The $250 Hero 9.1 is Kodak’s newest flagship printer with do-it-all features including a fax machine, a 4.3-inch touch screen, and dual paper trays, and for only $50 more than its linemate, the Kodak Office Hero 6.1. Competing models from HP, Canon, and Lexmark offer similar features to the 9.1 at the $250 price point, but Kodak sweetens the deal with its new e-mail print feature that lets you send jobs from any Web-based device. Despite its minor setbacks like a smaller paper input capacity than the 6.1 and average print speeds, the Kodak Hero 9.1 remains a smart all-in-one device for getting work done quickly and efficiently in the home or office, and I recommend it to anyone shopping for a do-it-all device.

Design and features
The Kodak Hero 9.1 does away with the tactile keypad and speed-dial buttons that gave the 6.1 its business-friendly productivity. This one has an adjustable 4.3-inch touch-screen display with a slim profile that matches the chiseled angles and alternating glossy black, silver, and perforated matte black finish of the whole machine. In fact, if you don’t necessarily need the buttons, I don’t see why graphic designers and general offices wouldn’t be satisfied with its aesthetic. Like the 6.1, the Hero 9.1′s exterior gives off a more streamlined attitude than the older Kodak ESP line with a small red strip marking off the control panel and the hidden scanner bay. The angled display contrasts with the narrow auto-document feeder up top that can hold up to 30 sheets of a document at a time for hands-free copying and scanning.

The printer also has a small green Wi-Fi indicator LED on the right side of the control panel, and just below the buttons you’ll find a multimedia card reader for Memory Stick, xD-Picture Card, SD, and USB via the PictBridge-compatible port just above it.

The auto-duplexer that flips pages over for double-sided printing adds a bulky extrusion to the back of the printer, but the extra weight is offset by its economic benefits for offices that print more than the usual amount. Kodak estimates that the 9.1 can handle about 12,000 printed pages a month before it loses steam, which should be more than enough for SMBs and home offices with moderate to large output.

Kodak throws in two separate paper trays along with the matte touch screen to lure shoppers into choosing the 9.1 over its Hero line cousins, and with good sense. You get a diminished 100-sheet main paper tray for everyday printing on the bottom of the unit and another 40-sheet tray on top for smaller media. Depending on your intended uses and monthly output volume, the 140-sheet total input capacity may dissuade you from purchasing this printer. If that’s the case, the Epson WorkForce 845 all-in-one serves your needs better, with a combined paper input capacity of 500 pages.

The Hero 9.1 uses Kodak’s model 10B and 10C cartridges with a single tank for black ink and a separate five-ink cartridge of pigment color. Kodak claims its ink totals the lowest cost per page in the industry, and my calculations based on their XL-capacity cartridges corroborates those claims at just 2.4 cents per black page and 7.2 cents for a page of color, but keep in mind that all five inks are bundled into one cartridge, so you’ll need to buy a new one when the first color runs out. That’s why it makes more fiscal sense for photographers to print snapshots on competing photo printers that house five and sometimes six individual ink tanks.

Kodak offers several ways to print to the Kodak aside from the standard USB connection. You can hook it up to an office network using wired Ethernet or distribute it wirelessly using its 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi server.

Headaches quickly arrive when its time to connect a printer to a wireless router, but I’m impressed with Kodak’s streamlined handshaking–the printer is set up for the Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) computing standard that boils the process down to a push of a button, if you have a compatible wireless router. It’s just as easy to connect without WPS, however, but you’ll need to create an ad-hoc connection using the USB cable first. Unfortunately, Kodak doesn’t provide this cable in the box.

The printer ships with a helpful driver disc that walks you through the installation process and includes Kodak’s All-in-One Home Center software. The Home Center acts as a hub for the copy, print, and scan functions, but remember to check for firmware updates soon after you connect the printer; Kodak said version 7.3 is coming soon. The copy feature is easy to navigate and offers a unique collage copy setting that duplicates several pictures in the same orientation as the originals. The scanning center is simple as well, but lacks the option to scan directly to a fax in lieu of scanning directly to a Google Doc, which serves a similar purpose if you want to send a link to a PDF file.

The new Home Center also lets you print 3D images, which means you’ll need a pair of red-and-blue glasses to see them pop. The 3D print process works as you’d expect, with the device printing dual images close together but slightly offset so viewing through the paper glasses makes the image come alive. The 9.1 comes with a 3D starter kit that includes two pairs of 3D glasses and a sample pack of photo paper for experimentation.

The Hero 9.1 is also accessible on the run using the free Kodak Pic Flick App for iOS, Android, and Blackberry device. Though the app doesn’t offer the opportunity for heavy photo editing, you can specify the print quality and canvas size from 2 inches by 3 inches all the way up to the standard 8.5 by 11.

Printing from the cloud is perhaps the most convenient feature across Kodak’s entire Hero line, and you get two simple ways to print from any computer with an internet connection. The most ubiquitous is Google Cloud Print, a free utility that lets multiple users share your printer over the Web with a simple username registration and a compatible device running the Google Chrome Web browser. Google stores your device information on its servers to keep your computer clutter-free and simplifies the process even further by keeping drivers and firmware up to date.

The other side of the 9.1′s cloud-printing diligence is Kodak E-mail Print. It’s designed to release users from the shackles of the print driver by assigning a unique e-mail address to every printer that you can use to send jobs directly from any connected device. When you send an e-mail to the printer, you can choose to either attach a compatible file (Microsoft Word, Microsoft Powerpoint, Microsoft Excel, PDF, text files, BMP, PNG, GIF, TIFF) for formatted documents or just paste text in plain or HTML form to the e-mail body. Kodak provides the address for your particular device during the wireless setup process, and the virtual instructions walk you through it step by step.

Performance
The Hero 9.1 neither impressed nor disappointed us with its output speed results, though it did print at a noticeably slower rate than other printers in the $250 range. Kodak couldn’t keep up in three out of the four tests, but actually fared well in the single-photo print test, placing third in the lineup with 0.96 page per minute (ppm). The disparity in the other three will likely appear negligible unless you’re printing long-form documents.

Once the printer eventually spits out your job, you’ll be impressed with the resolution quality. Graphic documents and everyday text prints came out looking the best out of all the tests with acceptable saturation levels that I wouldn’t hesitate to use as presentation materials for an office meeting. Scan quality is satisfactory as well thanks to the 9.1′s new 2,400 dpi scanning bay, and the upgrade resolves the dark compression issues that marred previous Kodak models.

Service and support
Kodak supports the Hero 9.1 with a one-year warranty for toll-free phone and online-chat tech support available every day. The Kodak Web site provides access to manuals, driver downloads, troubleshooting tips, graphic tutorials, and a list of frequently asked questions.

