Pros: Wireless, acceptable prints for most consumers in this category
Cons: Unstable, slow wireless connectivity; setup required reinstall of software suite; cannot initiate scans from computer
The Bottom Line: Avoid this Lexmark series of printers if you don't enjoy technical problems or troubleshooting, at least with Mac computers (though I can't imagine the experience is much different with Windows)
swopedesign's Full Review: Lexmark X4550 Multifunction Wireless Colour Inkjet...
(Reviewed using Mac OS X 10.4.9)
I am happy to find that wireless printers have finally caught up with other wireless devices, and at attractive price points. The Lexmark thermal inkjet printers boast many attractive features that make it difficult to choose the best model for you. The Lexmark X4550 offers 802.11b/g wireless printing with copy and scan functions. Most small businesses may need to send and receive faxes, so the X6570 or X9350 might be their printers of choice. These printers include USB or wireless connectivity. Part 1 of this review covers the connectivity and printing capabilities of this all-in-one printer solution.
Printer Set Up
The Lexmark X4550 offers a quick setup card for Windows, but Macintosh users receive only the Getting Started Manual, which covers just that. Further instructions for using the Lexmark X4550 are in the Help utility after software installation. You should be prepared to reference the Help utility frequently until you become familiar with the X4550.
You should also follow the installation and setup instructions to the letter. Lexmark doesn't leave any room for error, and they don't make it as simple or elegant as Mac users expect. Errors often mean restoring the printer to factory defaults and starting over with the setup and installation.
The true convenience of wireless printing and scanning is that multiple computers can use the same printer without all the messy cables. Initial printer setup takes place on one computer; then you install the software on all the computers that will use the printer/scanner. I experienced significant wireless setup and connectivity problems during the review period with two review units. My first unit inexplicably stopped feeding paper before the first ink cartridges ran out.
Patience And Determination Required
The first problem appeared during setup, because of my Apple-based wireless network WPA plain English password. The Lexmark X550 requires a password in hexadecimal format to setup the X4550 wireless connectivity. Unfortunately, Lexmark does not provide details about how to convert the English password into its hexidecimal equivalent anywhere in the manual or on their web site or to their support personnel. I spent three hours in online chat with Lexmark Tech Support, before I finally found the information I needed on Apple's support site. The procedure to acquire the hex password takes only a few moments, and I completed the wireless setup and installation without further difficulty, but it was a frustrating experience locating the information I needed.
After installation, I experienced more wireless connectivity problems with the first review unit. Shortly after installation, there was a power outage in my office. After power was restored, the two Macs in appeared immediately on the wireless network, but they could no longer print to the Lexmark X4550 though nothing had changed in the network Setup. We have had several similar problems, when our Macs could not communicate with the Lexmark wireless printer for unknown reasons. In half these cases, we returned the printer to factory settings and setup up the printer again to finally get the printer back in working order. The other half of these cases required a reinstall of the Lexmark software on the computers.
Even after I received a replacement printer, the setup required two hours of trial-and-error to set up the wireless connectivity. I also had to delete and reinstall the Lexmark software on every computer in the office to communicate with and print to the replacement Lexmark X4550. In a larger office, with more computers, the reinstallation of the software could be a nightmare and consume lots of time, if frequent problems occur.
Despite its features, the Lexmark X4550 wireless capabilities fall short of their potential and are of the plug-and-pray variety. The printer is considerably more useful when connected with USB. I don’t know why the Lexmark X4550 wireless connectivity has been such a nightmare, but it has been a frustrating review period.
Printing Capabilities And Quality Exceed Expectations
Connectivity problems aside, when the Lexmark X4550 successfully communicates over the network, it works very well. In my small office, both Macs have sent jobs to the printer at the same time, and the jobs printed without incident. Color and quality is very good. It prints up color to 4800x1200 dpi resolution and I have absolutely no complaints about the quality of prints from the Lexmark X4550. Bear in mind, however, that I am a casual small business user, and there are considerably better printers available, at similar price.
The printing capabilities of the Lexmark X4550 are also more robust than expected. It offers approximately 36 paper sizes in the Page Setup dialog, including envelopes, postcards, and photo paper. The Print dialog box includes a preview feature. Any casual user is likely to be very happy with the capabilities and quality of this printer.
One Useful Tip
After successful setup and installation, the X4550 prints a network setting sheet. I recommend that all users keep this sheet for future setup purposes. What worked once on a network will work again on that same network.
Good USB Connectivity - Not So Good Wireless
As I've suggested, the Lexmark X4550 should be able to communicate better wirelessly with the computers using it. I can't help but wonder, since Apple can convert the plain English password, why can't Lexmark? Or, in today's Internet age why can't they at least provide an online database with more information based on router brands. The Apple Base Station is a logical choice for Apple customers, but Lexmark tech support was not prepared for the problem I encountered. I wonder how prepared they are for other router brands? After I found the hex password for our Apple network, I gave Lexmark tech support the procedure; so future Mac users should not experience similar fruitless discussions with Lexmark tech support.
