Portable printers

[MMustola]

I am in need of a new portable printer. Currently I have a HP450 deskjet that I use to print reports on-site. This is my second hp printer and I had a cannon before those. All three printers ended up have paper feed problems.

I use a infrared connection to send the report to the printer. It seams I may have to go to a blue tooth connection because infrared is old technology.

Does anyone have a recommendation on a printer that they have had good luck with. I know this has been discussed before but I was hoping to get get information.

[hausdok]

Yes,

Stay away from the mini-printers. I used to have the HP portable and it was a royal pain in the butt and waaaay too slow. With the time it took dinking around with that thing for one report, I could have printed half a dozen on my current on-site printer. Get yourself a decent color ink-jet printer or one of the new lightweight color LED or color lazer printers that's dirt simple to hook up and run on-site, and which will fit in a suitable container. Go with a cable device - it's more reliable and quicker.

I have an Epson Stylus Photo 820 that fits perfectly in a 10-gallon Rubbermain Roughtote along with it's USB cable. The tone is about 9" by 16" by 24" and very convenient to carry. Onsite hookup is about 20 seconds; pull it out of the case, plug it into the wall outlet, plug the cable into the computer, put the lid on the container and set the printer on top of the container, and put paper in the printer. It spools reports off quickly and with much better quality than the portable printer ever did - and with a lot less fussing around.

My printer is about 3-years old. I bet that since then Epson has come out with something that's faster and better which can fit in the same container.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike

[SonOfSwamp]

FWIW, we used a Canon BJC-80 for years. It still works. It'll fit into a laptop bag, with the laptop. I never used the color ink cartridge; just B&W. (No photos in my reports.)

I hooked it to the laptop via cable when I set the laptop on the kitchen table. Never a problem.

I don't know if BJC-80s are still available. You might check eBay. Used ones would be cheap.

Another option: Set up a useful printer in your truck; plug it into an AC Anywhere (which plugs into the cigarette lighter/power point), and you can print via bluetooth. AC Anywhere supplies 120V power; costs less than $50.00. I carried an AC Anywhere for years. Gave it to my daughter when she went to college.

WJ

[Bain]

I went through three HP450s, and they all wound up with paper-feeding problems. For three years, I've used the Canon Pixma ip90v, and had no problems whatsoever. They're about three hundred bucks, but they're small, reliable, and the output is top quality.

[Les]

Cannon I 70. tough! Uses too much ink, but at 2 for 10 bucks not too expensive.

[randynavarro]

I concur with Walter.

I've alternated two Canon BJC-85 units for almost 10 years now. I can't get them to break or fail.

They're no longer available as they've been replaced with the I-70 (I think) that Les just mentioned.

When I buy a new one, it will be an I-70.

[SonOfSwamp]

I'm glad to know that there are useful successors to the BJC-80.

Now, if only I can get my BJC-80 to die...

WJ

[carle3]

I use to use the BJC-80 but I found it way too slow for printing in color. Like the others, mine is still working but Vista has pretty much put an end to its usefulness. I went out and bought the fastest color printer that had WI-FI capabilities an HP 6840. Blue Tooth has a range of about 30 feet so it may not work if you want to print at a distance. I do have a power converter for the vehicle, but Wisconsin winters are not kind to printers being outside and I am not willing to let the van sit idling for 3 or 4 hours so I bring the unit into the home. My partner has the HP 460, it comes with either Blue Tooth or WI-FI depending on the card that you have installed. He had a lot of problems with the Blue Tooth version. Any printing problem and the printer had to be reset to get it working again. Resetting requires the use of the power cable. He used it with the battery in order not to have all the cables so having to drag the power cord along just for resetting the printer was a pain. I have not heard if the WI-FI connection may have the same issues with it.

[MMustola]

The hp 450 is no longer availible. I saw the 460 at hp's web site but based on my past experience I am going to stay away for hp products. The Cannon ip90 looks good but I will also check out the I70 that Les mentioned.

I want the wireless connection and I like a small printer that can be used without taking it out of the case. Battery powered is nice but not a must have for me. It would be nice to find a printer that fits into the case I already have. It costs a $100 and it would be a drag to have to replace it too.

[davidlord]

My Acrobat Distiller works great every time and prints in full color.

I can't remember the last time I printed a report on paper.