Conclusion
Kodak’s latest all-purpose machine shows off Kodak’s versatile set of features like a fresh exterior design, cloud printing, and mobile print apps coupled with dual paper trays, an auto-document feeder, and simple double-sided printing. It might not outshine the competition in performance speeds, but homes shopping for a new multifunction printer certainly won’t be disappointed by the Kodak Hero 9.1′s array of intelligent technologies.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

The $350 HP LaserJet Pro 100 bears a near-exact resemblance to the LaserJet Pro M1212nf, but this step-up model cuts out the fax machine in favor of color printing that uses Hewlett-Packard’s innovative new carousel-style cartridge bay. The printer maintains a small footprint by leaving out the autoduplexer, and the rotating toner carousel helps with size as well, but unfortunately at the expense of printing speed. Larger offices will appreciate a heavy-duty device like the Dell 1355cnw multifunction printer, but the HP LaserJet 100 earns my recommendation for home offices where users will take advantage of HP’s unique features like ePrint and Smart Install, and the LaserJet Pro’s 35-page autodocument feeder.

Design and features
The HP LaserJet Pro 100 is exceptionally compact for a multifunction laser printer, but the multiple color cartridges inside bump the weight up to 35 pounds with all the accessories attached. Its narrow 17-inch by 16-inch footprint won’t hog space on your desktop, and HP includes wide cutouts on the bottom of each side to use as handles when transporting the unit around an office. Unfortunately, HP doesn’t include the USB or Ethernet cord necessary to make a hardwired connection, probably to encourage you to establish the Wi-Fi connection you’ll need to access the ePrint services.

Once you acquire a cable, HP’s Smart Install makes it simple to establish a connection and start printing without the fuss of a driver disc. The new design embeds the communication drivers directly in the printer itself, so all you have to do is plug the power cable into a wall, connect it to your PC (via USB), and turn on the printer, and the two machines will take over and do the rest. Smart Install is also useful when it comes time to transfer the printer to another host computer, or if another user wants to use it as a network printer. Unfortunately for Mac users, Smart Install only works with Windows machines, so HP includes a standard installation disc as well.

Setting up the printer with an Ethernet cable is nearly as easy as setting up a direct connection. As with USB installation, you can use either the included CD or Smart Install. I opted for the latter. First, you must print out a configuration report using the printer’s control panel by pressing the setup button (the one with the wrench icon), using either of the arrow keys to select “Reports” from the Main menu, and then selecting “Config report.” The printer will then spit out two pages of configuration details, one of which is the printer’s IP address. Type the address into the browser of a PC on your network, and on the resulting Web page, click the HP Smart Install tab. From there, click the green Download button to install the software. After a quick download, the printer will print out a test page confirming it’s connected to your network.

The printer ships with version 1.0 of the operating software, but you’ll need to download and install a firmware update to enable ePrint. Once you have an active Ethernet connection established, follow these instructions from HP to download the update, locate your printer’s IP address, and enable Web services on the LaserJet Pro 100. It took me about half an hour to update the firmware, but once you’re set up, you can use ePrint to send jobs directly to the printer using a unique e-mail address.

The ePrint system can print e-mail message attachments in the form of images, document files, PDFs, and photos, and it will send a separate job for any text that appears in the body of the e-mail. The default preferences let anyone with the address print wirelessly, but you can also set up a list of verified senders to allow on a private network. My testing confirms ePrint works with a variety of Web clients like Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and Microsoft Outlook, and you can even e-mail articles directly from an RSS feed like Google Reader.

You can track the progress of print jobs sent to the assigned address through the HP ePrintCenter. The printer recognizes and begins printing a job immediately after it receives an e-mail, and I like that you can queue up several jobs and track them all just as you would using a desktop client. Still, I’d also like to find some of this functionality on the printer itself.

The process for connecting to a wireless 802.11b/g/n network is similar, except that you have to enter your SSID and password to start the process. Once the printer finds your router, a physical Wi-Fi button on the front control panel will confirm the connection and print out an information sheet to confirm it, and you’re set. All three of the connectivity options are a breeze to install, and after you get the LaserJet set up, you’ll find it’s a considerate officemate–it doesn’t waste energy, as witness its Energy Star qualification, and it’s fairly quiet during operation. Our only environmental complaint is that it has no autoduplexer, meaning it won’t automatically flip the paper to print on both sides, although you can of course always do that manually.

The LCD status display console is small, but well-equipped, with all the necessary buttons to operate the machine. A number pad sits below the two-line display, and you also get two buttons down below to start and stop a job, as well as a host of setup buttons for adjusting the darkness of your prints or starting a copy job. Unfortunately, you don’t get an autoscan button, so you’ll have to start the scanning process on your computer first and return to the machine to finish the job.

You’ll also notice a multicolored circular button with a rotating arrow around the perimeter–this controls the rotation of the toner cartridges within the machine. The LaserJet Pro 100 is one of the first color lasers from HP to incorporate a new design that saves space by seating cartridges in a rotating carousel within the tray. To change the cartridges, you close the lid and press the button to unseat the primary cartridge and rotate to the next one. The printer ships with the cartridges already installed, but the printed instructions inside the bay make it easy for anyone to replace them.

A 150-sheet paper input tray folds out of the bottom of the printer and stays in place with a separate plastic tray that connects sloppily to the bottom of the printer, and a 35-sheet autodocument feeder (ADF) takes care of hands-free scanning of documents stacked on top. Larger offices that would feel confined by the 150-sheet maximum storage capacity should check out the HP LaserJet Pro 1606dn, which can store up to 250 sheets at a time.

Unfortunately, the toner itself will set you back about 4.2 cents per page of plain black text, and each precious color print will cost you 21 cents–much higher than the average. The high cost of consumables speaks to the limits of color lasers for consumer photographers, and I recommend you check out our inkjet printer reviews if you’re shopping for a photo output device.

Performance
The LaserJet Pro 100′s new cartridge carrier makes this one of the smallest laser printers I’ve tested, but it also slows down the printing process as each color page pauses to wait for the four print drums. Of course, the drop in speed compared with the competition depends on your volume of prints and the length of each job, but CNET’s benchmark results show the LaserJet trailing three other competitive printers in all three tests.

The LaserJet Pro 100′s text and graphics quality are both acceptable using the defined shortcuts HP offers in the preferences pane. The standard default, called General Everyday Printing, outputs crisp text down to 2-point font, but environmentally conscious users will likely prefer the “eco-print” selection that pauses for you to manually flip the sheet of paper–certainly not ideal for quick jobs, but energy-saving. There are also defined options for alternative media formats like envelopes, heavy cardstock, and glossy presentations, although you’ll need to feed these into the sole paper tray, since HP included no bypass tray.

The overall print quality performs to the industry standard for color lasers: black text comes out clean and nicely darkened, while the grayscale prints are good, but suffer from the minor cross-hatching common to budget laser printers. Photos on graphics pages are adequate as well, but some of the colors in our sample monochrome scans appear overly dark and nearing the dark end of the grayscale compression. Still, the output quality is certainly on a professional level worthy of general office tasks.

