere, that you normally need an office for, then the BJC-80 is the way to go.
