Customer Reviews

Lexmark Prospect Pro205 Wireless Multifunction Inkjet Printer

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(42)
3 star:		(11)
2 star:		(33)
1 star:		(64)

 

 

This is one of a few inkjet all-in-one's packaged with XL ink cartridges (official yield rated at 600 pages for color, 510 for black), auto 2-sided printing and document feeder, wi-fi connectivity, and comes with an un-matched 5 year warranty (1 year initial, 4 additional years after registration) for less than $150. You might want to look at the Pro705 which can be similar in price. You will have to stay with Lexmark's "Pro" printers to get the 5 year warranty, everything else in their line is 3 years or less. The Pro205 has 64MB built-in, with a max print speed in draft mode of 33 PPM in black, 30 PPM in color, which is about average.

The packaging of the product is top-notch. The unit was thoroughly taped (at least 10 separate pieces) to protect the unit during transit, and the printed documentation was fancy although I never needed to read it. Of course, the highlight is the aforementioned XL ink cartridges, and the package also comprised of a USB cable, phone lines, and an installation CD which includes OCR software. The installation itself was a breeze, and the video animation was helpful. The construction of the unit has thoughtful touches: a spring-loaded button opens the document feeder casing to clear jams, and the glass to copy/scan documents has clear arrows telling you where to position the document. The unit is made in China, and the ink cartridges in Singapore. Cold start up time is about 39 seconds, wi-fi connectivity about 15 seconds longer if it works (more on that later). Warm start up time is about 6 seconds.

As for print quality, on premium inkjet paper, I'm very impressed. I printed out maps from Bing 3D using "Best" quality setting, and friends could not believe how sharp the prints were (you could see tennis court boundary lines). The cost of the "Best" setting is high ink usage - you can see the ink drain quickly using the software's ink monitoring graphics, but that's probably true for all inkjets. On regular paper, the color quality was not so impressive even using the "Best" option, with pictures lacking vibrance and loosing color accuracy compared to premium paper. The drop-off in photo quality is I think mostly due to the paper. Black text is so-so on either paper - obviously not laser-sharp, probably about average among other inkjets.

My wi-fi connection was sporadic at best even though the wi-fi status light shows green, although I'm not sure if this is because I am using Windows Vista 64-bit on my primary laptop (yes, I downloaded the 64-bit drivers from Lexmark's site). I usually resort to sticking in the USB cable for 100% reliability and faster data transfer. My other laptop running Windows XP had no problems with the wifi connection.

Regarding paper handling, if you're planning on printing on paper thicker than standard, this unit really struggled. Using Avery 4x6 card inkjet paper, which is thicker than standard paper, the unit would either jam, print in the wrong location, or not feed in at all and the unit would start printing on nothing (you can hear the print heading moving and printing). I would have hoped on the latter situation that a sensor would know there is nothing to print on, but no. After printing about 50 sheets on thick paper, the rubber rollers started to peel out particles, like a rubber eraser on a pencil. Occasionally on regular paper, the automatic duplex printing would jam as the paper is reeled backwards, but most of the time this worked.

I am very impressed with Lexmark's customer service. That's a good thing. Why I'm calling customer service right after I bought the unit is not. Any document I scanned or copied would have a thick vertical black stripe across the entire page. The customer service rep had no idea besides clean the glass, reset the printer to default settings, and reboot. But he was nice and polite, and Lexmark had a new unit shipped and arrived in record time - 2 days (maybe it helps that they shipped from Los Angeles and I'm in San Diego). My confidence is slightly shaken, but the new unit does not have this problem and works perfectly so far, except of course the intermittent wi-fi connectivity.

Due to the excellent color print quality, features, packaging, customer service, and stellar warranty at this price point, I'm willing to give the Pro205 4 stars.

I received this printer and my first thought was "Whew" wireless, this is going to be a pain...Well I'm happy to say I was wrong.

First things first:

PACKAGING:
This printer was packed such that the instructions and installation CD, were right on top. No foraging around looking for this essential piece of information. You receive the printer, this folder of information with the CD, a power cord, a USB cord and a phone cord.

