Originally Posted by ScottC
Both printers are still pretty bulky, both can take a battery pack but I simply don't like the idea of traveling with a pressurized ink cartridge in my bag...
I used to have one of the Canon portable printers, and it ended up being a bigger hassle than an advantage. You need to drag along the printer, spare ink, paper (regular and photo), cables etc...
I use a Canon BJC-55. It's about as large as a Deskjet 460, best I can tell from looking at a 460 photo. I consider the battery life of the BJC-55 as "excellent" (truly, I usually leave the charger at home and have never had a problem getting through the printing workload I need while on short trips - maybe 30-40 sheets).
I carry a manila envelope with about 50-75 sheets of blank paper, to keep them in good shape while in my briefcase. I guess if you are carrying a portable printer and planning to print while away from access to resources (ie extra paper), then you are probably going to have to carry paper anyway???
Regarding cables, my BJC-55 and my laptop both have infrared ports, so I typically don't use a cable for that setup. But, if needed, a short USB cable isn't too much of a hassle.
Regarding Ink, the Canon comes with a small round screw-tight container that is specially fitted for carrying a print cartridge and its "holster", either B&W or color. I remove the ink from the printer and put it in this airtight container, along with the extra sealed-in-a-foil-packet cartridges, into a ziplock bag. Takes care of any potential spillage (of which I've had none anyways).
The printer and ziplock bag of extras fit right into my 15" Brenthaven shoulder bag along with my laptop, plus additional goodies such as Airport Express, iPod, etc etc.