Lexmark Z52 vs Epson 880: A 3-Round Heavyweight event.
Written: Nov 19 '00 (Updated Dec 02 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Deep, rich color when printing photos
Cons: Very, Very slow
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| DrDad's Full Review: Lexmark Jet Z52 InkJet Printer |
This review of the Lexmark Z52 accomplishes two things. First, it provides a basic review of the Z52 printer. Second, it compares the performance of the Lexmark Z52 to one of its competitors, the Epson Stylus Color 880. After reading this review, you should have an idea of whether the Lexmark Z52 is the inkjet printer for you.
Background
About a month or so ago, I bought the Epson Stylus Color 880 and have been very satisfied with its performance. At the time of my purchase, I was also considering the Lexmark Z52 as it also had received positive reviews in computer magazines. I've often wondered whether or not I made the right decision, and when a friend of mine recently bought the Lexmark Z52, I had a chance to find out. With his cooperation, we conducted a comparison test of our two printers, which is reported in this review. First, let's take a look at the features of the Lexmark Z52 and then we'll examine the comparison test results.
Lexmark Z52 Features
The Lexmark Z52 the high-end of the Lexmark line of printers. The Z52 and the Z42 both print at 2400 x 1200 dpi (dots per inch), whereas the lower models (Z32 and Z22) print at 1200 x 1200 dpi. The greater the dpi, the better the quality, so if you are looking for best quality that Lexmark has to offer, go with the Z42 or Z52.
The Lexmark Z52 is also the fastest of the Lexmark printers, with a reported print speed of 15 ppm (pages per minute) mono and 7 ppm color. As you will see in the comparison test below, we did not achieve that print speed. However, inflating the print speed seems to be standard practice among inkjet printer vendors, so NEVER believe the vendor's reported print speed and always rely on user reviews instead.
The setup of the Lexmark Z52 was easy in that it came with a 7-step setup poster. Set up involved nothing more than (1) attaching the printer cable and power supply, (2) turning on the printer, then computer, and (3) inserting the printer driver CD-ROM in the drive and clicking 'OK.' There was an alignment process to be completed which involves some input from the person installing the printer, but it was as easy as following on-screen instructions.
The printer comes with a black and a color ink cartridge (it uses a single color cartridge instead of separate color cartridges such as Canon uses). It did NOT come with a printer cable, but does have both USB and parallel printer capabilities. The Lexmark Z52 does not have an internal network connection. It would have to be networked externally. Also, the Lexmark Z52 is compatible with both PCs and Macs.
Finally, the Lexmark Z52 is a fairly bulky-looking printer. With the paper-feed up, it is about 13" tall. With the paper "catch" tray fully extended, it is about 14" deep. It is about 17" wide
Other aspects of the Lexmark Z52 (print quality, cartridge cost, print speed) will be covered in the second part of this review, the head-to-head comparison to the Epson 880.
(Although I do not officially condone gambling, now is the time to place your bets).
Lexmark Z52 versus Epson Stylus Color 800: A 3-round heavyweight event.
The Weigh-in
The Lexmark Z52 weighs in at $179.99. Its boxing gloves (ink cartridges) weigh in at $32.99 for black and $37.99 for color. That's a cost of over $70.00 each time you have to replace both cartridges.
The Epson weighs in at $149.99. Its cartridges cost $22.99 and $25.99 (black and color respectively). That's under $50.00 each time you replace both.
A 3-Round Event
This comparison test consists of three rounds of judged reviews. To compare these printers, we printed a page of text that ranged in size from 8 point font to 56 point font. Also on the page were a clipart color picture of a tiger and a textart picture of the word "Proposal." We also printed a high-resolution picture of a purple flower with bright green leaves. In Round 1 we printed the text/clipart page in default mode on plain paper. In Round 2 we printed the text/clipart page in highest quality mode on photo inkjet paper. In Round 3 we printed the flower image in highest quality mode on Glossy Photo paper. Each printing was timed and the results were reviewed by a panel of 4 judges (two faculty members and two students at our university).
Round 1
The Epson 800 printed the text/clipart page in 16 seconds while the Lexmark Z52 took 25 seconds to print the file. Although the Epson was faster, all four judges agreed that the quality of the Lexmark was better. Specifically, in default mode on plain paper, the Epson showed some banding (horizontal lines) when printing the 48 and 56 point size font. The Epson also showed more pixelization (visible dots) on the image of the tiger, and the edges of the textart were more jagged on the Epson. The Lexmark quality was not laser-quality, but was significantly better than the Epson's.
The judges unanimously awarded Round 1 to Lexmark, even though it was slower.
