Customer Reviews

Lexmark Platinum Pro905 Business Class Wireless Multifunction Inkjet Printer with Web-Enabled Touchscreen

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(32)

 

 

I am very impressed with all aspects of this printer. Wireless was very easy and the software installed well in Win 7-64 Ultimate on as Dell workstation. All of my features worked quite well. Very good print speed and quality. The cost per page is a bargain and the lowest of all current machines. All worked perfectly _ if there are problems I will post them.

I am amazed at all the complaints as I use all the features with no problems. I even scan to email to pdf and jpeg's and had no trouble setting up the server id. I am no fan of Lex as I owned a printer with high consumables 15 years ago. It took me that long to try a Lex again.

The feature set just amazed me. All my set-ups went well. I am a very experienced user. I have both wireless and usb conected. This is an allowed config. I use both for different print prefs.

It even has apps just like the iphone that allow one to add and customize the printer menus.

I am a 30 year+ user of PC's Printers like this one are still complicated to install for many customers and the earlier firmware and drivers may not have been to par at the launch of this product. As of 3/19 all continues perfect - very cheap to use.

PrintHead failed at 11 months. They are very hard to get. Lexmark makes you call - can not order online and then it goes on backorder.

This printer replaced a Lexmark wireless that we bought about 18 months ago. This one was more expensive but worth every penny. It was relatively easy to set up. In addition to our desk top pc I have a macbook. I did have to get assistance from customers service to get the macbook to print but that didn't take long. I could not be more pleased this this Lexmark model.

I purchased the Lexmark Platinum Pro905 because of the advertised warranty and ink cost / savings. Very disappointed with both the warranty and ink usage.
I received the printer from Amazon around the middle of August 2010. I connected it to my home network without a problem and the interface to operate it was easy to understand. I was very pleased with the printer at this time.

Around October 29,2010 I contacted Lexmark help line because I was out of Cyan ink and two of the other cartridge appeared low to me.

I thought we only printed about 30 or 40 pages since purchase, but after about 2 hours on the help line (he networked into my pc to check the printer out) I was told that we printed 119 pages per the self test page. Which still did not explain all the ink use. Also while looking at the self test page I noticed the print head information indicated ink usage as 1% black used, 1% yellow used, 2% Cyan used, and 1% Magenta used. It also showed that 74 pages were printed. I brought this to the attention of the support staff person and he could not explain the difference.

Support decided to send me a cyan cartridge, have me install it and call back to see it they could repair the issue then. For some reason he could not get the printer to do what he was trying to do. He said that if that solved the issue then he would send me the other three cartridges. If it did not solve the problem he was going to send me another print head. I had no problem at this point. At least they appeared to be standing behind their product. He was going to rush the ink cartridge (3 to 5 days)

Two week later I for called again for the cartridge that had not been delivered yet. I received it 3 days later.

After receiving I installed and called the help line for them to check the printer again. Completely different story now. They would send me the other three cartridges one time and nothing is wrong with the printer. I explained that I purchased the Lexmark because of the warranty and the low cost of ink that they advertised and I was not happy with either right now. I was informed that I had the printer over 30 days now and I was stuck with the printer. I told them that I replace a HP Photosmart for their printer due to ink cost and the Lexmark did not print as sharp as the HP and it was costing me more for the Lexmark ink at this rate than HP. I was told she was very sorry but she could not do anything for me.

I told her that I felt the ink advertisement and warranty they advertised was false and I would let anyone I met know not to purchase a Lexmark product.

If you managed to get a Lexmark that works as advertised, good for you. If you do not have a lexmark, do not purchase one.

I called Amazon help line and as usual they surpassed any expectation I had after explaining my problem.

You can not go wrong purchasing anything from Amazon.

Do not purchase a Lexmark printer ever.

By the way. I connected my HP Photosmart back up and it is working like a charm. I just hate the price of ink.

I studied the reviews on Amazon and I was rather reluctant to purchase the Platinum Pro905 because of several very negative reviews. But there were a few positive ones and I decided to give it a try. After owning this machine for a few weeks now, I have no idea why there were SO many negative reviews. I love everything about it. Yes, one can get picky and say that the document feeder is a little slow, but what's the big deal? Who cares that it takes 10 seconds instead of 2? The machine has worked flawlessly for me. Additionally, setting it up was a breeze with the detailed instructions on the Installation Disc. I am not very computer savvy but I had no problem pairing it to both my and my wife's laptops. I have tried scanning, faxing, emailing, and copying and everything works like a charm. BTW, I use the wireless connection feature and it has worked each and every time. I strongly recommend this product for home or office use.