THINGS TO SET UP THE FIRST TIME:
When you get this printer, you will need to do the following:
1. Install the SW
2. Update the SW
3. Communicate with your computer during setup
4. Install the Print head
5. Install the inks (4 in all)
6. Hook up to your wireless network
7. Hook up to your FAX if you choose to use it such
8. Run a test print.
And it goes so smoothly you can't believe you did all this!
Key here is to FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS.

One of the first instructions tells you not to hook up anything and to follow the directions as to when to hook stuff up. I don't know what happens if you don't listen. I do know that if you follow directions in less than a half hour you will have a smoothly hooked up printer that is not only accessible to the computer you set it up with, but clearly visible on your network.
The directions show up both on your computer due to the wizard you are following during hook-up, but some also are on the printer display once it is active.

MINOR ISSUES:
I found insertion of the ink cartridge to be a bit questionable. I felt I had to press harder than I would have expected to. I did get a click to confirm, but suspect others might not press hard enough resulting in improperly inserted cartridges.

SUBSEQUENT HOOK UPS:
The first computer we hooked it up with was a wired setup, Windows XP desktop.
The second computer we hooked it up with was a wireless laptop with Windows 7. In this case, the CD did not have the drivers but easily accessed the web for the correct ones and the printer was hooked up, in no time.
The next machine was a Windows XP desktop and it also went well.
Key here in each case we used the installation CD. We did not try to hook up by just looking up the drivers on the Lexmark site. However since in all cases of these setups, the website was polled for either updates or the original drivers, I'm sure this would work too.

USAGE:
We have only printed several items and each was flawless. The two-sided printing was great for minimizing paper. Mind you we all know it is the ink that costs the most. However, this two-page printing was easy to do, within the printer settings.
I've scanned one item (a magazine article) using the OCR capability and it was easy to do and find within the application. Quite easy in comparison to many other printers I have tried to do this with.
I will add to this section as I do more.

DOUBLE-SIDED COPY DILEMMA:
One thing I had to school myself to do, is not touch the paper when it comes forward in the delivery chute until it is done. Since this printer does two-sided copies, it will send a page forward into the delivery chute, prior to pulling it back in, to print the other side. They clearly show you are not to touch the paper yet in the display, but having used single-sided copy printers so long, it was nearly automatic to assume the copy was done, despite the warning. It would be better if the paper did not go right into the delivery chute so visibly.

INK AVAILABILITY:
A quick check around, I did not find the ink at a popular warehouse store. I found the ink online, only at one of the two popular office supply places near where I live. I'm assuming they would also carry it locally. So close to Black Friday, I didn't venture there in person. They do provide an easy link within the printer application directly to Lexmark to buy ink and it is comparatively priced, to the one office store online. However there seems to be a high yield version, that I'm ignorant on, at the moment.
The Standard Black is the typical, twice as much as the separate three colors: Cyan, Magenta and Yellow. A quick check seemed to be inline with many of the other printers out there.
An update, both local office stores have this ink and it is comparatively priced. However the warehouse store still does not.

SUMMARY:
It is hard to write a summary on a printer I have done so little with so far. I plan to update this review. However it looks sleek, it installed well and so far; it performed well. The lack of ink availability may be due to it being so new.

FEATURES 4 in 1:
This printer has a sheet feeder for the scanner and a flat bed. You can also fax with it as well as copy too. This 4 in 1 set of features was essential to me, having had various 4 in 1 printers for over 10 years now.
You would think for personal use, this would not be handy, but how many times have you had to take document to work to copy or to the drug store at 10-25 cents each.
Also if you have found something interesting in a magazine or book, it is a simple thing to scan in and put it into your computer for later reference. This is great for recipes.
I have also done this with old medical records (>3 years old) when I didn't want to lose the information, but hated having all that paper around. I then back it up with CDs that take up so much less room too.
Though I did not have my previous printer nor this one hooked up to a phone line, it is a simple thing to set it up and hook to a phone line, when I want to send or receive a fax. This also eliminates junk faxes as well.