Round 2
The same page was printed for Round 2, but this time on photo-quality paper with print resolution set as high as possible for both printers. The Epson 880 took 1 minute and 53 seconds to print while the Lexmark Z52 took 5 minutes and 33 seconds to print. This time, however, the judges unanimously favored the quality of the Epson over the Lexmark. The Epson printout was described as "laser quality" by two judges and "near laser quality" by the other two. From the 8 point font to the 56 point font, the edges of text were smooth on the Epson. The Lexmark Z52 was described as having "blurred edges". One judge stated that the Lexmark print looked "out of focus." Furthermore, the clipart of the tiger was much better from Epson than from Lexmark. The Epson shaded the coloring of the tiger very smoothly while the Lexmark Z52 showed visible dots. The eyes of the tiger were green and all judges agreed that Epson captured the eye of the tiger much better than did Lexmark.
The judges unanimously awarded Round 2 to Epson, for both speed and quality.
Round 3
Man what a fight we've got going on here! In this round, both printers printed the same picture of a purple flower with greenery in the background. The Epson 880 produced the picture in 3 minutes and 24 seconds. The Lexmark took an amazing 14 minutes and 20 seconds to produce the same image. When examining the Epson printout by itself, none of the judges could find any flaws. There was no banding, no pixelization, no blurriness. They described it as a perfect photo-quality printout......Then they saw what the Lexmark produced.
The printout from the Lexmark was visibly brighter and richer. The effect of the sunlight on the leaves was much more visible in the Lexmark printout, and the purple color of the flower was much deeper and more vivid. Unfortunately, in some areas of the Lexmark printout, a very small amount of pixelization was visible. Worse, the last few lines printed showed clear signs of banding. This banding could be hidden by a frame, but it does concern us that the banding occurred at all.
The judges unanimously awarded Round 3 to Lexmark, for the brightness and richness of the image it produced, but expressed concern over its speed (the Epson 880 was 4 times faster) and stamina (toward the end of the print job, the Lexmark was showing signs of banding).
And the Heavyweight Inkjet Champion of the Word is.....
Unfortunately, representatives from Epson have asked for a recount of the votes from Round 3. Epson feels there was some confusion over the voting procedure and would like for the Supreme Court to decide the outcome.
In truth, you have to select the winner based on what you have read here (and elsewhere). To sum up the findings of this comparison test, the Lexmark Z52 is more expensive to buy, more expensive to refill, bigger, louder and slower than the Epson 880. When trying to print laser quality text on photo quality paper, the Lexmark Z52 is good, but not as good as the Epson 880. All of these factors suggest the Epson 880 is the better buy.
However, the Lexmark Z52 produces much better text than the Epson 880 when printing on plain paper in default mode. Furthermore, graphics in high-quality mode on glossy paper are much brighter and deeper on the Lexmark (provided no banding occurs to ruin the picture). A final note in favor of the Lexmark Z52 is that each time you replace the ink cartridges, you also replace the print heads. This is not so with Epson cartridges, and Epson printers have been known to have problems with clogging print heads. These factors suggest the Lexmark Z52 might be the better buy.
It may boil down to whether you are a Bush or Gore fan... I mean an Epson or Lexmark fan. Each printer has its strengths and weaknesses, and you should choose the printer based on your printing needs. I will be keeping my Epson 880 because most of my printing usually needs to be done in near laser quality. Occasionally I will print a photo, and the quality of the Epson is superb, even if it is not as bright as the Lexmark.
My friend will keep his Lexmark Z52 because he mainly prints in default mode. Although he likes the better speed of the Epson, he is concerned about the print heads clogging and so chose to stay with Lexmark.
The Lexmark Z52 is an excellent printer, but should you decide to buy one, make sure you re-read the speed differences noted in this review. Also be aware that Lexmark printers are reported to consume ink faster than Epson printers. Below are links to additional reviews that may be of use to you.
As always, I hope my review of the Lexmark Z52 has been informative and useful to you as you make your buying decision.
Bret
DrDad
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Part I of this review covers the Epson Stylus Color 880: Setup, Tech Support, and Getting Photo Quality Prints
http://recommended.epinions.com/cmd-review-35A8-1701672E-39D64ADD-prod2
Part II of this report compares the Epson 880 to the Epson 980
http://recommended.epinions.com/cmd-review-266E-A377BD9-39D78CF5-prod5
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Other Links you may find useful
PC Magazine's review of inkjet printers (where the Epson line receives Editor's choice awards).
http://www.zdnet.com/products/stories/reviews/0,4161,2644635,00.html
PC World's review of inkjet printers (where the Lexmark line receives Best Buy awards).
http://www.pcworld.com/reviews/article.asp?aid=32443
Recommended:
Yes
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