Service and support
HP backs the LaserJet Pro 100 with a standard one-year warranty, which includes 24-7 toll-free phone support and live Webchat during weekdays. HP’s Web site also contains downloadable drivers, software, and manuals; e-mail tech support; FAQs; and a troubleshooting guide. You can return the product within 21 days of delivery.

Conclusion
The HP LaserJet Pro 100 boasts a smart feature set and a compact design that meets the needs of home users on a budget. You get print, scan, and copy functionality in one device, along with wired and wireless networking, an ADF, HP ePrint, and a dead-simple setup procedure. As long as you don’t mind waiting a little longer for your prints to come out, the LaserJet Pro 100 is an excellent value for the cost.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

Canon’s new Pixma MG6220 multifunction printer carries an impressive list of features compared with other consumer-level printers that sell for $200. This capable machine achieves top-scoring marks in both speed and output quality, but also innovates with features you can’t get with the competition, like a 3-inch display that pairs well with the touch-sensitive control panel. The touch sensitivity can use some tweaking, but if you’re on the hunt for a printer truly worthy of its all-in-one moniker, the Canon Pixma MG6220 won’t disappoint.

Design
The Pixma MG6220 features a thin shape and a unique design that incorporates folding trays to keep the footprint small. The printer measures 18.5 inches wide, 14.5 inches deep, and just under 7 inches tall with both front and rear trays folded. It also weighs slightly more than average at 20.1 pounds due to the rear-mounted ADF and the six internal ink tanks, but it should still be relatively easy for anyone to transport around the home or office.

The far left side of the printer houses the only hard button for power. Touch-sensitive virtual buttons for copy, scan, and print controls light up the top-mounted interactive panel when you initially hit the hard power button, but the printer only illuminates the commands necessary for each function once you select a print mode. This feature helps eliminate confusion typical of heavily populated control panels.

The MG6220 will always display the “home” and “back” navigation buttons regardless of which application you access (print, copy, scan), but you can also scroll through the menus and adjust the number of print copies using the active touch wheel. Finally, an ample 3-inch color LCD screen lifts up from the middle and tilts 90 degrees forward and back to allow visibility no matter where the printer sits in relation to the user.

The new “as-needed” buttons are useful and easy to use, but I hope the next version will let you adjust sensitivity settings. The fixed setting is so sensitive that a quick swipe can easily trigger an accidental press, and even hovering your finger over the sensor can activate it.

Dual 150-sheet paper trays fold out of the top and bottom of the MG6220 and adjust forward and backward to accept a range of paper sizes from 4-inch-by-6-inch snapshots all the way up to legal-size sheets. The 300-sheet overall paper capacity means you can put different-sized media in both compartments, but the trays themselves both feel easily breakable; I can’t vouch for their durability over time and continued use.

The MG6220 can also print labels for your blank CD and DVDs using the extra feed tray included in the box. Canon calls it the Printable Disc tray, and it even has notches that fit full-size CDs as well as mini-media, but the special slot located just above the paper output tray can only accept one disc at a time. Regardless, the process is easy to use thanks to Canon’s free label-printing software (included) that lets you design and print your own stickers.

Setting up the printer is simple no matter how you choose to connect it to a computer, and the installation disc offers onscreen instructions that guide you through three connectivity options using either 802.11 b/g/n wireless, an Ethernet cable, or a simple USB cord. You can choose Easy Install to grab everything, or pick Custom Install for a-la-carte features, including Easy-PhotoPrint EX for managing your digital photos, MP Navigator EX to guide you through the scanning process, and more. Keep in mind you’ll need 691 megabytes of free hard drive space on your computer if you go with the comprehensive Easy Install.

Once Easy Installation is complete, Windows users will notice several new buttons displayed above the taskbar on the lower right side of the screen. These shortcuts are designed to give you quick access to five of the most commonly used printer functions: Scan a document, Layout print, Photo Print, Show Main Screen, and Hide.

The MG6220 also includes Canon’s HD Movie Print that pulls still photos out of videos shot with compatible Canon HD video cameras. I tested the printer with a Canon Powershot S95 top-flight handheld camera and was impressed with the Canon Solution Menu EX software’s step-by-step walkthrough instructions.

The software allows you to edit video images and prepare a moving clip for grabbing still shots from the video. It’s as simple as selecting a video snippet and either capturing a group of 10 frames or hitting the “capture” button to select single images. Once that’s finished, you can edit the image to reduce noise and sharpen images and although the SD95 is only capable of 720p video resolution, the software supports true 1080p digital SLR cameras like the Canon EOS 5D Mark II.

The lid of the MG6220 lifts to reveal the five-ink cartridge bay for cyan, magenta, yellow, and black ink tanks, and there’s another high-capacity pigment black cartridge inside that only draws ink when you toggle the “monochrome” mode within the driver preferences. This convenient feature actually saves you money in the long term by extending the longevity of the smaller black cartridge, since it only gets depleted in color print mode.

Printing functions aside, the MG6220′s copy function has all the features you’d expect from a diligent multifunction printer. You can enlarge the original copy up to 400 percent or simply fit the entire document to a page. Other special features include two-sided copying, borderless copying, exact duplication, cropped copy, and 2-on-1 and 4-on-1 photo collages.

Scanning is also typical, with save options that include sending the file straight to your PC, as an e-mail attachment, scanned as a PDF, or simply opening it to an application. You can save all documents as TIFF, JPEG, BMP, or PDF files, and the scanner now supports film and negatives as well. The negative and slide holders are accessible underneath the document protector underneath the lid. The scanner supports document sizes up to 8.5 inches by 11 inches, but the fixed hinge makes it difficult to stretch the scanner cover over thicker documents and books.

Performance
The disparity between the MG6220′s impressive text and presentation speed output versus the time it took to print photos and pages of color graphics is surprising. It’s no match for the Epson WorkForce 610 and drops down to second place in the text-page test with a respectable 8.24 pages per minute (PPM) but loses momentum and falls to the bottom of the pack at a sluggish 1.02 pages of color graphics and 0.87 full color photo snapshots per minute. Despite polarizing speed test results, you’re unlikely to notice the subtle differences as a consumer unless you’re printing consistently high numbers of pages of text or photos. To that point, the MG6220 isn’t the best performer for busy offices, although I wouldn’t hesitate to use its high-quality graphics prints in a boardroom presentation.

Contrary to the speed tests, the Pixma MG6220 performed well in CNET’s quality examination. It printed solid, dense text with fully formed characters down to five-point font size, and the color graphics emerged solid and evenly distributed. I did notice small portions of the graphic print outs had more neutral tones than the original image, specifically in areas with gradual color gradients. To confirm, I repeated the test three times and the imperfections were consistent, if subtle, throughout. In most cases, snapshot photos came out with vivid coloration and with even tones.

