Canon NoteJet: The 1993 Laptop with Built-In Printer

During the entire decade of the '80s and much of the '90s, “taking the office anywhere” was the goal of many companies that battled in the computer market offering portable solutions. Entire families of computers and compatible accessories paraded across shelves, but in early 1993, Canon bet on greater integration with its NoteJet line of laptops. What made them different? In essence, they were hybrids between computer and printer with Bubble Jet technology, and with the right hardware, they could be transformed into a fax.

If we study the first examples of “portability” among personal computers, we find true tanks like the Compaq Portable (13 kilograms) and the Commodore SX-64 (10.5 kilograms). However, in 1982/83, Epson shared a glimpse of the future with its HX-20, considered “the first real laptop”. One of the most interesting features of the HX-20 (besides its “magical” 1.6 kilograms) was its built-in mini dot-matrix printer. That idea of merging computers and printers may seem strange at first, but Canon interpreted it as a new business opportunity, and applying its extensive experience, launched the NoteJet laptop line in the early months of 1993.

Canon NoteJet: The Ultimate Combination of Laptops and Printers

The first model in the series was the NoteJet 486 (also known as BN22), weighing 3.5 kilograms and with an initial price of $2,499 ($4,500 adjusted for inflation). Canon's intention was to attract executives, who would no longer need to leave their rooms to print documents or send a fax. That function required an optical module that turned the printer into a monochrome scanner, and of course, a fax modem (between $399 and $899 at launch, depending on connection speed).

All NoteJet models worked in a similar way: the blank paper was loaded from the front and exited from the back. If the paper was thicker than normal, the user could lift the keyboard to get better access to the feeding mechanism. Like other computers of the era, the NoteJet offered a healthy number of ports, including PS/2, serial, LPT, VGA output, and an expansion bus. In general terms, the built-in printer was inkjet, but it used Bubble Jet technology (a trademark of Canon), based on a small thermal element that vaporizes the ink before printing.

The last model was the Canon NoteJet IIIcx, configured with an Intel Pentium processor at 90 MHz (with options for larger chips), 16 MB of RAM, an 810-megabyte hard drive, an 11.8-inch color screen, and Sound Blaster audio... which in 1996 had a suggested price of $7,498 (almost $13,000 in today's dollars). Such a cost, combined with the five kilograms the user had to move (computer “and” power supply), certainly limited the popularity of this laptop, but the entire NoteJet series made enough noise that IBM was forced to respond with a similar computer, the ThinkPad 555BJ, in the Japanese market.