Product Reviews

Since the demise of the StyleWriter 2200 several years ago, Mac users have been without a portable printing solution. Now, finally, the Canon BJC-85 fills that gap.

Similar in appearance to the StyleWriter 2200, the BJC-85 fulfils the two key criteria of a portable device in that it's small and light, measuring 300mm x 157.6mm x 57mm and weighing 1.4kg. Its power supply is also smaller than most and won't add too much extra weight. Alternatively, if you want a truly portable printer, Canon supplies a nickel metal hydride battery as an option. Despite its size, the printer will support paper sizes up to A4, and can fit up to 30 sheets in its sheet feeder.

The BJC-85 uses USB to connect to the Mac, so if you're on the road, you'll need an iBook or the most recent generation of PowerBook

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(the one with the bronze keyboard). Connecting the printer and installing the software is easy. It comes with cartridges for four-colour printing or mono-only printing in the box. There is a photo cartridge available as an optional extra.

The Canon printer driver is superior to most inkjet drivers. As well as the usual range of options for print quality, paper size and paper type, it offers a special-effects option and colour correction facility.

In use, the BJC-85 performs reasonably well. It's no match for a dedicated desktop inkjet, but if you want to output presentations, hand-outs and reports on the road, it's more than adequate. Its maximum resolution of 720 x 360 pixels per inch produces results which are grainy on normal paper but noticeably improve on high-resolution stock.

Print speeds are nothing to write home about, but won't hold you up unduly. In our tests, one A4 page of text on standard paper took 37 seconds to print, while an A4 colour photo, using the standard colour cartridge, took just over eight minutes.

The Canon BJC-85 is an extremely capable portable printer. The print quality is reasonable, and the ability to power it from a battery means it can be used virtually anywhere. It's expensive for something you only use occasionally, but if a portable printer is something you desperately need, then the BJC-85 won't disappoint.