Service and support
Canon supports the Pixma MG6220 with a standard one-year limited warranty program that includes InstantExchange and a year of toll-free phone support. In addition, the product page for the printer features frequently asked questions, registration, recycling information, driver downloads, and more.

Conclusion
The Canon Pixma MG6220′s slower-than-average print speeds are offset by its competent extra features, including HD Movie Print, AirPrint compatibility, and dual paper trays that let you store up to 300 sheets at a time. In the future, I’d like to see Canon allow you to adjust the sensitivity of the control panel, but overall I’m satisfied to recommend this printer that finally achieves a balance between the modern luxury of touch sensitivity and the need for quick access to the control panel.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

Giving a printer? Thinking about buying one for yourself? Deals are abound, but before you head out to make that purchase take a few minutes to read our Holiday Printer Buying Guide. Inkjet or laser? Multi or single function? How much to spend? We’ve got the scoop on the best printers available this holiday season.

Brother, Canon, Epson and HP. They’ve all made our list. If you are out shopping make sure you check out the following.

Epson Workforce 635 Wireless All-in-One

The Epson Workforce 635 is built for office environments, but will work great for anyone. You may not want to spend the money (starting at $140.00) unless you do a lot of printing though. For those looking to save paper, and the environment, it automatically prints on both sides of a piece of paper. Printing photos? This may not be the printer for you. It’s photo print quality is average and its photo print speed is slow. The 635 is a visually appealing printer (shiny black) with a large, and easy to use, control panel. Replacement ink cartridges are reasonably priced. If you are looking for an office type printer (lots of text printing) this may be just what you need.

HP OfficeJet Mobile

Need to print documents, presentations, and handouts while on the road? The OfficeJet Mobile Printer is for you. Business professionals will love  it’s sleek design and print quality. HP has increased the printing speed over previous models and added Bluetooth wireless printing capabilities.  The printer also features a rechargeable battery. The drawback? It’s expensive (starting at $219.00). If you spend a lot of your work time on the road and need the ability print, this is the mobile printer you need.

Canon ImageClass MF3010

Easy to set up. Easy to use. Reasonably priced (starting at $109.95). The Canon ImageClass MF3010 is great for students, office professionals, and you budget minded folks. Here’s the bummer . . . No wireless networking or auto document feeder! If you can get past those two missing features get yourself this printer. You’ll be very happy with the print speed.

HP Photosmart Premium C410a

This printer is great for the home office crowd. Print, copy, scan, and fax all from the same printer. You are going to get quick print speeds and quality print outs. Those who don’t need to put a whole ream of paper in the paper tray every time they replace paper won’t mind the capacity of the paper tray (it holds a max of 125 sheets). The C410a will features wireless printing and offers access to HP’s Web printing technologies. A fair amount of features for its price (starting at $119.90).

Epson WorkForce 840 All-in-One

Another Epson printer! This multifunction inkjet printer quickly produces great prints (text and graphics). It also offers auto duplexing, wired/wireless networking, and support for mobile printing. If photo speed and quality are what you are looking for, you may want to skip this printer. This printer costs quite a bit more than the average All-in-One inkjet printer (starting at $314.99), but may just be worth it depending on your needs.

HP LaserJet Pro M1217nfw

This is HP’s most inexpensive multifunction laser printer (starting at $199.99). Small budget minded offices are going to get the most bang for their buck with this printer. You’ll be printing, copying, scanning, and faxing in just a matter of minutes (set up is very simple). The M1217nfw offers a driver-less set up and both wired and wireless connections. It’s a work horse printer for small offices that do a lot of monochrome printing. Unfortunately, no auto duplex printing here.

Brother HL-2270DW

The only Brother printer on our list! Basic printing functions at a budget price (starting at $89.99). Brother’s reliable and easy to use printer is just right for home users or students. This monochrome laser printer features wireless networking and quick print speeds. Get is for good looking black and white print outs, not for graphics (not good!).

Lexmark Pinnacle Pro901

Lexmark printers don’t typically make these types of lists, so they’ve done something good with the Pro901. The good I am referring to is Lexmark’s decision to make a lower performing printer in favor of a printer that is cost effective. They are jumping on the “printer ink is to expensive” bandwagon, and hoping to sell a lot of printers because of it. With the lowest black ink cost per page available Lexmark is hoping consumers will look past black prints that are not of the same quality as other printers, slow copy speeds, and poorly designed SmartSolutions app in favor of a low printing cost. The printer itself might be slightly overpriced (starting at $147.00) for the features you get.

Released in time for the back-to-school season, Epson squeezes a printer, scanner, and copy machine into a small device it’s calling the “small-in-one.” The Stylus NX430 occupies roughly the same amount of desk space as your average Blu-ray player, and it performed twice as fast as the four other competitive models, with high-scoring quality results to boot. We recommend investing in Epson’s extra-large-capacity ink refill tanks if you print a large volume of full-color documents and photos, but if price and space hold top priority on your printer shopping list, the $99 Epson Stylus NX430 is worth your dollar.

Design and features
The Stylus NX430′s space-saving design is the printer’s main focus, measuring a little more than 15 inches wide, 20 inches deep, and 11 inches tall. Relative to other printers, its size falls somewhere between a single function inkjet and a color laser printer, but at 9 pounds it’s only half the weight of the average color laser printer and ideal for offices that frequently move workstations.

The center control panel sits within a console that rotates up to a suitable viewing angle. Though I’m not usually a fan of virtual-only button layouts, I like that the only buttons that light up on the NX430 are the four-way directional pad and the power on and off controls–the rest of the functions illuminate depending on the particular function you’re accessing.

I did notice that the screen on this machine feels distinctly less responsive than the capacitive touch dials on the higher-end WorkForce 845 All-in-One. By contrast, NX430′s plastic surrounding the screen has a tendency to flex as you press down on it, lending a mushy feeling to menu navigation. The screen itself never gave me trouble in terms of virtual button actuation, however.

I can’t fault a $99 device for not including an auto-document feeder or multiple paper input trays, so all paper handling is fed through the single tray on the back and exits through the “mouth” below the controls. You’ll also notice a memory card reader up front that lets you walk up and print from an expansion card without actually touching a computer. You can preview your photos on the ample 2.5-inch LCD touch panel, and even make simple adjustments to crop dimensions, resize, or perform one-button touch-ups.

Epson gives you the option to connect the printer to your computer using direct USB or Wi-Fi. I assume most of you will prefer the latter, since Epson doesn’t include a USB cable in the box. Smart setup on the touch panel is a two-part process: turn on the machine and click Network Setting, then designate your wireless network and enter its password, and that’s it. The entire setup from start to finish, with a connection established on our lab network, took us less than 2 minutes. The installation process also includes a step that asks if you want the system to automatically hunt and install firmware updates, and we recommend you click “yes” when prompted; the appeal of Web-connected printers like the NX430 means you don’t have to wait for Epson to ship you software updates, so take advantage of it.

