The case for printing on the move is probably strongest for the business user, who may well be writing or amending an article in transit and needs to present the finished document at the other end. However, printing on the move is a less than satisfactory situation and best saved for when you have arrived at your location or, best yet, in a hotel room.
Designed to be portable rather than mobile, the Canon i70 (£210 inc. VAT) is a Bubblejet printer that weighs 1.9kg. This may not seem especially portable but the i70 does incorporate a threemotor drive system and paper feed. The bi-directional printing head allows for single-pass printing for improved quality and efficiency.
The i70 is extremely simple to set up, with Windows XP immediately identifying the unit. However, you'll still need to install drivers from the supplied CD-ROM. Apple users can readily use the i70, since the printer is cross-compatible. Other than a standard USB 1.1 connection, the i70 can accept printing via infrared. The i70 also allows for cameras to be directly plugged into the side of the unit for computer-free printing. With a maximum print resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi, the i70 is more than adequate for printing colour photographs up to A4 size. The Canon i70 is the first mobile printer that allows for borderless printing, ideal for cover pages on presentations.
The i70 has an average print speed of 13 pages per minute (ppm) in monochrome mode, which drops to 9ppm when printing in full colour. However, this will vary depending on the amount of colour in the image and the detail to be printed. The overall quality of the i70 is good, especially when printing in full colour.
RATING: 8
PRICE: £179/£210 (EX/INC. VAT) REQUIREMENTS: WINDOWS ME/XP/2000 - 50MB FREE SPACE MACINTOSH 10.1 OR HIGHER - 100MB FREE SPACE USB 1.1 CONTACT: 0500 246246 WWW.CANON.CO.UK
