Avoid this and all 'low cost' ink jet printers
Written: Jul 23 '02 (Updated Dec 12 '02)
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Pros: Pros: Cost of printer is low
Cons: Cons: Ink is expensive and the printer quality is questionable
The Bottom Line: Avoid 'low cost' inkjets.
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| blakdogg's Full Review: Lexmark Jet Z11 InkJet Printer |
Its not Lexmark's fault, all low cost printers operate on the razor blade model. This requires the printer be sold at a loss, or maybe a very small profit. The maker then tries to recap their costs through the sale of ink. So while purchasing an inkjet or any printer it is important to factor in the cost of ink and rate of replacement.
Cost of printer
The Z11 is very cheap, I purchased mine for around $50 close to two years ago. The price quoted on this site seems very high and may have something to do with the age of the printer
Print Quality
The Z11 is a cheap printer, and its output is not acceptable for adults. You should not print important documents on this printer, e.g. do not print your resume with this or any other inkjet. [I'll rescind that statement when I see evidence to the contrary]. It is acceptable for most task, but output is neither photo realistic or sharp
Print Speed: Acceptable, not the fastest or slowest
Print Software: Acceptable, the windows software seems overly fancy to me. The driver seems unwilling to just shut up and print, instead popping up a printer management dialog which is not needed on a personal printer. The printer and/or its driver does not handle errors very well, it occasionally enters states that require powering off. Despite this it is more stable than my Canon MFD.
Reliability
The printer does jam occasionally but it has a simple paper path so it is easy to clear them. Lexmark did a really good job in this aspect. The printer's paper feed mechanism involves placing the sheets vertically, this can lead to sheets being ajar which lead to jams. Not good
Overall Cost
While the Z11 could be bought for $50, ink is expensive. Lexmark quotes the price of the colour cartridge at $38 and the black and white at $31. For comparison the HP 6L's toner cartridge costs $42. I am unable to find numbers, but I replaced my HP 4L's cartridge once in 4 years but my Lexmark's ink is replaced 5-6 times in the last 2 years. And I print less frequently on the Z11.
Linux
The Z11 has a Linux driver, but I have not been able to get it to work. The Z11 is called a GDI or WinPrinter, which basically means Windows is the brains of the operation. If you are using any other OS, avoid this printer.
Conclusion
Lexmark is one of the better printer manufacturers and the printer is not too bad, but the high cost of consumables make this a very very bad value.
Update
I recently threw away my Z11, which underlies a benefit of cheap printers. If it ticks it off, you can demolish it with minimal pain to your pocket. Mine refused to work with my new notebook.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 50
Operating System: Linux
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Epinions.com ID:
blakdogg
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Location: NY
Reviews written: 60
Trusted by: 4 members
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