Review: Canon Pixma iP90v photo printer

A4 photo printing on the hoof, but the battery costs extra

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Price: £199

Manufacturer: Canon 08705 143723

Specifications: Resolution 4,800 x 1,200dpi

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Verdict

Pros: Compact and lightweight; outputs A4 borderless colour prints; acceptable reproduction for colour promo material; easy-to-use software bundle
Cons: Plastic casing may not be sturdy enough for the road; photo-quality output lacks richness; battery and Bluetooth cost extra; pricey for an A4 photo printer
Overall: Although expensive for a portable printer, the iP90v does produce borderless A4 colour prints at a reasonable rate

Karl Foster, Personal Computer World 10 May 2007

If lugging a laptop isn’t giving your shoulder the workout it needs, then a portable printer will up the burn.

There are plenty about, although some are so blocky in design that they’ll not fit into a laptop bag compartment.

Not so the Canon Pixma iP90v, which is styled like a laptop, albeit twice as thick and about half the depth of a 15in model. Nevertheless, it promises colour prints at 12ppm (pages per minute) and mono at 16ppm.

Photo-quality prints from the four-colour, 4,800 x 1,200dpi Fine print-head technology take rather longer - 81 seconds for a 10x15cm borderless print. Standard-sounding performance, but Canon says the iP90v is the only portable printer capable of producing borderless A4 photo prints. And with USB, IrDA and optional Bluetooth connectivity, it’s a gregarious device.

At 1.8kg, the iP90v is light enough to tote easily, although the plastic casing feels as though it wouldn’t stand much dropping, so care should be taken while handling.

Set-up is a cinch, the diminutive BCI-15 and BCI-16 ink cartridges taking about two minutes to prep themselves for first use. Mac owners get Canon’s Easy-Photoprint, while Windows users also receive Easywebprint and Photorecord, along with drivers that feature photo-optimisation software.

The printer’s lid flips up to act as a paper support, but there’s no output tray so you need to site the device so that prints don’t end up on the floor. Colour output appears crisp, with solid blacks and muted colour typical of prints on standard, non-glossy paper.

Borderless A4 photo printing is, indeed, possible, although the four-colour ink system doesn’t give the richness of colour that pro photographers demand. However, users needing quick prints of colour brochures, for example, will find the output adequate.

They may, however, baulk at paying an extra £50 for the optional battery pack, which adds to what is already a steep price for an A4 colour printer.

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