I needed a printer/scanner/copier with three things. First, I wanted a unit that was expected to last more than 2 years. Second, I wanted affordable copies. Third, I didn't want to spend more than $150. I settled for 2 out of 3. The price was $50 more than I wanted to pay but the black ink cartridges were said to cost $5.99 and be good for 500 b/w copies. Out of the box, loved it. Set up was easy. It took me 30 min to set up 3 computers. Copies, scans, documents feed, no problems. The touch panel is similar to the professional units at the print shop. It's simple to use. My WIFI has been flawless. It hibernates and wakes up fine. I don't have to do a thing but sit at the computer and refill the paper tray as necessary. The only drawback so far? I can't figure out if I can set it's preferences on the Mac to only print in b/w. I have to tell it with each print job to print in b/w. Oh well, I'll gladly suffer through:>) Why? Because I really did buy black ink cartridges for less than $5 each in a package of 4. Each of those cartridges is supposed to make 500 copies. Heck, if one cartridge makes half that many I'll still be ahead.

The following review is for a 901, which functionally contains the same part in question. When operated with a new printhead, the 901 printer prints beautifully and performs its functions as advertised. However, before the first cartridges were fully used (within the first 2-3 months of purchase) two of the color inks clogged the printhead. No amount of running deep cleaning utilities would clear the clogs. The optional light swab as described in help also did not clear the clogs, and the printhead was functionally unusable. This is where the fun starts. In November, 2010,Lexmark made available its 100 series printhead (part # 14N1339) for purchase at its web site, along with ink, as a supply. I was warned of a back-order and I patiently waited a month without complaint for a new printhead. It arrived, I installed the new printhead and for the moment it is working beautifully again. Expecting a recurring problem, I tried to order a back-up for inventory. The web-site now instructs that an 800 number must be called. After waiting my turn, I was told that Lexmark will NOT accept ANY orders to purchase that replacement printhead. I was not given any explanation, nor any hope that the printhead will ever be available for purchase again. My statement that I was perfectly willing to wait months did not sway Lexmark. I was told to search for vendors who might have one left in stock. I wasted my time, and found none. Other than the 901 and 905, I do not know whether the same printhead is used in other inkjet printers. It is simply astonishing that Lexmark is continuing to sell printer models, with the knowledge that a printhead is likely to fail but no replacements will be sold. Even if I was given some explanation of a change in manufacturing sources, it would be somewhat understandable, but Lexmark has offered no explanation. Elsewhere in the reviews on Amazon for the 901 printer, a Lexmark employee suggested that the reviewer contact him. I tried the same address and received no response. I regret that I did not ship this printer back to Lexmark when the first printhead failed. Lexmark has not only created questions of credibility and reliability, but more serious questions about its liability for continuing to sell a product for which it refuses to supply replacement parts. There are serious questions about the representations of Lexmark concerning the fitness of any and all printers utilizing the series 100 printhead, for its expected and intended use. My recommendation is that no one buy any Lexmark printers using the printhead series 100 part 14N1339 until Lexmark explains its refusal to sell replacement printheads, and its proposed remedies.

Well I thought I was going to enjoy this printer. It was reasonably priced and has all the features that I like and need. Do not let this unit hibernate! Whether connected via wifi or ethernet, the next morning it loses all settings and none of my computers can complete a print job. I manually woke the printer up from hibernation but still no print job. Too bad... I was ready to give another printer company a chance and hang HP up for a while. Albeit the warranty is five years on this one and 1 year for the HP 8500. I need reliability. Great looks, work on the guts a little more.

Lexmark Platinum Pro905

The good:

* Black ink cartridge cost $4.81 for a 500+ page yield (Unlike HP which are around $50.00-$60.00 each)
* Drivers and updater work flawlessly (Unlike HP's which occationally work with USB connectivity)
* Installation utility finds networked and/or wireless connected clients flawlessly regardless of firewall settings (unlike HP's setup)
* Documents scan through flatbed quickly and/or document feeder, look great, and all function very well.
* Power save features constantly reduce power consumption when not needed but prints instantly when you need to print.
* Extra paper tray.
* Scan-to functions from printer or computer work flawlessly.

