Lexmark 3200 - Great Printer for the Price
Written: Oct 09 '99 (Updated Jan 15 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very good text/graphics performance, super low price and very reliable, easy to install and use
Cons: slow print speed in color
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| tennis_player's Full Review: Lexmark Jet 3200 InkJet Printer |
I recently upgraded my monochrome injet printer (HP 500C) by installing a Lexmark 3200 in July. It was a snap to install and operate. The black text is sharp and crisp and the color, while slow, is very good for the price. I'm getting decent color without the use of premium gloss paper. It has run continuously since July without a single jam or malfunction. This has been the easiest peripheral to install and use and I'm completely satisfied with it.
It is rated at 6 ppm in black and 2.5 ppm in color. It has two separate ink cartridges, one for black only and the other for color. This means you don't have to switch cartridges all the time to conserve ink. The software makes it easy to select 'black only' and the level of print quality for each print job to save ink usage and print time. It also indicates remaining ink supply levels during each print task. The vertical paper feed tray is so reliable that I have used the blank back sides of previously printed/imprinted memos, notices, letters, forms, etc. for drafts to save on supplies costs and conserve natural resources. The only paper it does not like is super thin/flimsy material.
Best of all is the low cost. I got mine from Costco at $137 and a $50 Lexmark rebate reduced the net cost to only $87 (plus sales tax on $137), net. That's about the price of the two ink cartridges that come with the printer!
The ink cartridges are about the same as HP at about $28. The cartridge capacity is physically larger than HPs and seem to print more pages than the HPs before runnng out. I've used this printer constantly since August and have only recently replaced the black cartridge.
Jim Q
12/22/99 Addenda: I was in error about the cost of the B/W cartridge. It is more like $36. I don't know why I noted it at $28, above. However, the way to save on these ink carts is to buy them from Costco. I found them packed in two-packs for $50. So, that makes them much more economical at $25/cartridge. The color units are also available from Costco at a higher cost with an equivalent savings. I think they were $60 for a two-pack. Everything concerned with this printer is still working just fine and no signs of distress anywhere and I remain totally happy!
1/14/00 Addenda: Some additional information on ink cartridge costs. I was in Fry's Electronics today and the following were their prices for the Lexmark 3200 replacement ink cartridges: Std Black @ $26.99; Std color @ $33.99; High Capacity Black @ $33.99 and Photo Color @ $44.95. All these are sold in single packs so, unlike the Costco purchase, the minimum purchase here is just one single cartridge of your choice.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
tennis_player
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 in Electronics |
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Member: James Quon
Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 345
Trusted by: 250 members
About Me:
A retired Professional from 40 years in technical Sales & Marketing.
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