Connecting through Wi-Fi also means you can take advantage of Epson’s host of free mobile printing apps that let you print directly from mobile devices. First, the Epson iPrint application for iOS and Android devices enables you to print Web pages, photos, documents, and anything else on a smartphone directly to the WorkForce NX430, though I noticed the printer cropped photos when I flipped orientation from portrait to landscape and vice versa, so I wouldn’t recommend using the app to print important images like business presentations this way; it’s more appropriate for quick outputs of snapshot photos and to-do lists.

Performance
In our speed tests, the Stylus NX430 performed at an average rate printing photos, but it sprints ahead of the competition with presentation output speed, color graphics speed, and especially text speed. To widen the margin further, the NX515 printed a staggering 14.11 pages per minute of plain text on plain white paper.

Meanwhile, the next fastest printers are the Lexmark Interpret S405 and the Canon Pixma MX410 that both registered only 7.65 and 6.08 pages per minute (PPM), respectively.

In fact, the Epson churned out more pages per minute (text, graphics, and presentations) than most inkjet printers I’ve tested to date. Look no further than the Epson Stylus NX430 printer if you need hard copies of your documents in your hand as quickly as possible.

The printer also doesn’t disappoint in terms of print quality. With so many driver options to choose from, Epson makes it easy to cater to your prints in the most efficient way possible. I tried to cycle through most of the options, including using Epson’s Vivid colorspace as opposed to Adobe’s RGB, but I found that Epson’s preset setting produced the most pleasing and accurate images. By far, the most accurate samples came from black and colored text and graphics containing thick, black lines.

Considering the cost of the printer and the consumables, the Epson’s print samples are some of the most evenly saturated, fully formed shapes I’ve seen in a while. I’m satisfied with the weight of thin and thick lines, and the readability is clear even down to the smallest fonts on normal white document paper. I’m equally happy with the photo quality that continues to live up to the Epson name. All the printouts display smooth quality and are free of graininess or blotchy facial tones.

Service and support
Epson backs the Stylus NX430 with a limited one-year warranty that includes toll-free customer support weekdays from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. PT. Further support is available online through a model-specific troubleshooting guide, FAQs, e-mail support, driver updates, and document downloads.

Conclusion
The Epson WorkForce NX430 lives up to its “small-in-one” moniker with the size and features to match. Students and small offices cramped for space will have to sacrifice an auto-document feeder and double-sided prints to get the NX430 under $100, but its Wi-Fi connectivity, quick print speeds, and the most recent addition of iPrint apps for smartphones make this multifunction a worthwhile grab.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

The good: The Dell 1130n’s low-profile design, basic setup procedure, and decent output results make it a strong contender to be your next light-duty office printer.

The bad: The 1130n’s graphical output quality needs improvement, and it doesn’t include Wi-Fi connectivity.

The bottom line: Although it performed adequately in our print speed tests, this basic monochrome laser printer is outgunned by competitive devices with wireless networking for the same price.

The Dell 1130n delivers the basic features we’d expect from a budget monochrome laser printer; it includes wired networking through the Ethernet port on the back, an ample 250-sheet paper tray, and a separate one-sheet manual feed tray for irregular media. We wouldn’t think twice about recommending getting the 1130n if you see it on sale, but its simple design and modest functionality don’t justify its $180 retail value. If you’re on the hunt for a new laser printer, we’d instead point to the Samsung ML-2525W, an aesthetically similar device with the added benefit of Wi-Fi access.

Design and features
The 1130n measures only 14.2 inches wide, 15.3 inches deep, and 7.8 inches tall, and its slim dimensions make it easy to camouflage in a busy work space. As with many laser printers, Dell uses a conservative black for the same reason, with a curved paper path that places the output tray on top of the small, rectangular unit. Conversely, the input tray pulls out of the lower half of the front and can hold up to 250 sheets of standard 8.5×11-inch paper. Dell also tells us the printer can handle approximately 12,000 pages per month (also called the duty cycle), which should be more than enough for up to a medium-size business. You can also load thicker media like cardstock and envelopes into the single-sheet manual feed slot that sits just above the main paper drawer.

We hesitate to call the top portion of the printer the “control panel,” since you only get two buttons (power and cancel print job) and two error notification lights to work with. Considering the simplicity of a monolaser, you aren’t likely to need more. On the other hand, the fixed 90-degree angle of the button layout means that depending on how high you have the printer on your desk, you may need to stand up to see them. Overall the controls are intuitive to navigate, and with no wireless networking installed in the 1130n, the printer is simple for even the most amateur technophobe to operate.

The setup is also painless thanks to the driver installation disc that comes with the printer. According to Dell, the 1130n is compatible with a variety of Windows versions including 32- and 64-bit Vista and 7, 2000, XP, and Server, as well as Linux and Mac OS 10.3 through 10.6. The onscreen instructions guide you through the 2-minute unboxing, physical setup, and software installation process using a USB cable, which you’ll need to purchase separately since it doesn’t come with one.

Folding down the front panel drawer uncovers two separate paper bays: one to hold 150 sheets of plain white paper, and a plastic lip on top that corrals outgoing sheets. The tray also features slides on either side that adjust to fit standard legal paper as well as alternative media sources like coated paper, envelopes, and labels. Unlike other business-oriented laser printers, however, there’s no manual bypass feeder of the kind some find useful for loading transparencies or labels.

The monochrome toner cartridge is easy to pull out after you disengage the plastic front panel, and Dell includes a standard-capacity toner cartridge with the unit. You can pick up a refill for $63 on the Dell Web site that will supposedly print up to 1,500 sheets. That comes out to about 4.2 cents per page, which is just higher than the average cost for a plain sheet of black ink on both laser and inkjet printers. Alternatively, if you find yourself printing more than average, we recommend investing in the $88 extra-large-capacity toner with a 2,500-page yield that comes out to 3.5 cents per page.

Dell keeps the retail cost of the 1130n low by leaving out two features: autoduplexing (double-sided printing) and the ability to print over a Wi-Fi network. Employees in an office can still link multiple stations to the 1130n using the Ethernet networking port on the back, but we’re troubled by the choice to omit Wi-Fi at this price, when the Samsung ML-2525W and the Brother HL-2270DW both include wireless connectivity for $150.

Performance
The 1130n trails the competition slightly in our monochrome text throughput test, but you likely won’t notice a speed difference unless you’re consistently printing over 20 pages at a time. While Dell can’t match the Lexmark E460dw in three out of the four tests.

The Dell 1130n performed well, but not exceptionally, in the output quality assessment portion of our tests. As expected, it produced a beautiful page of black text with solid lines and clean edges with uniform character spacing and fully formed figures down to an unreadable font, but the printer failed to deliver similar results with a page of graphics. While we still don’t doubt its ability to create handouts and presentation documents for the boardroom, we did notice malformed gradations and inconsistency in the finer lines. The same goes for snapshot photos, although we’ll assume you aren’t buying a monolaser printer to enrich your career as a photographer.

Service and support
The standard warranty for the Dell 1130n lasts one year, but you can upgrade it to up to four additional years. Dell provides free, toll-free phone support 24-7, but recommends trying the live online chat option first. For less urgent inquiries, you can also contact Dell’s e-mail support team or check out its user forums. Dell’s Web site has product-specific support in the form of online user guides, driver and software downloads, and a troubleshooting tool.

Conclusion
The Dell 1130n monochrome laser printer serves up acceptable quality for home offices and small business, with consistent performance, simple setup, and Ethernet networking, but if you’re looking for a bargain or care about a Wi-Fi connection option, we recommend the Samsung ML-2525W instead.

(Review by Justin Yu on CNET – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

The good: The Lexmark Pro715 is a streamlined version of its predecessor, the Pro705, with a higher-resolution 2.4-inch LCD screen and the company’s enhanced Vizix 2.0 set of inks for vibrant photos and professional-quality documents.

The bad: For the same price, the Epson WorkForce 845 trumps the Lexmark Pro715 in several areas.

The bottom line: Lexmark’s latest all-purpose office machine introduces a new set of inks with a separate print head that outputs higher-quality photos than the previous model, but competing devices give you convenient features like cloud printing and a larger touch-screen display for the same price.

We like the Lexmark Pro715′s updated design and quick print speeds, but looks aside, its core is a near replica of the previous model, the Prevail Pro705. That printer earned a rating of Excellent for its simple control panel and studio-quality snapshots, but there aren’t enough updates in this new version to catch it up to the Epson WorkForce 845, a competing device worthy of its “all-in-one” moniker with mobile printing features, a massive 500-sheet paper input capacity, and a generous 7.8-inch interactive display. By comparison, the Lexmark Pro715 comes up disappointingly short, and small offices and busy home users will get more done with the WorkForce 845 at the same price.

Design and features
Like the Pro705 before it, the Pro715 has a drab gray-black color palette that may have earned points with us in the past, but now feels all too typical of an office printer. Its smooth edges and rounded paper input tray shave off the sharp corners and make the device look more streamlined, but the general design of the line has changed very little.

The most significant changes to the body involve the small LCD display that now sits flush in a much more streamlined control panel in the center of the unit. Thankfully, the clear plastic window protecting the function buttons that once marred the top is now absent, but instead of relocating them to another part of the panel, Lexmark got rid of the shortcut buttons altogether and integrated them into the virtual menu panel. We don’t mind, but it certainly prevents you from simply walking up to the device and selecting Copy, Scan, Fax, or Print.

Instead of the large touch-screen LCD you get on the Epson WorkForce 845, the Pro715 has a 2.4-inch color LCD display with a directional panel just to the right for scrolling through onscreen menus, as well as a number pad for dialing fax numbers.

Lexmark also includes an Eco Mode button marked with a green leaf on the right side that triggers two-sided printing, copying, and faxing thanks to the duplexer on the back. Lexmark also lowers your ecological footprint with continued Energy Star certification, and an updated black “setup-capacity” Vizix 2.0 print cartridge rated at 400 pages per cartridge is included in the box.

The silo paper drawer is built into the base and can only hold 150 sheets of paper, which may be enough for a small business. Still, many businesses may find the Epson WorkForce more convenient with its 250-sheet tray for standard 8.5×11-inch paper and separate 250-sheet tray for photo paper.

Strangely enough, Lexmark decided not to include a media card reader like the one to be found on the bottom right side of the Pro705 model, perhaps to inspire customers to spend the extra $50 on the step-up Pro915. Again, for the same price as the Pro715, the Epson WorkForce has two media card slots on the front in addition to a PictBridge-compatible USB port for direct prints from your digital camera. You even get a copy of Epson’s Easy Photo Print software in the box for light image editing.

You can connect the Pro715 to a host computer using an 802.11b/g/n wireless setup or via a hardwired USB port. With the included driver disc, we were able to set up the printer to communicate using both connection methods in less than 10 minutes; just make sure you have your network log-in and password available.

The printer is one of many to feature Lexmark’s newest Vizix 2.0 individual ink cartridges, with one pigment black for printing text and three dye-based yellow, cyan, and magenta cartridges for color photos. The new cartridges are $10 more than the previous 100XL inks, and although we appreciated that Lexmark included high-capacity inks in the box, the results of our print quality test suggest that won’t offset the extra money you’ll spend in the long term by using the more expensive inks. In fact, if you’re absolutely married to the Lexmark brand, we recommend checking out online stores like Amazon.com that are currently offering the Pro705 at half the price.

The Pro715 ships with minimal paperwork to conserve paper, and you can access most of the instructions, warranty information, and promotional offers on the CD included in the box. Along with the drivers that support Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Mac OS X, the CD also automatically installs several Lexmark productivity programs on your computer.

The Lexmark Toolbar gives you a shortcut bar on top of your Web browser for “easy-access” printing. Lexmark’s Productivity Studio and Imaging Studio programs provide way to autoedit or crop your photos and include them in projects, and the Lexmark Service Center is intended to help in troubleshooting any snags in the printing process. We also enjoyed using the onscreen progress bar that automatically pops up when you print. It shows you the progress of your job in an easy-to-read percentage bar (the LCD on the control panel also shows the progress) and displays a graphic representation of your ink depletion with a warning when the paper trays are running low.

Performance
The Lexmark Platinum Pro715 performed at an average speed in our comparison testing, nowhere near the chart-topping Epson WorkForce 845. In all four benchmarks, the WorkForce 845 nearly cut the Pro715′s print time in half, which will certainly add up if you’re constantly using the device at work.

However, we will say that the quality of the Pro715′s black and color prints in both our graphic and text-document tests surpasses that of the first version of the Vizix brand of inks. Perhaps not enough to warrant a $10 increase in the price of each cartridge that will need to be replaced, but the current Lexmark printers’ permanent print head with separate ink tanks continues to impress us with the vibrancy and solidity of its output. We noticed very few blurred lines and imperfections, and we wouldn’t hesitate to use the Pro715 professionally. Then again, the Epson didn’t disappoint us either, and since they cost the same, we’re sticking with our recommendation of the WorkForce 845.

Service and support
We’re wagging a big finger at Lexmark for downgrading the Pro705′s generous five-year warranty to just one year for the Pro715. The extended limited warranty that used to cover ownership transfer in case you wanted to sell the printer in five years is now downgraded to one year as well, even for the more expensive Pro915. We’re disappointed at Lexmark’s unwillingness to support its users beyond the standard warranty term.

Conclusion
With limited upgrades to its design and severe downgrades to the warranty program and cost of consumables, we recommend staying far away from the Pro715 in favor of the Epson WorkForce 845. Though it also only carries a one-year warranty and the quality of its print output is about the same, you get a much larger paper tray and access to Epson’s mobile printing suite of applications.

