Hi, I am looking for the ultimate portable printer- very small, but page width and light that will fit in my backpack without issues. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Gracias!

I have the Canon IP90 which is fantastic. Weighs about 3 lb, prints on regular paper (8.5x11), color or black and white, prints photos too, ink expensive but all printer ink is $$$ these days. Has a converter built in so you can take it worldwide with just plug adapter. You can buy battery adapter if you won't be near electricity. Bluetooth or infrared available. Very versatile and sturdy. You can see specs on www.canon.com

HP H470 for the win

Please click one of the Quick Reply icons in the posts above to activate Quick Reply.

Huh?

I have an HP 460, which would fit in a backpack. Great printer, but I see from a post above that a newer model is available.

If this thing scans as well, then it would be perfect--I have a NeatReceipts scanner and it works well for just that purpose, but if I had something of similar size that could also print, then I'd be set.

I have a Canon i70, which was a couple of iterations before the i90, which I believe is current and has the same form factor. This is a tiny, tiny printer, very light, that easily fits in my computer bag with my laptop. It's reasonably fast and prints in color and black and white. It even does a reasonable job on photos. The only downside is that the ink cartridges are similarly tiny -- I usually take a bunch with me just to make sure they don't run out.

Q: Do you put them in your 3-1-1 bag?

My boss had a few of 'em w/ his printer, not in the 3-1-1 and some over-zealous TSA agent nailed him "Ink is a liquid, sir!".

Note: TSA didn't take the ones installed in his printer, because clearly, those are not liquid?.

-SF

I've flown with my HP printer a few times, but never with extra cartridges (haven't needed them); and TSA has never asked me to take it out of my carry-on bag. I've been expecting that since the 3-1-1 bag rule, but so far so good. When they shout out to remove all electronics, they've never included printers in the qualifying list, which surprises me.

I used to. I don't anymore. No one has ever said anything to me, though I did once get some moron who told me I had to take my printer out of my carry-on bag. I told him, "Then give me a secondary, because I'm not removing the printer. That's not procedure."

He waived me through.

Thank you all for your suggestions.

Someone PM'd me that they had a Pentax pocket jet that they really liked. Does anyone else have any opinion on the Pentax models? They are a bit pricey (but maybe I can find a used one somewhere?)

I don't have one, but I looked it up. It's a thermal printer, meaning that you need to use special paper (and cannot use plain paper), it's a monochrome printer (no color), and resolution is limited to 200 or 300 dpi depending on model, the same quality as you get from a fax machine. By comparison, the Canon IPv90 is 600 x 600 dpi for black printing and 4800 x 1200 dpi for color. Print speed is 12-16 pages per minute for the Canon versus 3 pages per minute for the Pentax. The Canon can print on all kinds of paper, including envelopes which, of course, the Pentax cannot.

Everything depends on your application. If you're looking for a casual printer that turns out monochrome fax-quality prints but is very, very small, the Pentax is worth considering. If, on the other hand, you're looking for a versatile printer that can do anything a good color-inkjet printer can do, you should look at the Canon.

Wirelessly posted (BlackBerry8320/4.2.2 Profile/MIDP-2.0 Configuration/CLDC-1.1 VendorID/100)

I also second the canon line I have a I80 and it is a workhorse. Very fast and it is great for photos and the colors are very nice.

Sorry, wrong answer. Here you go:

http://www.pentaxtech.com/Products/pocketjets.html

The H470 is bulky in comparison

Seriously, I have a Pentax PocketJet, and I love it. Small, silent, good.