The Lexmark X4450 offers a kitchen sink of features, in addition to wireless and USB printing. It is also a scanner and copier, and it handles digital media quite well. In Part I of this review, I covered the print aspects of the X4450, and now I give you the low down on the scan, copy, and photo printing aspects.
Good Digital Media Card Support
The Lexmark X4550 is also a photo media center and supports a wide variety of media. You can print proof sheets, photos, lighten or darken photos, apply automatic photo effects and image enhancements, select bordered or borderless layouts, and adjust the print quality with the digital media card in its port. Effects available include changing a photo to sepia, antique gray, antique brown, black and white, plus reduce red eye, or fix color with the touch of a button. You can also view and save photos on a computer over an USB or wireless network.
Many of these capabilities come in handy in quick shoot and print situations, such as classrooms. Print quality is more than satisfactory, and an optional photo cartridge gives you good color. Most users should find the X4550's built-in digital media card support useful.
Lexmark Controls: Digital Media Ports
Accessing media cards over a network is satisfactory, but slow. The process is subject to the same connectivity problems discussed above. I tested an SD card with only 53 photos on it and the photo previews took about 5 minutes to display in the Lexmark Network Card Reader software. Imagine if the one GB card were full; I think it is a bit slower than other printers. Saving these same photos to a networked drive, was surprisingly fast, given previous network problems with this unit.
The Lexmark X4550 is also PictBridge compatible. PictBridge is an industry standard specification for printing directly from a digital camera without the intermediary use of a computer. Unfortunately, I was unable to review this capability since I have no PictBridge certified camera.
Respectable Scan Capabilities
When connected by USB, the scan functions work well and provide results as good as any medium-priced flatbed scanner I have used. You have full control over size, resolution, color, and other features equal to today's standard flatbed scanners. It is capable of 48-bit color scanner depth and 16-bit grayscale, which is very respectable.
I used the X4550, while connected via USB, to scan historic images for a large map project. Results were more than satisfactory. Optical Character Recognition software is also bundled with the X4550, and the printer's design lets you scan thick documents, such as books. The X4550's USB scanning capabilities and quality are useful for many projects.
The Lexmark X4450 can scan photos and documents over the network, but scanning is clumsy and for most uses, worthless. You may choose either grayscale or color scan, but have little control over any aspect of the scan, except resolution and original size. These last two settings are temporary selections and the printer returns to the default settings after two minutes.
Scans cannot be initiated from the user's computer at all! You must go to the printer, place the document on the glass, then select the computer where you want the scan sent. Next, you wait for the applications list to download from the target computer, select the application to open the scan, change the temporary quality and size settings, and initiate the scan by pressing either the Start Color or Start Black buttons. You must follow this sequence for every scan, and it only works when the printer communicates with the computer, which is unreliable with wireless connectivity.
Lexmark Controls: Front Control Panel
When network scanning is successful, it is a quick and dirty scan. Network scans are useless for anything but placeholder images, in my opinion. Network scans are automatically made at 100% scale at roughly 300 dpi and our samples varied from 300.061 to 300.426 for the same document without disturbing it on the glass. Though you can temporarily scan at resolutions from 75-600 dpi, and may select the original size of the source document, you have no further control over the network scans. If the scanned document is a printed document, the printed screen appears in the final network scan as a moiré pattern. If you scan same document over USB, you can choose the type of document and minimize or eliminate the moiré artifact, thereby making the scan infinitely more useful. If you need quality, versatile scans over a network, you should avoid the Lexmark X4550.
It's a Copier Too!
One of the most useful features of the Lexmark X4550 is its color and black and white copy capability. This feature does not require any connectivity at all; just plug in the printer and press a button to begin copying. The Lexmark X4550 produces reductions and enlargements from 25-400% and features borderless copies in popular photo sizes. You may temporarily change the quality and lightness or darkness of copies, if the automatic settings are not satisfactory. It can make up to 99 copies at one time. Therefore, if you need a printer and copier, this solution should work fine.
A Brief Word About Ink
The good news is that X4550 ink is no more expensive than ink for other brands of printers, about $26 per cartridge. Lexmark brand dye-based inks are fade-resistant and create sharp, vibrant prints. Lexmark also offers a cartridge return program and remanufactured cartridges are about $22 on the Lexmark web sited.
Final Say
I can't honestly recommend the Lexmark X4550 except for those users who need a wireless printer today. The USB connectivity is great, but the wireless capabilities are unstable and unfulfilling, especially where scanning is concerned. Print quality is acceptable for most home and small office users, but professional users will want a more reliable wireless unit.
In fact, though we have this unit, we have defaulted to the printers we were using before we introduced the Lexmark X4550 into our home office, because the Lexmark X4550 is too big to fit onto our desks to replace one of our previous printers (small desks), and we don't know when it will stop communicating again.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 129 Operating System: Macintosh
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