(Review by Justin Yu – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

The good: The HP Deskjet 3050A features a refreshing design and its wireless Web connectivity lets you print in the cloud with HP ePrint technology.

The bad: The printer lacks an Ethernet port for wired networking and its dual ink cartridge bay is a money sink if you print a high volume of photos and color documents.

The bottom line: The HP Deskjet 3050A All-in-One printer marries an attractive design with the latest cloud printing technology in a multifunction device that works for small offices that don’t need to print a lot of full-color photos.

Although its print quality is limited by a dual-ink cartridge bay, the $80 HP Deskjet 3050A is built for productivity with wireless connectivity and mobile printing by way of HP smartphone apps and the company’s ePrint remote printing service that lets you access downloadable content from any computer. We wouldn’t recommend its 60-sheet paper input capacity and low-volume ink cartridges for larger offices, but the Deskjet is certainly worth a look for periodic users on a strict budget.

Design and features
The Deskjet 3050A’s natural, flowing curvature appears to draw inspiration from the aesthetic principles of mid-20th-century furniture designers. The external pieces are brushed with various shades of matted gray and burnt umber, and a 2-inch monochrome LCD pops out of a cut-out on top of the printer for quick access to application controls, the set up menu, and one-touch installation for a wireless connection and HP’s ePrint service.

A 60-sheet input tray also folds flush into the unit and features an adjustable marker that can align with a variety of media sizes down to No. 10-sized envelopes. Of course, several markings also exist for standard size sheets of 4-inch by 6-inch and 8-inch by 10-inch photo paper, but the single tricolor cartridge inside limits the quality of photos this printer can produce.

Pairing the 3050A with a companion computer is easiest with a hard-wired USB connection, but a wireless router offers a more elegant solution and lets you take advantage of ePrint, a service that lets you send jobs directly to the printer using a unique e-mail address issued to the printer when you establish a connection. Similar to your Facebook or Flickr e-mail address, you can load print jobs into the 3050A by either copying an article directly into the message body or attaching a document to the e-mail.

It’s important to note your home networking set up prior to buying this printer, as you absolutely need a wireless network to take advantage of cloud printing. Also, the 3050A lacks a networked Ethernet port, so only one user can print at a time. The ePrint system can print e-mail message attachments in the form of images, document files, PDFs, and photos, and it will send a separate job for any text that appears in the body of the e-mail.

The default preferences let anyone with the address print wirelessly, but you can also set up a list of verified senders to allow on a private network. We confirmed in testing that the ePrint functionality works with a wide variety of Web clients: we used Gmail, Yahoo Mail, Hotmail, and Microsoft Outlook with positive results, and you can even e-mail articles directly from an RSS feed like Google Reader.

The 3050A’s flatbed scanner accommodates up to 8.5-inch-by-11.7-inch documents, although the hardware doesn’t have an expandable hinge for thick media and books. It also lacks a USB port for saving resulting scans to a flash drive, so we actually recommend the HP Photosmart D110a e-All-in-One for amateur photographers and media professionals who want easy access to print and save photos.

Performance
We trust that budget users shopping for a printer like the HP 3050A will value cost over print speed, but it’s also helpful to know that this is a capable, if not slightly faster than average printer compared to the competition. Though the differences are negligible across all four speed tests, the 3050A did achieve top-tier results in our 10-page slide presentation test, and performed slightly faster than the photocentric HP D110a in all four tests.

We wouldn’t expect an entry-level printer to output flawless photos, and the 3050A certainly met those expectations. Overall print quality suffers as a result of the tricolor cartridge, and graphics-intensive samples like those for the presentation test mentioned earlier appear faded and blotchy right out of the machine. The biggest offenders, of course, are snapshot photos, and it doesn’t take a printer editor to see the color inconsistencies and overall lack of vibrancy here. You probably won’t feel comfortable using the 3050A to print a birthday card for friends and family, but we’re confident in its ability to produce decent-quality handouts for around the office.

Service and support
The HP Deskjet 3050A is backed by HP’s exclusive enhanced support services: a dedicated toll-free number, troubleshooting over online chat with an HP expert, and a one-year warranty that guarantees repairs with “Next-Day Business Turn Around” and offering brand-new replacement units for the first 30 days after purchase.

In addition, HP offers an added Accidental Damage Protection and a Pick-Up-and-Return program that sends an authorized courier to pick up your failed equipment and deliver it directly to an HP-designated repair facility.

You can find more warranty information by visiting the HP Support Web site, which also features online classes, FAQs, driver downloads, and troubleshooting tips, as well as a new shopping buddy that puts you in a chat room with an HP sales rep so you can ask questions before you buy.

Conclusion
If you’re shopping for an attractive printer for light use around the office or in your home, the HP Deskjet 3050A delivers acceptable quality prints and the convenience of mobile printing using ePrint. Photographers and busy offices should keep shopping, but light users who don’t want empty wallets will find an excellent performer in the 3050A.

(Review by Justin Yu – Justin Yu covers headphones and peripherals for CNET. When he’s not scouring eBay for useless ephemera or eating hot dogs for breakfast, he spends his time making fun of Internet culture every morning on The 404 podcast.)

Epson has targeted September 2010 as the release month for three new printers in its Artisan series. The new printers will have faster print speeds (4×6 inch photos in ten seconds), faster copy speed (38 pages per minute), faster ISO speeds (9-9.5 ISO pages per minute).  Added technology will also mean that owners of these printers will be able send documents to print from their mobile devices.

I’m hoping they have addressed some of the flaws that plagued their previous Artisan printers (Artisan 700, Artisan 710, Artisan 800, Artisan 810). While these printers already featured the fastest print speeds in the industry, they had extremely buggy software. These bugs made it hard to depend on printer to make your daily printing a seamless easy process. These printers could be quite disruptive!

They also featured a trait that is very common among today’s inkjet printers . . . flimsy plastic output and input paper trays. I don’t imagine this will get fixed with these new versions. No manufacturers are working to improve the input/output trays. One can hope though!

Between the buggy software and the paper jams (caused by flimsy trays) the Epson Artisan printers were quite a hassle, but the quality and speed of the  prints made me put up with them. Hopefully these flaws get fixed because Epson is on to something really good here.

If you’ve used an Epson Artisan printer take a minute and let me know what you think about it. Thanks!

Even if we’re not fully convinced that touch screens belong on printers, the Lexmark Interact S605 is the most convincing printer we’ve tested to include a functional, easy-to-use interactive LCD. Home users and small businesses will also appreciate its ability to churn out professional quality graphic and text documents with speeds rivaling pro laser printers that cost much more than the $200 Interact. As long as you don’t expect it to produce kiosk-quality photo prints, the Lexmark Interact S605 is a worthwhile purchase.  (Source: CNET)

This printer uses the Lexmark 100XL (high yield) series of inkjet cartridges: Lexmark 100XL (14N1053) Black Ink Cartridge, Lexmark 100XL (14N1054) Cyan Ink Cartridge, Lexmark 100XL (14N1055) Magenta Ink Cartridge, Lexmark 100XL (14N1056) Yellow Ink Cartridge

If you own this printer, let me know what you think about it. Thanks!

