Canon Portable Printer

Canon makes a number of excellent quality small printers which can fit the bill as a "portable printer." Now what portable printer means to you might vary, so let's clear that up front.

By portable printer I mean one that you can throw (carefully) in a travel bag and take with you.

It's not going to have all the features of a "big" printer necessarily but it better deliver great quality documents and photos. A portable printer is not required to be a workhorse - you should not expect to print 500 pages from it at a time, as I sometimes do in the office.

Most of these printers also take (optional) batteries. The ones listed below all do. Quite honestly, although a nice feature, how often do you need to print in your car, on an airplane, or at the beach? For most folks the answer is "never." You can save money by not buying these special purpose and expensive batteries.

We'll split Canon Portable Printers into the "Photo Printer" Only category, and the "Full Featured" printer than can also print on full sized paper.

Here is our top pick in each category.

For the photo printer only category, it's hard to beat the Canon Selphy ES30. Actually all the Sephy models are small and portable, especially the "ES" series which I recommend. They even come a built in handle for real portability! The ES30 works with most memory cards (20 types) and has a built in 3.0" LCD display. The cartridges contain both ink and paper so you never run out of just printer ink or paper, and that aids in portability. It lists for $190 but often Amazon has deep discounts.

The Canon iP100 Mobile Photo Printer is my pick for a "Full Featured" model. Yes, they call it a "Photo Printer," and it prints wonderful pictures, but it also does a great job printing on just about everything - here's the list: Credit Card size (2.13" x 3.39"), 4" x 6," 4" x 8," 5" x 7," 8" x 10," Letter, Legal, U.S. #10 Envelopes, and Photo Stickers.

It also only weight 4.4 pounds, and works off of just about any voltage, making it ideal for international travelers. Of course it has all the expected connectivity options as well including IrDA, USB, direct connection to cameras, and Bluetooth (optional).

No more relying on hotel business centers, which seem to always be closed when I need them. This great printer turns you into a mobile office. Around US$300, although often there are great deals at Amazon.

There you have it, Canon portable printers, my two top choices.