When it comes to portable printers, many models will fail in comparison to others in regards to stats and features. But those same models will have one special feature that will make it so appealing. This is the case with the infamous Canon Color Bubble Jet™ Portable Printers. The two popular models in this series – the Canon BJC-80 and BJC-85 – do not have the highest resolution and are quite slow. However, they have something that most portable printers do not. That is, the ability to scan.
While prints are necessities while you’re on the road, scanning can be essential. If you forget to send a document ahead of a presentation or meeting, or if you need to send something back to your home office, a scanner can be a real career saver. The only downside about having scanning capabilities is that it increases the price of these machines. This is entirely because you must purchase a separate IS-12 Color Image Scanner Cartridge in order to transform the BJC printers into scanners.
The Canon BJC-80 Color Bubble Jet™ Printer
[easyazon-image-link asin="B00000JFKT" alt="Canon BJC-80 Portable Printer" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61VP7YX629L._SL160_.gif" align="left" width="160" height="65"]The BJC-80 is currently selling for $115 used on Amazon. At this time, there are no new models available but you could check in with Amazon regularly if there would be any available in the future. This Bubble Jet™ Printer produces crisp, sharp black prints up to 4.5 pages per minute and 2 pages per minute in color at resolutions of up to 720 x 360 dots per inch. It offers parallel and infrared connectivity.
It supports various paper sizes, e.g. Letter, legal, A4, #10 or European envelopes. The optional NB-300 NiMH battery pack lasts up to about 200 pages. It comes with a 1-year warranty.
The Canon BJC-85 Color Bubble Jet™ Printer
[easyazon-image-link asin="B00004SGBW" alt="Canon BJC-85 Portable Color Bubble Jet Printer" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/412R65MYK2L._SL160_.jpg" align="right" width="160" height="129"]On the other hand, the Canon BJC-85 currently sells new from $585 on Amazon. This is a steep price, even for a portable printer. Your best route is to buy a refurbished model. They are often rebuilt to perform like new and you can cut the price by at least 50%, sometimes even 70%. Currently, Amazon doesn’t have any refurbished BJC-85 models for sale, but again, you will have to keep checking regularly with Amazon to get the best deals. If you’re interested in this model and don’t want to pay full price, there are a few used models selling for around $118.
The BJC-85 Bubble Jet™ Printer offers USB and parallel connectivity. It is PC and Mac-compatible and contains IrDA technology, meaning you can print wirelessly. Resolution of prints can reach as high as 720 x 360 dots per inch, whether you’re printing in black or color. I can produce smudge-free prints up to 5 pages per minute in black, and 2 pages per minute in color. The [easyazon-link asin="B00004SGBW"]BJC-85[/easyazon-link] weighs 4.5 lbs, including the AC adapter and optional battery pack, which is average for a portable printer.
Both machines are best suited for anyone who needs to produce reports, letters, memos, presentations, charts, graphs, brochures, and photos. Another great advantage of owning a BJC printer is that it has a long battery life. Due to infrared technology, you can also print directly from a PC or cell phone as long as they’re nearby. There’s a 30-sheet paper feed, and as mentioned earlier, both have options to attach the [easyazon-link asin="B00000JQC1"]Canon IS12 Color Image Scanner Cartridge[/easyazon-link] for color scanning.
As you can see, there are only a few small differences between the two models. As far as customer satisfaction goes, 69% of customers were more than satisfied with the BJC-85, as opposed to 67% for the BJC-80. Many have reported that they had used the same printer (BJC-85) for about 10 years (as long as it has been out in the market) and only because it was knocked onto the floor did it finally break. This customer had said she will definitely by another one as she had never found any other printer that could serve as well as the BJC-85.
IS-12 Color Image Scanner Cartridge
[easyazon-image-link asin="B00000JQC1" alt="Canon IS12 Color Image Scanner Cartridge" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/81W9TTVHNHL._SL160_.gif" align="left" width="160" height="148"]With the Canon IS12 Color Cartridge, you can instantly turn the BJC-80 or BJC-85 into a color sheetfed scanner. You can conveniently carry it with you as well together with your laptop and BJC portable printer, as it is a tiny space-saving device. It offers you a complete 24-bit color scanning at resolutions of up to 360 dpi. It is currently available new on Amazon at $100.
Most people who have used the Canon IS12 have only good things to say about it, with its ease of use, just taking out your ink cartridge and replacing it with the scanner cartridge, and you can scan away so easily. May not be in comparison with your high caliber scanners but for a portable one that you can bring with you anytime anywhere; it definitely scores high on mobility.
In a Nutshell
If you’re looking for a printer/scanner combo, you can’t possibly go wrong with either the BJC-80 or BJC-85. They are the only portable printers (along with their elderly brothers BJC-50/55) that have the capability to scan with the optional scanner attachment. Going for either printer will not be a bad decision.
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About James Wikkee