— CNET Rating: 4 Stars —

The good: Rapid print output; easy wireless setup; user-friendly touch-screen LCD with convenient “SmartSolution” shortcuts; includes autoduplexer.

The bad: Photo quality needs improvement.

The bottom line: The Lexmark Interact S605 multifunction device prints, scans, copies, and connects wirelessly with a streamlined user experience facilitated by an easy-to-use touch screen and customizable widgets called “SmartSolutions.” Built for small businesses and home usage, the Interact S605 stands out in its price range and is well-deserving of our recommendation. (Read the full CNET review)

— Amazon Rating: 3.5 Stars —

A positive comment from Amazon.com:

Lexmark did it again. For an inkjet it is right on the money

For more years than I care to remember I used the Lexmark X83 that scanned, copied, and printed better than the competition; yes even better than the HP’s. I took a blank check, scanned it in my brothers HP and scanned it in my Lexmark, and the resulting printout was almost scary how true to life it was and the colors were more accurate. That being said, I quickly became a Lexmark printer fan. The one problem is that I hated having to buy the expensive cartridges. This S605 comes with multiple cartridges, so when you run out of yellow for example that is the only one you have to purchase, instead of dumping the whole cartridge when only one color is low.

Then I discovered the advantages, and economy of laser printers. The ink never dries out because it is already dry powder. With its large capacity it comes to a penny or two per page instead of the dollar plus for a full page color photo. But, for photographic excellence the inkjet’s have the reasonably priced lasers beaten. Pertaining to the text quality, the laser wins hands down. I admit that I took out a magnifier to see the real difference, but the difference between the laser on black and white text and this Lexmark, the S605 was substantial (under a maginfiying glass). Inkjets, this one included spray out wet ink and that causes slight fuzziness on the edges when compared to a laser my latest laser purchase, which was the Brother HL-2170W 23ppm Laser Printer with Wireless and Wired Network Interfaces That one is a network ready wireless unit but does not scan, nor does it copy, have color capabilities or any of the sophisticated web enabled touch screen features of this S605. So if you want to print out the occasional photo and enjoy color capabilities, and being a Lexmark fan, I highly recommend this S600. One other thing I want to mention is that after comparing the print quality results of both the laser and the inkjet is that although the inkjet costs more for ink costs it also creates a much higher quality, thicker richer text image. It looks like it was poured on the page. The laser prints cheaper but in addition to the powder equation, it also uses less ink resulting in a thinner text; clear clean but thinner.

With the color instead of all black and white reminds me of some marketing and advertising data I had read. They conducted a study to measure the comparison between an all black text written advertisement, and the same ad with a second color, and the one with 2 colors produced 40% better results. I printed out a page with all black text, and just a small logo in blue that immediately attracted me to the page, rather than just a boring page of plain text. Of course there are color lasers as well, but they are usually more expensive in making the initial purchase. For about the same money, you can pick up the brother 2170W and this printer and have the best of both worlds, plus you have the ability to have printers in 2 locations. With both printers loaded, you always have the option of a printing job coming right out alongside of you, or from coming from the printer in a more distant location (another room for example) in the other format.

Setup was relatively easy. I tried the CD setup to automatically recognize my Verizon supplied wireless router for FIOS and it didn’t automatically setup using the one touch button on the router as instructed. But when I went with the USB cable wireless setup, I was able to choose manual setup and it worked like a breeze. I was surprised to see that the manual setup was that easy; all that all I needed was to input my WEP key number when it asked for it, and it took care of the rest. So overall Lexmark did their engineering, and made setup very easy. I was also pleased that I could add another computer, or as many as I would like, even my XP machines. My interest in newer printers was due in part to my need to find something that would work with Vista and XP in the same network.

The web enabled touch screen feature is impressive. It has a large LCD screen right on the front of the printer that you can actually access the web from as well as a lot of other functions. It’s the most modernistic approach for a printer that I have seen. All you do is create a user name and account to access Lexmark’s “Smart Solutions” such as Apple Hot News, Business Card Scan, Eco Copy, Google Calendar, Mobile Me Photos, MSNBC Headlines, and more… Once you have saved your choice of these solutions, they are immediately ready to use right at your fingertips on the printers touch screen. So this printer does a lot more than just scan, copy and print.

One last thing that I want to mention is that when I was using the Lexmark X83, although I loved the machine one of my pet peeves was that when the electricity went off, like during a summer storm, the printer, even though it was off, when the juice was restored, it would turn on, and place the cartridge in the middle of the carriage, and just sit there for days drying out, unless I would notice it, and go over and hit the power button, which would immediately park the cartridge in the protective position. Needless to say, I went through more cartridges than were necessary. This one the S605 automatically parks the cartridge after a certain period of inactivity time. I would prefer that they park the cartridge after every run, but I am not an engineer, so maybe there is a reason for that beyond wanting to sell more cartridges. Hands down you cannot beat a laser for saving money on printing supplies.

I’m glad I have this, and am already looking forward to being able to print T-Shirts, with the iron ons for fun, and cards, photos etc. I also like the idea of having a scanner handy. The only thing is that I wish I had gotten the one with the 4 way that does faxes as well. Overall a nice machine with tons of features not normally found in a printer and I also have to say that my 10 year old X83′s never failed, so I am expecting a long life out of the S605 as well. From one Lexmark fan to another, buy it.

A negative comment from Amazon.com:

Be warned on ink usage and cartridges

I purchased this printer the other day to replace my Lexmark X74. The X74 printer still works perfectly (in WinXP), but will not work with the new Windows 7 OS. There is no new driver available for it. Lexmark has determined that the printer is too old and they will not develop a new printer driver for it. So, I was basically forced to upgrade my printer.

I really liked my old Lexmark so I decided to purchase another one. I did some research and settled on the S605. I liked the look of it and the wireless feature so I purchased it and took it home to set up on my wireless network.

I have to tell you that the installation went flawlessly. As mentioned in some of the reviews I read, that reading and following the directions made it go smoothly. In about 30 mins. I had all THREE of our computers setup and printing with this printer.

I gave this printer a 3 star rating due to it’s printer cartridges. I am a little disappointed that the cartridges can’t be refilled and are a little pricey. The cartridges (#100) have a chip installed in them that prevents the cartridges from being refilled. I’ve had my X74′s cartridges refilled in the past and they worked perfectly – and cost a lot less than new cartridges. I only hope that I can at least get close to the number of pages printed, that Lexmark says I should get. Somehow, I don’t believe that’s going to happen. Probably will turn out like the estimated mpg your supposed to get on your new car – time will tell. (Read all Amazon.com user reviews)