AN ADDITION TO ORIGINAL REVIEW:
One neat aspect of a wireless hook up is when my son had a bunch of scans he had to do, all he had to do was unplug the printer, bring it down to his room, run the scanner near him, then bring it back up to where it normally is. Since the paper area folds down and the panel pops in, that is very easy to do. It ran wonderfully while he did this and then returned it to it's spot.

I've since done quite a few scans myself, and you can send them to the computer you want. That is really handy.

Also the Fax has an automatic redial if the fax number is busy.

The more I used this cool multifunction printer, the more I am impressed.

PRINT HEAD ERRORS-ADDRESSED AND SOLVED BEFORE I NEEDED TO COMPLAIN:
A few weeks ago, the printer started to have quite a few "print head errors" where I had to remove the print head (easy to do) and wipe it off with a lint free cloth. You would then reinstall it, and it would work fine. However this started happening with each initial series of usage, when it hadn't been used in a few days. Just about the time, I was getting ready to complain, Lexmark came out with an update they sent via email(to my registered user address with them), that fixed the problem. On top of that clicking on the email and installing this update was seamless. Great job and I'm impressed.

I have this printer only for about 10 days now - thats one of the reasons I have rated it at 4 stars as it has not proven itself over a long period yet.

Overall I found this to be really good! This is my first Lexmark product and I was a bit skeptical initially. The instalation was a bit rough as its driver clashed with my Logitech webcam's driver. The Lexmark support was friendly and trying to be helpful but they had no clue why the installation was failing. After digging deep into the Windows error, I found from the web what the possible problem could be. Once I uninstalled the Logitec driver, the Lexmark installation was a breeze. (I am yet to re-install the logitech webcam - so don't know what would happen then :))

The installation document and s/w are really top notch - with good graphics and explanations. I set it up as a wireless printer (ofcourse!) for my home with 2 desktops and 2 laptops.

This printer's features have surprised me no end. It comes with full (XL sized) ink cartridges, which is a big plus. Its a true wireless multifunction. I can scan and send the PDF to any of my desktops / laptops wirelessly. It does dual side printing. Its controls are very intuitive.

Lexmark gives a whopping 5 year warranty on their printers, which is a big plus. (Mind you, I have had bad experiences with extended warranties from Comp USA, Good Guys, Wards (remember any of them????) etc. as they folded before their warranty expired :) - hopefully Lexmark is more stable than them.

Overall, I am a happy Lexmark customer now. I keep checking on my printer once in a while and so far can't stop admiring it.

Hope this was helpful.

