Canon BJC-80

Running costs are higher than average, despite the fact that the refill system means you don't need to replace the head every time you run out of ink. Using the black-only cartridge, a page of A4 text at five per cent coverage turns out at an average of 3.2p, and colour pages at five per cent coverage per colour will cost you even more than the Xerox XJ4C (reviewed p165) at around 18p per page.

This is pretty impressive reading for a printer with a smaller footprint than this magazine, but the price tag isn't so good. This tiny bundle of joy will set you back £199, which is surprising considering you can get hold of a Lexmark 7200 or an Epson Stylus Color 600 (reviewed issue 33, p124) for not much more. And if you go for the full package with battery pack and scanner head, it will cost you a whopping £358. The Canon BJC-80 may be the best portable printer around, but it's expensive.

Author: Jonathan Bray