THE Canon Pixma iP100 may be small in size at 322 millimetres by 185mm by 62mm, but it packs in a cool set of features inside its lightweight body.

Its offering of a maximum print resolution of 9,600 by

2,400 dots per inch is impressive – the printouts during testing are proof to that.

Encased in a silver body with black finish, the iP100 should fit on any desk or even a cramped workspace. When not in use, you can let it stand next to your textbooks or slide it into your desk drawer. The design comes with USB 2.0 Hi-speed and IrDA port as well as a hidden universal serial bus port to fit a Bluetooth adapter.

As the review unit did not come with a manual or driver software, it is good to note that all the materials are available online at www.canon.com.my.

Even without connecting it to the PC, the iP100 can still work as a standalone, as long as you can beam the JPG or PNG file through infra-red connectivity. The IrDA interface works at four megabits per second and operates within a 20-centimetre range, which should be good enough to support enabled PCs, laptops, personal digital assistants and mobile phones.

With speeds of 20 pages per minute for monochrome printing and 14ppm for colour output, this mobile model is at par with its non-mobile counterpart. The portable body enables printing to be done anywhere you want.

The iP100 has optional accessories, for example, a Bluetooth adapter, rechargable kit and automobile power unit to let you print on the go, even in your car.

Back to default specifications, the iP100 produced documents very quickly during our simple testing session. Printing a three-page black text document was completed in one minute and 36 seconds from the moment the Print button is clicked on our Vista machine. The text came out in a dark black hue as the machine uses pigment black ink.

Next, printing a three-page set of documents with colourful text and graphics took just one minute and 51 seconds. Although printing was set at Auto quality, the text delivered was sharp and the colour images remained true to what you see on screen.

It must be noted that the iP100 makes a good colour printer with its ChromaLife colour inks. A draft mode of a brochure-type, A4-sized document was completed in

two minutes and

47 seconds. The borderless printout had the look of a typical commercial brochure ready to be circulated.

As for photo printing, the iP100, again, delivered quality output. 4R, borderless photos were churned out at an average time of 50 seconds when set to Auto quality, just as promised. Using glossy photo paper took a bit longer at one minute and four seconds on average.

Printing photos at A4 size is not a problem with the iP100. The model took about two minutes and 40 seconds to produce a borderless photo when set at Auto quality.

Note that without Easy-PhotoPrint Ex, you can still do borderless photo printing, but your

photos might be cropped to fit the paper. So, if your unit does not come with the software

CD, just download both the driver and Easy-PhotoPrint Ex.

All in all, the iP100 is ideal for users on the go. Students would make good use of this printer, too, if only the machine is not that pricey.

Product: Pixma iP100

Manufacturer: Canon

Enquiries: Canon Customer Careline (Tel: 03-78446000)

Price: RM988

SPECIFICATIONS

Dimensions: 322mm by 185mm by 62mm

Weight: 2kg

Connectivity: USB 2.0 Hi-speed, infra-red, Bluetooth 2.0, PictBridge

Maximum resolution: 9,600 by 2,400dpi

Printhead: 1,852 nozzles with Full-photolithography Inkjet Nozzle Engineering technology

Print speed: Up to 20ppm in monochrome, 14ppm in colour

Paper size: A4, letter, legal, A5, B5, envelope (DL, COM10), four-by-six-inch, four-by-eight-inch, five-by-seven-inch, eight-by-10-inch, credit card, wide

Paper type: Plain, white, high-resolution, photo, glossy, semi-glossy, matte, sticker, T-shirt transfer

Other features: Borderless printing, RoHS and Energy Star-compliant, optional rechargable kit, optional automobile power unit

Our verdict: 3 stars
Physical design: 4 stars
Documentation: 2 stars
User-friendliness: 3-and-a-half stars
Features: 3-and-a-half stars
Performance: 4 stars
Value for money: 3 stars