Canon BJC-80 Portable Bubblejet is a very good printer to have when moving around the continent as I do. I do not require colour most of the time and can always have to access an internet cafe if I do. Generally delighted with the printer and works really well.

An excellent and rugged little printer for anyone on the move. Not top quality by more modern standards, especially colour printing but absolutely acceptable. One excellent feature is the ability to replace the print head with a scanning head. The ink cartridges are very easy to refill with a syringe thus saving a lot of money. I've owned mine for getting on for ten years now and have had very little trouble with it. I run it with XP no problem at all. XP has the drivers inbuilt so don't even have to load them yourself. XP recognises the printer and loads the drivers very quickly to get you up and running.
Mine goes into my laptop via the parallel port but the later BJC85 use USB - both ok. I've never bothered with it on infra-red or with a battery - only more junk to lug around.
Its not difficult to open up if something comes adrift inside as a result of being jolted in a suitcase on the move - that has probably been thrown by the caring baggage handlers at our airports.
You can find many available on auction. I don't understand why Canon discontinued it as a budget portable printer that you can also scan with. Although a bit battered now It has been and still is EXCELLENT!

Not good for more modern technology, or sophisticated systems. As a CPA I use the Canon BJC-80 Portable Bubblejet with my old Windows 98 system but trashed it once I used XP in any flavor.

I would NOT recommend buying this printer, I would go with the current HP Portable printer instead, as the IRDA will NOT work with windows XP and the BJC 55 will not work at all with windows XP, so that only leaves Canon's Heavy (over 8lbs) printer that is also a photo printer which prints directly from your digital camera and some bluetooth enabled cell phones. I must say I would NOT RECOMMEND THIS PRINTER, if you need to save money go with the older HP that is currently selling for $99.00 But to find the BEST prices go under Yahoo and type in "Discount prices for portable computers" and some stores will come up, one being Tigerdirect.com which has GREAT DEALS on some of their printers some at 70% off

Setting up for IRDA printing was a little tricky, but I feel this was more to do with my ignorance of IRDA that anything else.

The quality of print for letters is as near laser as I have seen on any inkjet. Colour is just as clear and Photographs are acceptable. I have seen output from the HP and other portable inkjets and none have even come close to the Canon.

The printer can be loaded with up to 30 sheets of paper - certainly enough for a few hours work when I`m on-site.

Some of the available options are:

Battery pack - this I must try

Scanner cartridge - sounds terrific as you can convert this thing into a sheetfed scanner simply by pulling out the printhead and slotting in the scanhead.

This is not a "minature" printer by any means and does add to the bulk of my laptop bag. But with the low cost of cartidges, print quality and battery or scanner options it is a versatile workhorse that I would not be without.