What Did That Printer Say?
Written: May 04 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cost, ink monitor, good print quality, best for text
Cons: Frequent jams, spots and offset text occasionally
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| atara's Full Review: Lexmark Jet 1100 InkJet Printer |
Go ahead and call me easily amused... But I really like my talking printer.
When I hit "print," a little window pops up on my screen and a female voice says, "Printing started." When it's done printing, she says, "Printing complete." If I run out of paper, she says, "Please load paper or envelopes in the automatic sheet feed." I call her Lexy.
I use my printer mainly to print text, but it does a fine job with images as well. Not too long ago I printed a calendar using an image I made myself, and I was amazed at the image quality. For a low-end printer, the Lexmark 1100 does a great job.
It's not without its faults, however. Dark, large images look streaky. If I'm printing a large number of pages, the sheet feeder jams (and Lexy politely informs me that there is a problem.) Odd spots appear on otherwise perfect pages, and the red/blue/yellow passes of ink don't always line up perfectly.
But all these faults can be avoided with a little creativity. Lowering the color saturation in an image helps prevent streaks. Loading only fifteen or so sheets of paper at a time helps prevent jams. And using a new ink cartridge helps prevent spots and offset text.
When printing lots of text, I suggest using the Quick Draft option under Print Quality. Text doesn't look much different between High Quality and Quick Draft; only images seem to be affected by the print quality features. What you will gain, however, is time. One page of text in Quick Draft takes about thirty seconds. One page of text in High Quality takes about three minutes!
Another neat feature for this printer is the ink monitor. When printing, a little window pops up, showing you an approximation of how much ink is left. I say an approximation, since if you remove the cartridge and replace it, the printer thinks the cartridge is still full. Also, I have printed ten more pages after the ink monitor said the cartridge was bone dry. The monitor will give you an idea of how much ink is left, though, so you're not left without a cartridge when you need to print your thesis.
I can't give this printer five stars, simply because of the problems I mentioned. If you do casual printing at home (for school reports or pictures), however, this printer would be the ideal combination of price and features.
Did I mention it talks?
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
atara
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Reviews written: 26
Trusted by: 13 members
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