[headbirth]

Hi, I was looking for a small printer I could carry around with me when I travel. I would need a letter size (8.5x11) printer with a small footprint.

The only printers I have found so far to fit in this category are the Canon i80 and HP's 450 series.

The prices are much higher than the usual inkJet, around $200, but I would be spending at least that to print out a 150+ doc at Kinkos.

Any one have any other suggestions or comments on Canon versus HP Mac compatibility/support?

I've always purchased my printers from Epson, but they don't seem to have anything in this category, i.e. a notebook size printer.

[im_noahselby]

I was looking at both of these models before I decided on my current printer (HP 7660). Both portable printers seem relative in size to each other, judging by their boxes. I would have bought one, if it weren't for the very expensive price awhile back. The HP should be cheaper though, I believe.

I'm not sure if that specific Canon printer has seperate ink tanks? If not, you might as well go with the HP. Just buy from a reputable dealer that offers a hassle free return policy, so you can trade to another model if it doesn't work out.

If you do decide to pick one of these up, let us know! I may trade up in the future, and I'd like to know how it works out for you.

Noah

[mbryda]

Originally posted by headbirth:


The only printers I have found so far to fit in this category are the Canon i80 and HP's 450 series.

Any one have any other suggestions or comments on Canon versus HP Mac compatibility/support?

My Dad has the i80 and it's every bit as good of a printer as my i560 and i960 (that is to say extremely good). His aincient Canon portable printer bit the dust after 5 years, so he needed to get this one. Canon's portible printers are built like tanks and have excellent print qualities.

HP's printers, IMHO are way overrated. Canon's Mac support is excellent and their printers just work!

[headbirth]

Thanks for the input guys ... I'm still compiling my pro's and cons sheet. I've always been a bit leary of HP products.

But I'll definetly fill you in on my purchase when I make it.

I wish there were more choices in this category ... even a dye-sub option.

[Severed Hand of Skywalker]

The Canon is the way to go.

I did see a review for a portable Dye sub but it said each page cost a fortune and took forever to print.

[headbirth]

From the reviews I'm seeing ... I'm thinking your right ... the Canon.

Yeah ... dye-sub is still way to expensive.

[Cellery]

I tried both out, but the i80 is superior. The print speed and quality are noticeably better on the Canon, and the HP machine has been around for a couple of years without being updated. It's also physically larger than the Canon. The ink for the Canon is also cheaper, two black cartridges can be had for $10.

[im_noahselby]

No one has mentioned yet, if the Canon i80 portable printer uses individual colour ink tanks? Or, as does HP, does Canon combine the colour inks into one cartridge, ala HP?

Where I live, the i80 is $100 more expensive than the HP portable printer. Both seem like good printers, and I'm sure the Canon has the edge, but if you just need a secondary portable printer, or you don't print very often, the choice seems obvious.

If the price difference between the two printers is insignifigant to you, than by all means it makes sense to grab the i80.

Noah

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
No one has mentioned yet, if the Canon i80 portable printer uses individual colour ink tanks? Or, as does HP, does Canon combine the colour inks into one cartridge, ala HP?

Where I live, the i80 is $100 more expensive than the HP portable printer. Both seem like good printers, and I'm sure the Canon has the edge, but if you just need a secondary portable printer, or you don't print very often, the choice seems obvious.

If the price difference between the two printers is insignifigant to you, than by all means it makes sense to grab the i80.

Noah

Hp's have the highest cost per page of any printer. They rip you off.

[headbirth]

The canon use 2 ink cartridges ... black and a separate color one. It would be nice if they were broken down further, but I guess that also would add to the amount of junk you have to lug around.

Well, not sure if I did the right thing, but I just purchased the Canon from Amazon. With my luck a new kick-butt mobile printer will come out tommorrow :-)

[im_noahselby]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Hp's have the highest cost per page of any printer. They rip you off.

Think again. Any cost savings in this specific printer comparison would be marginal at best.

According to this source, conducted by the Rochester Institute of Technology, "for the i80 a page of black ink costs 5.3 cents, and a page of color plus black costs 13.4 cents. Costs per page from HP's portable DeskJet 450wbt were similar: 5.1 cents for black and 13.6 cents for color plus black."

The HP model in this comparison recieved the "editors pick" in the mobile printer category (HP450, Canon i80). Both of these reviews were conducted at the same time and published as an "Inkjet Smorgasbord" feature in August 2004 by PC World.

Canon i80 Review

HP 450 Review

Noah

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
Think again. Any cost savings in this specific printer comparison would be marginal at best.

According to this source, conducted by the Rochester Institute of Technology, "for the i80 a page of black ink costs 5.3 cents, and a page of color plus black costs 13.4 cents. Costs per page from HP's portable DeskJet 450wbt were similar: 5.1 cents for black and 13.6 cents for color plus black."

The HP model in this comparison recieved the "editors pick" in the mobile printer category (HP450, Canon i80). Both of these reviews were conducted at the same time and published as an "Inkjet Smorgasbord" feature in August 2004 by PC World.

Canon i80 Review

HP 450 Review

Noah

Think again. These were reviewed on a PC and say nothing about the horrible Mac drivers HP makes.

[im_noahselby]

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Hp's have the highest cost per page of any printer. They rip you off.

I've corrected your comment regarding cost per page, as you were giving misleading information in this specific comparison.

Originally posted by Disgruntled Head of C-3PO:
Think again. These were reviewed on a PC and say nothing about the horrible Mac drivers HP makes.

These reviews are still valuable and useful for Mac users considering either of these printers.

In my experience, HP's drivers have never let me down. I have owned three HP printers, all used with a Mac and have never experienced a single problem.

I'm aware of HP's questionable printer drivers and driver support in the early days of Mac OS X (not something that affected me), but that is now pretty much a thing of the past. It's time to move on...

Driver issues can occur with any printer, even Canons, so as always I'd recommend buying from a retailer that allows you to return your printer for a refund or a hassle free exchange, if necessary.

Noah

[Disgruntled Head of C-3PO]

Originally posted by im_noahselby:
I've corrected your comment regarding cost per page, as you were giving misleading information in this specific comparison.



These reviews are still valuable and useful for Mac users considering either of these printers.

In my experience, HP's drivers have never let me down. I have owned three HP printers, all used with a Mac and have never experienced a single problem.

I'm aware of HP's questionable printer drivers and driver support in the early days of Mac OS X (not something that affected me), but that is now pretty much a thing of the past. It's time to move on...

Driver issues can occur with any printer, even Canons, so as always I'd recommend buying from a retailer that allows you to return your printer for a refund or a hassle free exchange, if necessary.

Noah

Ya that .02 cents difference is a real important consideration. Do a search for HP on these boards, they are all complains about the crappy drivers and all the replies mention they they should get a Canon.

[headbirth]

Well, I've been using the new i80 for a couple days now and find it's pretty sweet.

I have another question though concerning ink. I've run across several sites that offer generic compatible ink cartridges, and was wondering what evryones experience is with these. On my Epson I totally avoided these.

I was looking at this site in particular that says:

http://www.abcink.com/canon-i80-photo-printer.html

"You are shopping the inks that are manufactured by an ISO 9001 certified company which guarantees the cartridges meet or exceed all specifications for Canon i80 Inks.100% Satisfaction Guarantee!"

The prices are about half what the canon cartridges run.

Thoughts?

Oh ... one other thing. The IR printing is stated as being Windows only ... is there some reason the PowerBooks IR shouldn't be able to communicate with the printer?