Lexmark's entry-level, four-color printer, the Z33, offers good print quality on plain paper, high resolution, and a decent print speed. Its design is straightforward, with a rear paper-feed hopper that folds down on top of the printer when it's not in use, and a simple pullout tray at the front to catch the printed pages. There are just two physical controls, power and paper-feed buttons on its top surface; everything else is done through software.
Insert the tricolor and black cartridges, load the printer driver on Windows or Mac OS, and the Z33 is ready to go. The driver is well-designed and offers useful information, such as ink level and automatic detection of cartridge replacements. The twin-cartridge design means that black print comes out looking truly black, and it prints a lot more quickly than a single-cartridge, three-color printer.
In our tests, a standard five-page text document printed in less than 1.5 minutes, giving the Z33 a real-world print speed of around 3.5 pages per minute. The 5-by-3-inch photo print on glossy photo paper also came out well, with generally accurate color, good definition, and no noticeable banding at its highest 2,400 x 1,200 dpi resolution. The print time--just under 3 minutes--is fair for a printer in this price range.
Color print on plain paper is well-detailed, and the high resolution means there is little sign of the dottiness that dithered colors can show. The smaller size of Lexmark's two ink cartridges means they have lower capacity than other brands, but the cost of replacement is also low, so overall cost per page is broadly comparable.
The Z33 comes with a one-year exchange warranty, during which time Lexmark will swap out any faulty device. As an entry-level product, this versatile, four-color printer offers a good compromise between speed and print quality, and it won't leave you penniless. --Simon Williams