I had really high hopes for this printer and was really excited about it, but after 2 1/2 months I regret the purchase. After receiving the printer from Amazon, I was on the phone with Lexmark the 2nd day. The setup was very easy to follow and there were no problems setting up the wireless connection, but the printer made a horribly loud clicking noise upon startup and it did not scan or copy. Customer service was very friendly and, of course, he said the noise didn't sound normal, so they sent me another printer. The 2nd printer was a Pro905 which was enormous, and I don't have the room for it; I didn't even open the box. Of course, customer service tried to talk me into keeping it instead, but I wanted my 205, and I was told I would be contacted by another rep in the next 24 hours. After 4 weeks, numerous calls to customer service, several promised callbacks (that never happened), and ANOTHER 905 shipped to me, I finally received another 205. Everything was prepaid, including the return shipping of the 2 Pro905 printers, but it was very inconvenient because this was my first wireless printer and I was really anxious to use it.
The two features that really made me decide on this printer were the wireless capability and automatic 2-sided printing.
The only time I've had a problem with the wireless feature is when the printer was in eco-mode and I manually touched a button on the machine to try to wake it. Most of the time the printer comes on, no problem, but a few times it did not respond, and then when I tried to print wirelessly it still wouldn't respond until I unplugged it and plugged it back in. Other than those few unresponsive times, it's been pretty good about waking up and printing.
The auto 2-sided printing is probably the best, and so far, most reliable feature. I keep it always turned on, so even on odd-numbered print jobs, the printer will pull the last page back in and then return it on the blank side, and it's had no problems or jams or anything.
The print quality on printouts and copies is very clear and precise, even on the cheapest of paper and using the quick print setting to conserve ink (though futilely). I'm very impressed with the quality of the printing, and I haven't found the print time to be any longer than my other printers.
Unfortunately, the automatic document feeder has serious issues. After being spoiled by a very reliable HP OfficeJet, the Pro205's ADF is really irritating. After having trouble getting it to recognize a loaded sheet, I experimented with it and found that it will not recognize the loaded paper unless I hold the single sheet at an angle or there are at least 5 sheets (and then it only takes the top 1 or 2 sheets). I rarely scan/copy more than 1 or 2 sheets, so this is really inconvenient. Underneath the ADF cover there is a roller that when pushed down will cause paper recognition, but it pops up easily and then the machine says "document not loaded" or something. Of course, instead of messing with all that, it's just easier to place the paper on the glass and scan/copy, but since the machine is equipped with an ADF I expect it to work properly.
As far as scanning to the computer, I had no problems when I manually placed the sheets on the glass and it scanned in a reasonable amount of time. I scanned a bunch of pictures into my computer this way and it worked flawlessly and the pictures looked great.
However (there's always a "however"), with regular sheets of paper, using the ADF is an absolute nightmare when it comes to scanning. It is extremely slow which I guess shouldn't really matter since the scan rarely works. Several times I tried to scan a 10 page document. It took nearly 3-4 minutes EACH to scan the first 2 pages. After one of my attempts, it thought it was finished scanning after the 2 pages and sent each page to separate files. The other 2 times I tried to scan, after 3-4 minutes on the first page and while scanning the 2nd, the printer rebooted itself, therefore voiding the whole process on my computer. After that I had to reboot my computer each time, otherwise I couldn't make any more attempts to scan from the printer or the computer software...it just continually says "scan was not successful" no matter what else I do. I never did get the document to scan properly. Luckily, this is a feature I rarely use, but it's still infuriating that it does not work.
The fax machine works well when faxing computer files wirelessly. Of course, with the ADF problem, it's a pain to fax sheets that way. The Pro205 also lacks the ability to reprint the last fax, which did cause a problem when I was low on ink. It was hard to read the printout and I couldn't reprint it after I replaced the cartridge.
The ink usage is extremely inefficient. After less than a month I replaced the black ink (nearly $30), and after 1 1/2 weeks my new cartridge is showing 50%. My printer test page shows a total of 221 pages printed, and less than 50 of those were using the new cartridge. Both cartridges were high yield, too. Even my color cartridges are now showing "very low". I rarely print anything with color, and what I did print this past month and a half were simple, small text documents or invoices, and I almost always use the quick print feature to use the least amount of ink. I've emailed customer service about this problem, but my last experience with email support (in reference to the ability to print last fax) tells me I won't hear from them for several days. Lexmark's promise of a response within 24 hours means an email telling you they're working on your request.
So even though the 2 main features I bought this for have worked well, I'm still very disappointed and I do regret buying it.

I have been an HP printer(s) owner for as long as I can remember...Never Again! Never! Never! Never! (I wouldn't wish an HP Printer on my worst enemy!). I guess my big, ignorant mistake was thinking just because I own an HP laptop an HP printer would be a perfect fit, much like putting a Ford part on a Ford. IT DOES NOT WORK THAT WAY WITH COMPUTERS. HP software conflicts with each other, in addition the HP printers come with so many additional useless programs that you can't keep from being installed on your computer when setting up the AIO. On top of that, if one tries to remove those extraneous programs the uninstall process will most likely remove a critical file that is needed for the HP Laptop. I almost always had communication and/or shut down problems with my HP computer when using HP printers, specifically the All In Ones.

I had heard good things about Lexmark and after reading hours and hours of reviews on several Lexmark printers including this one, I thought I would take the leap of faith and buy it. I almost purchased it at Office Depot and paid (way too much) $170 plus tax. I restrained myself and went online, found it, you know where for $99.99 with free shipping.

The Print quality is outstanding, I have always had ink jet printers and it's print quality is as good as any of them. It's not a laser printer but if you are concerned about the difference in print quality between the two types, you need some real problems in your life. The set up is quick and brainless, the Wireless feature is far better than any wireless HP AIO I have ever used or owned (Please see updated reviews below). I have had some communication issues but they seemed to be related to the timing of trying to print at the same time my security software was updating. The Scan feature, again outstanding. Scan to a flash drive, file, PDF or email whatever, it all works excellent. It has Abbyy Optical Character Recognition software for scanning, which is most useful, all automatically activated when working from the computer. It's hard to screw up Faxing these days and this Lexmark does it just like most all other AIO's, perfectly. I have used the Flatbed Copier to copy single sheets but again that is a process that was perfected centuries ago. I have not used the Auto Document Feeder: I have not read a single complaint regarding that feature so I am confident that once I need to use that feature it will perform seamlessly. The print speed is very good but I am usually only printing a couple of pages at a time. It prints rite quickly; again if seconds mean the difference between a good (fast) printer and a slow one, somebody needs 'real' problems. I have had some failures at the two sided printing but I know I am doing something wrong, as again all of the reviews were very favorable. All functions can be controlled at the computer OR at the printer. The unit comes with FULL Extended Life ink cartridges, 1 black and 3 color; not your basic introductory cartridges like with HP, and they are cheaper than HP ink. I always check the price of replacement ink before purchasing a printing device: To often the "sweet smell" of a low priced printer/AIO is soured by the "foul aftertaste" of high priced replacement cartridges.

I am using a Linksys wireless 802.11B (dinosaur) router, this AIO is supposedly not compatible with the new faster Routers (N?), although the newer routers are supposed to address the crux of compatibility. I have read many complaints about the so called, reverse compatibility of these newer routers and how they may not be so reverse compatible in all cases, so if you are using the latest technology in routers, I would confirm the compatibility and prepare yourself for possible issues, but if Lexmark's performance is directly consistent, you should have no problems, just contact Lexmark and confirm its compatibility first. If this one isn't compatible, the next Prospect Pro in series most likely is.

Basically, I can't believe that an AIO of this quality and features can be sold for $100 and still be profitable. I would buy this all over again just to have a back up. It goes without saying that I would recommend this unit if you are looking for an AIO. I would faithfully compare it up to $200 and even a bit more. This AIO is truly a Good Buy. I can't review all the features of this AIO, there are many, but I can say I have zero complaints of the features I have used (See updated reviews below). I am really impressed that it only comes with the pertinent software needed to fully use the unit. And (although I have not had to use it(See updated reviews below)) it comes with full support and once you register your ownership with Lexmark, the warranty goes from one to five years. I also looked at Canon and Kodak. Canon was the only other company I found that produced an AIO that had comparable features for the price and had a high percentage of favorable reviews.

(March 25, 2010)
The communication issues experienced, as described above, seem to have been recified. Lexmark has very recently (3/5/2010) released a Firmware patch that addresses a wireless communication issue along with issues pertaining to the Auto Document Feeder. After downloading and installing this patch, the 'sleep/wake-up' problems I was experiencing have not resurfaced. Also now having used the two sided print feature I can say it works well. The Delay time can be adjusted for your region.

(August 31, 2011)
This unit is useless. Don't buy it, unless you like headaches. The "Claim" of 500 or so pages per ink cartridge is misleading. I have experienced no more than 150 pages per black ink cartridge. The ink is very expensive making the "real" cost per printed page very high. The print head has had to be replaced twice. Communication issues still exsist. Warranty has always been there, Lexmark will stand behind it but it is your time.....You should be able to do much better from a different manufacturer.

I have only had this printer for about a week, so I am writing this reviw based on limited usage, but so far this is an excellent printer. I bought an HP initially and the preview screen was broken, as annoying as that was, it led me to exchange for this printer. Setup was simple (once I took the time to pop in the CD), I tried to figure it out on my own, but their tutorial that comes with the drivers is great.

I love the fact that the printer has an auto document feeder and duplex printing. So far both have worked well. I haven't scanned much, but out of about 10 pages scanned, only one page was slightly distorted, but was still usable for my purposes--no jamming yet. Scan quality is far superior to my old HP multi-function. I also tested the OCR on a few documents, so far I am very impressed with that functionality. However, as far as I can tell, when it comes to scanning as .pdf, once you have installed the OCR software, there is no way to scan a .pdf without OCR--which I assume makes some files larger than they need to be. Another feature I love is the ability to scan and select the computer on the network you want to send the file to. When you go back to the pc it's there waiting. I typically use a laptop in another room, so it used to be rather annoying to have to unplug and tether myself to the printer.

I also like that the printer allows for black-only printing, it is extremely irritating to run out of color ink when you primarily print black and white documents.

Setting up a wireless connection using WPA was painless, and tying the printer to multiple PC's was easy. So far no connection issues. I am very environmentally conscious and I love that this printer has an automatic sleep mode (taking approximately 2 watts according to my killawatt). Even better than automatic sleep is that is automatically wakes itself up from this mode if you print wirelessly.

Update: 5/17/10
While it seemed great after my first week of use, having used it for a couple of months now, this is the worst printer I have ever used. The major reason I purchased this printer is for wireless printing, however, if you're not constantly printing (I only print a couple of times a month), you will get communication errors and you must unplug the printer to get it working again. Often times I can't even print from USB when this happen. I wish I still had my old USB printer, the hassle of wireless on this machine isn't worth it. I also suspect that the startup process required whenever communication is lost wastes a lot of ink.

I have been an HP Printer user for over 15 years; I had tried other brands (not Lexmark) and kept going back to HP. This Lexmark Pro205 blew me away! I use it as a wireless device, connected via my router. That's convenient, but the performance and quality are remarkable! So, too, was the support I received when I had questions regarding how to connect to my router. The support technician was quick to answer the phone, was knowledgeable and courteous, and got me up and running immediately!

I love the duplex printing. I am enjoying a fast scan, fast copy, fast fax, fast printing.

But...
...the print cartridges cost as much as the printer. It just so happens that, with use, the ink runs out. And a set of replacement ink cartrdges run pretty close to the cost of the printer itself!

I am not anxious to try other brands of ink, because I don't want to risk a warranty violation. But I would encourage Lexmark to rethink their pricing policy, because the ink cost is the only detrimental aspect of using this printer. As I say, it doesn't matter whether you get 250 sheets, or 1,250 sheets of printed output; eventually, your ink will be used up, and then you have to (in effect) buy another printer. This is the only bad thing here, and I know the same complaint can be made for other printer brands.

Bottom line: the expense of ink cartridges (black + cyan + magenta + yellow = approx. $100 for 1 of each (4 cartridges)) is pretty steep! Other than that, I LOVE THIS PRINTER!

Product Features:
This Lexmark Color Prospect Pro205 is an all in one (4 in 1) multifunctional printer. For less than $100, you get a wireless device which prints, fax, scan, and copies. It can also be directly attached to the PC via USB. Other features include 2 side printing, 35 page auto document feeder. It also comes with a 5 year warranty.

Product Positives:
This is a solid printer, well built. It's fast and quite. I love the wireless capabilities. It supports numerous PC's (I have four using its multifunction capabilities wireless). The print quality is very good. It has 4 printer cartridges. You can scan a document and/or picture to an email and PDF file. The installed software and toolbar are very helpful and productive. Other features include business card scan and memory card transfer and two side printing. It supports several types of memory cards.

Lessons Learned:
1)Printer setup is straight forward if you are using the USB connection. It's very important that you follow the directions, step by step.
2) The wireless setup is bit more challenging. It's extremely important that you following the directions that are included in the network guide starting on page 6. The MAC id (if you used this in your wireless router setting) isn't included on the back of the printer. You must print the network information via the Printer LCD. The printer network setup is based on using the Wi-Fi Protected Setup. I tried on numerous occasions to setup the wireless function manually (SSID, passpharase, and key) via the wireless router; and it would NOT work. The printer wireless indicator on front of the printer was orange, and it stayed orange. I called Lexmark the 1st time and it took them 20 minutes to answer the phone (on hold listening to music). My call dealt with locating the MAC id (I use MAC filtering as an additional level of security on the wireless router). I called Lexmark a 2nd time and it took them 5 minutes to answer the phone. This call dealt with getting the printer to connect to my wireless network. The technician remotely connected to my PC, but he could NOT solve the problem. After sleeping on the problem, I thought the problem might me my router; and it was. My firmware was three releases behind...it wasn't supporting the Wi-Fi- Protected setup function. Once I updated the firmware and followed the instructions, the printer finally connected to my wireless network. One more point. I found it helpful to use the PIN # from the printer during the Wi-Fi Protected Setup.

Lexmark Support:
There is a special 800# for technical support. Lexmark can remotely take-over your PC (with your permission). I like this capability, but the technical wasn't helpful to me. But I can see the benefits to this feature.

Economics:
I purchased this printer at a large office supply store locally for $99. A week ago this product sold for $160. This is an excellent price given the printer's features and capabilities. I like the 4 printer cartridges feature as you replace only what's necessary to print vs. buying one large cartridge. The printer feels like a solidly built product.

Summary:
1) You must follow the directions
2) USB interface is easy
3) Wireless support requires you to follow the directions and your wireless router must support the Wi-Fi Protected Setup feature
4) The installed software is good
5) The print quality and speed is very good
6) The scan feature is super
7) Overall, this is a solid buy for less than $100.

I received this printer the end of March. By the end of April (and 150 pages later) the black was streaking. I took heed of their offer of tech support if you registered, so I started a chat with Tech support. She had me check the print levels. About 50 percent for the colors, a tad less for black. Then she had me run 'Deep Clean', which even the manual cautions uses a lot of ink. Then we checked ink levels again. Black was down to 25 percent and nothing had changed. So she had me do it again. After the second time, there was no black ink left, so problem solved! My problem was I had no black in the cartridge. I suppose if there was still some ink left, she would have had me run it again, "just to be sure."

So to recap: I spent half my black ink cartridge ($12.50), plus about a third of my color cartridges, ($6 each), which adds up to $30 and now my printer won't print at all because I don't have any black ink. Now, mind you, if I put a new black ink cartridge in and it stops streaking, that means that you only have half the ink it says you have, since it started failing at 40 percent.

I'm buying another printer, no question about that. But I can't even give this one away to a charity or something because I don't want Lexmark getting someone else's money. DO NOT BUY THIS PRINTER UNLESS YOU CAN MAKE IT PRINT MONEY.

08/04/2010 Update:

My wife convinced me to wait before getting another printer so instead we kept careful track of how many pages we printed on new cartridges. After two more months I can confidently say that you'll get about 20 pages of color prints out of a set of cartridges (~$40). Even counting gas, it's cheaper to print at Staples. And that's not full-page prints either. The black cartridge is bigger and lasts marginally longer but we're not running a print shop here. Our old HP printer would go for months w/o needing new cartridges.

She is now convinced we need a new, non-Lexmark printer.

I've owned this now for nine months. The printer has a lot of features packed in for the price. But you get more than you pay for:

- Ink runs out fast, (relative to the HP and the Brother I've owned in the past.) Mind you I am usually conscientious of the print quality I select to conserve ink and was still disappoinited in how fast this runs out.

- Your printer is held hostage if one of the four ink cartridges runs out. You cannot even print in black if one of the three color cartridges run out.

- Frustratingly long boot-time. This thing makes a huge production every time you turn it on. I suspect this thing is cleaning the ink heads every time you turn it on which would help explain how the ink seems to disappear. Also makes it impossible to use as a caller id: if the printer is in standby and the phone rings, all you see is "Preparing Printer".

- Annoying document scan feeder. It usually takes several tries to get the thing to recognize a document.

- Irritating power button light. Even in standby, this has an extremely bright pulsating green light. I had to put a square of electrical tape on it.

- When in fax mode, wakes up randomly. This is really annoying in the middle of the night. I finally had to disconnect the phone line.

- On top of that, the first one of these was DOA and I had to get an exchange.