Printers

The criteria for a good mobile printer vary with the user, but a printer-on-the road should do the following: be light-weight, produce excellent b/w print at a reasonable speed, possess an integrated sheet-feeder to obviate the need for hand-feeding single sheets, include a rechargeable battery, and offer wireless connectivity options. In the last instance, a Bluetooth card, infrared capability, or a flash memory card preclude the need for a cable and offer a quick preview of research in progress. Should a researcher, for example, be using a digital camera to “scan” research materials, popping the card directly into the printer furnishes a quick look and saves cabling up the camera to the laptop.

Hewlett-Packard and printers have long been synonymous, and HP offers the researcher mobile printers, ranging in price from $249 to $349. The chief differences among the printers, accounting for the price differential, are its connectivity choices and battery option. The top-of-the-line HP450wbt comes with a rechargeable battery, a flash card slot, and infrared (Windows) and Bluetooth (Mac) wireless connectivity. HP’s base model, the HP450cb needs access to an electrical outlet, although it also has a flash memory card slot. The middle model, the HP 450cbi, arrives with a rechargeable battery and flash memory card slot. All three HP products weigh in at around 4.5 pounds.

The other player in the mobile printer arena is Canon, and Canon’s mobile printers have been a favorite among peripatetic scholars. Canon’s top of the line is the BJC-55. Distinguished by its light weight—a mere 2.1 lbs, the BJC-55 is available with a battery on board, but its sheet feeder is an extra option ($60). Its wireless connectivity is limited to infrared. The Canon i80, weighing in at 4 pounds, comes standard with a sheet feeder but requires access to an electrical outlet. It may be upgraded with a rechargeable battery ($90) and Bluetooth adapter card ($79). A scanner module is available for both printers, but its usefulness in an archive may be limited. To scan a document, it must be fed through the printer, and most repositories frown on using documents in such a fashion.

A mobile printer can be a handy device for historians in the field. Investment in a mobile printer, however, may not be cost-effective. Kinko’s offers an attractive alternative with its online printing service. Historians can upload a file to Kinko’s via the Internet, select among a variety of print options, and finally arrange pickup at a local Kinko’s or shipment via FedEx. Kinko’s accepts online credit card payment or payment on branch pickup. The cost for a thirteen-page, double-sided, black/white PDF file, for example, is roughly $1.05. Although PDF files generated on both a Mac and PC print nicely, Kinko’s recommends its KFP tool for document preparation on the Windows platform. (A Mac KFP tool is in the works; meantime, a Mac PDF produces an excellent Kinko results.) Don’t have a way to create a PDF? Adobe allows customers to create a PDF online. The first five PDFs are free—$9.99 per month after the free trial expires. Both Kinko’s and Adobe’s services are only available in the US and Canada.

Professional reviews and user comments for both Canon and HP mobile printers are mixed. The majority of HP users are not satisfied with their printer, reporting deadly paper jams; a minority is enthusiastic. The paper jamming problem has apparently been resolved with HP printers shipped after July 30, 2003. Canon customer comments reveal a higher degree of satisfaction, though a minority allude to persistent paper jam problems. The professional reviews favor the Canon i80 or i70 over the HP products by a slight margin. All in all, it pays to visit local vendors to check print quality and wireless operation, although few vendors will have a mobile printer configured or even plugged in. Just as persistence in the archive is an advantage, so determination in a computer or office store is a virtue.

Model	Weight	Speed	Sheet Feeder	Battery	Connectivity	Price
HP 450wbt	4.6 lbs	5 ppm (normal mode) Color 1.3 ppm (normal mode)	Yes	Yes	USB Infrared Bluetooth	$349.99
HP 450cbi	4.6 lbs	5 ppm (normal mode) Color 1.3 ppm (normal mode)	Yes	Yes	USB Infrared (Bluetooth upgrade available)	$299.99
HP 450cb	4.6 lbs	5 ppm (normal mode) Color 1.3 ppm (normal mode)	Yes	No (battery upgrade available)	USB Infrared (Bluetooth upgrade available)	$249.99
Canon BJC-55	2.1 lbs.	5.5 ppm (normal mode) Color 2 ppm (normal mode)	No (sheet feeder available)	Yes	USB Infrared	$349.99
Canon i80	4 lbs	14 ppm (fast mode) Color 2 ppm (fast mode)	Yes	No (battery upgrade available)	USB Infrared (Bluetooth upgrade available)	$249.99

Note: All prices are retail. Shopping online or watching out for office and computer store specials will result in savings, albeit not large ones. Savvy shoppers can also find a Canon’s i70 or a BJC-85, earlier versions of the current models at reduced prices.