The cons:

* Defective printhead after 1 month of usage (107 pages to be exact).

At this time, you cannot purchase replacement printheads from amazon.com, ebay.com, or even lexmark themselves! They do not sell a Lexmark 14N1339 printhead. So you are screwed. I am having the exact same problem as everyone else with Lexmark printheads, and you cannot purchase them from Lexmark which means, they must be aware of many defective batches of these printheads and are no longer selling them.

I have already called tech support, but they are closed. I have already emailed tech support, but I haven't heard from them yet (only the system generated one). Before buying this printer, check to see if you can purchase the print head for the Lexmark Platinum Pro905, which is called the Lexmark 14N1339 Printhead (not available anywhere.)

Otherwise, a truly flawless printer. As a home business owner, the amount of money saved of printing hundreds of invoices (with color logos) per month with HP, verses the Lexmark Platinum Pro905, amounted to hundreds of dollars in savings. The savings are so massive, that I have a $300+ credit from Costco when I returned all the HP ink cartridges. If you want a great printer with new ink cartridges that are cheaper than refilling old cartridges, look no further than this printer!

Set up disc was straight forward with just a little thinking on my part. Then used same setup disc to install on my wireless notebook, which in the end I think the printer is running through the Dlink Router to the wireless notebook. For my router I had to have some kind of code which I had saved from setting up the router. The printer has worked just like it is suppose to. No hick-ups. Which makes me happy. I choose to put new paper in tray one and recycle paper in tray two. Recycle is paper that already has something printed on one side that I don't need anymore. I want to print something on the good side that is not important enough to be printed on perfect paper. I already have printer set for tray 1 and just choose the other tray if need be on print window that pops up after clicking on print icon. I've only had this for a month or so. But am very happy so far, because it works and doesn't give me any trouble. I should say that my kids use some programs and when they try to print they don't always seem to have access to the set up window/page for all the options to the printer. Probably a fix for this I just haven't spent the time to figure it out. I used HP printers for years and they worked pretty good most of the time. Buuuut, when I needed to clean out the head cleaning tray that fills up with ink, I can't get to it without taking the case apart. OOOh that case, It's a real puzzle and I'd like to blank the designer right up side the head. From what I can tell it will be easy to clean out the head cleaner tray on the Lexmark. The touch screen works good. Registering the printer online with Lexmark corporate was easy to. You know Lexmark puts their 1-800# right inside the lid so easy and convenient. Well, just wanted to get someone real, ME. to put up a review that hopefully will help some of you out there who have gotten frustrated reading reviews that seem like with HP you ether get a good machine or a dud, I mean within the same model not to mention the price of ink for HP. For more I wrote about this printer it's on [...] if they didn't delete it.

Of the tens of printers I have purchased the past 20 years this is the WORST. It looks great, has a great feature list but rarely works correctly and then only for a few days. This is my second printer. I demanded that Lexmark replace the first one. This works slightly better. I am in a hurry; I am a businessman who needs a business printer. I can only say that the other reviewers were paid for their review or they don't rely on the printer every day, all day.

The first printer, could not find documents in the feeder, send email, or send faxes and would stop printing until the printer was turned off AND the computer was rebooted.

Lexmark CS fixes; use the scanner instead of the feeder, get a new email provider, reduce fax speed to the lowest setting, and go through a 10 step process with the computer to get the spooler to clear. This was the first printer.

The second one stops printing until the printer AND the cpu are rebooted (say goodbye to all of those items in the print spooler), cannot find faxes in the document feeder half of the time as for email I haven't wasted any more time on this paperweight.

Lexmark's fixes for the second one; use Vista instead of Win 7. Ok, so I change the OS on my computer for the printer! Did I mention that we run XP, Vista and 7 in our office. It hangs with all of them. I have reinstalled the drivers on every computer twice. I have reinstalled the printer software twice. My last contact from Lexmark said that "in cases of trouble" remove the power supply from the printer for 1 minute and try again. Great. Poor solution that doesn't even work 1/2 of the time.

RUN DON'T WALK. THERE ARE MANY GREAT PRINTERS OUT THERE. I AM CALLING LEXMARK CORPORATE NEXT. WISH ME LUCK AND DON'T MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE.