Lexmark X83 Scanner-Printer-Copier

by Lexmark

Product Details

Product Manual [3.37mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 19 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00005IBXN
• Item model number: X83
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1999

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

The Lexmark X83 is a thermal ink-jet scanner/printer/copier with a fax machine, providing a complete business solution in a compact package. Enjoy photo-quality black and color printing and 48-bit color flatbed scanning. Make copies in black and color at 2,400 x 1,200 dpi, at the touch of a button, with or without a PC.

The Lexmark X83 multifunction center is designed with a 100-sheet paper tray, capable of printing up to 12 pages per minute (6 ppm in color) on a variety of media, including envelopes, transparencies, label sheets, letter, and legal. The unit copies up to 10 copies per minute in black and three copies per minute in color, with reduction/enlargement from 25 percent to 400 percent. You can also print up to 99 copies at once. The flatbed scanner accommodates books and magazines.

With a substantial maximum monthly cycle of 3,000 pages per month, the X83 is also supported buy a one-year print engine warranty.

From the Manufacturer

The Lexmark X83 offers photo-quality printing, 48-bit color scanning, PC-free black and color copying, and PC fax capability at 2,400 x 1,200 dpi (black and color) on all paper types. It prints up to 12 pages per minute in black and 6 pages per minute in color. The 48-bit flatbed scanner easily handles books, reports, and more. Enjoy PC-free copies at up to 10 copies per minute in black and 3 copies per minute in color.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Good value multi-function home printer, December 1, 2001

By 

David Hathaway - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lexmark X83 Scanner-Printer-Copier (Office Product)

After comparing the Lexmark X83 at a CompUSA with the comparable HP, we chose to purchase it. In short, we have been very pleased with it. For reference, our previous printer was a Lexmark 3200 which we also bought for its value.

The print quality is fantastic, with a stunning high-end of 2400x1200. On Kodak photo-paper, the images are amazingly vibrant and life-like.

B/W printing is very fast and crisp at the default we set (600x600 on plain paper). It looks at least as good as the office HP laser printer, although that might have to do with the better paper we use at home. I prefer the Lexmark technology to the HP REt; it seems to make small letters more readable.

Others have written about the X83 not being networkable, and that is my biggest gripe. I "solved" this by connecting the printer to my USB hub on the desk top, instead of the USB port in the back of the computer. I unplug the printer from the hub and attach it to my laptop when I want to print from the laptop(rare; I usually print my work at the office). The USB connection makes it very easy to do this.

The USB connection has also proven useful for scanning. Transfer between the printer and the computer is much faster than the old printer connection (my old scanner used a bi-directional parallel port).

Scanning is easy. You can use the included little applet, which is simple. I tried OCR to convert an encyclopedia page to text, and it was pretty accurate. OCR has come a long way since the last time I tried it.

Copying is done via the front panel. One reason I chose the Lexmark was that the copy bed was like a copier. I believe the comparable HP used a page feed, like a fax, which makes copying book pages impossible; the HP flat bed was (...) more expensive. The cover also comes off, which is handy for those really fat books I have.

So, here's a summary:

HITS:

* Cheap compared to HP
* Good quality print in B/W and color
* USB connection
* Easy panel operation
* Flat-bed scanner for copying/scanning books

NITS:

* Not networkable
* Colors not quite true in copying
* Bundled software? What bundled software?

OVERALL:

See my 5-star rating! Great for home use.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lexmark X83, The whole world has gone nuts, check it out, January 2, 2002

By 

Bob Feeser "MillCrafters.com" (Springfield, PA USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Lexmark X83 Scanner-Printer-Copier (Office Product)

I wrote a lengthy review for this printer. I don't know where it went. I do not understand how the other reviewers don't see this as a far superior printer to the competition. Do yourself a favor, and go into your local office supply store, take a full color picture advertisement from any available in the store. Put it in the X83 and Color copy it. Then do the same for every other machine out there, ESPECIALLY THE HP's. No contest, the Lexmark is superior scan and print quality. The colors are fuller, richer, truer. HP has a history of reliability problems. If you do not believe me, simply check out the reviews on their regular printers especially the CSE models. I bought one, for 400 dollars and got burnt. It worked for 6 months of occassional use, then was replaced with a refurb from HP, and that one gave me 6 months and two weeks. Just enough time to no longer qualify for the one year warranty. 400 bucks???????
My brother has the HP 950 multi-function. We have run it though every test, and he admits the Lexmark is superior at half the money.
Every store salesman I run into pushes the HP. Must be the margins. (And I don't mean the kind they have on the page) I wrote a long and elaborate review before, explaining the differences in the results, comparing the HPs with the X83. Too exhausting to do it again. It has been a couple of weeks, and it is still not posted. If for any reason you see a review magically show up, you know why I wrote two.
Do yourself a favor, and don't listen to people who do not know how to load drivers in Windows. Don't listen to people who have been beat up by salesman, who convinced them that the HP was superior. Check it out for yourself.
By the way, go into the Lexmark 3200 printer reviews, and see how many people are writing favorable things, even though the printer is two years old. I have two of those, ran a business with them, and they are still working perfectly. (They aren't super quiet) Just very nice printers.
The X83 is the Best. It scans and copies the best. It print photographs the best. The colors are deeper. Sometimes the HP misses outlines altogether, the light grays fade into a non print, and the Lexmark captures all of that.
Do a side by side, judge for yourself. The truth is evident. The proof is in the pudding.

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best in its price class (but you get what you pay for), September 14, 2001

By 

Timothy Walker (Orlando, Florida USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lexmark X83 Scanner-Printer-Copier (Office Product)

Shopping for a low-cost multifunction machine? Then you'd better be ready to compromise. At the low end, you must choose between flatbed scanning and full-featured faxing, between speed and price. If you're on a budget, and you think that faxes are best handled by fax machines, then the X83 is an excellent choice.

At my local retailer, the only other machine in this price range was the HP PSC 500 (excluding a few offerings from the Xerox SOHO division, which no longer exists). The X83 beat the PSC 500 hands down in all of my experiments, with better color imaging on photos and 3-D objects and faster, quieter printing. The Lexmark has other nice features, from separate controls for color and monochrome copying to an easily accessible cartridge area.

Like another reviewer, I also compared the X83 to the HP PSC 750 (which, though reasonably priced, was outside my budget). Here HP closed the gap (product specifications aside). I did not notice a substantial difference in quality, but the HP did seem faster. The lack of bundled fax software with the HP had no impact on my decision.

Justifiably, any decision to buy an all-in-one from either manufacturer will be influenced by the reputations of their printers. Though I have been completely satisfied with the X83, I would strongly urge looking into extended warranty options (from a retailer or direct from Lexmark). Only time will tell whether this is a good buy or just a good deal.