Customer Reviews

Lexmark Z816 Photo Printer (21G8600)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Before this printer, I was loyal to Epson for photo printing, but my last experience left me fed up with ink clogging their permanent printheads. I decided to try this machine, and I couldn't be happier I did. With the Z816, Lexmark has come to rival similar Epson machines in print quality and is blowing them away in speed. My pictures look even a little better than on my old machine, especially when using the optional photo cartridge that provides 6-color printing. And now I don't have to use all my ink in clean cycles. The speed of both typical documents and photos is very impressive, and the automatic paper type sensing is a cool feature. This printer is quite basic, but that makes it an excellent value if you're like me and would always use your computer to print photos even if you had a printer that could do it alone (old one did--never used that feature). Can't beat it for the price.

Installation was a breeze for me. I've installed the printer both locally on a PC and on a remote PC across my home network without any problems whatsoever.

This printer was one of the best "basic" printers I have ever owned. It is very speedy and has great quality, it is a snap to install and tells you how much ink is left and all of the things you need to know before it is to late. This printer is great if you need to print anything, but of course for the price, it does not have a scanner or anything but is a great photo printer.

I thought that I had lost this printer for good, but I brought it back to life. I use this printer everyday all the time for high, speed black text printing in the quick mode and it delivers. I refill the black cartridge, so I know that I am taking my chances with the print heads eventually not cooperating, but turns out this time at least it was the cartridge and not the printer that stopped working. If you are looking for a reasonably priced, fast printer for both good black text and photo capabilities, look no further. The photos that I have printed (and those I have done sparingly since I normally use snapfish for ordering photos) have been excellent on photo paper. I have not as of yet refilled the color cartridge because if not done right (as I've learned in the past), you can end up with muddy, off colors - expecially skin tones. But if you print lots of black and white (sometimes up to 500 pages in a week), you will be pleased with this printer. To refill your cartridges, go to atlantic inkjet for bulk ink, installation tools and instructions. Just realize that eventually you will need to buy new cartridges, but that's after many refills. Don't let the high cost of inkjet printing get you down! And I also want to emphasize that I generally opt for the quick mode and the blacks are still rich and true, not gray as in draft modes from other printers. (...)If you can get this for less than the regular average selling price, then it's well worth buying.

I've had this printer for over a year now, and I was impressed with it for the first month - until the ink ran out. The printer was "ok" on ink consumption - I've had better, but also had worse. My biggest problem was the inability to refill the cartridges. I've refilled carts for a long time now on many, many different printers - Epson, HP, Canon, Lexmark, etc. and usually Lexmark was truly the easiest. But with this fella, the cartridge was easy to refill as usual, but no matter what I did - it would print with lines through black print. I had no problems with color, just with black. I've read that others have also had the same problem. I'm not sure what went wrong... Otherwise, it's a great printer. Prints fast - like 22ppm black and 15ppm color. Now I usually set things at higher quality, so haven't had these numbers, but still were good. And I got a super deal on this when I purchased it - like $35 after shipping.. I couldn't complain about anything with that price - much less than it would cost to just get replacement cartridges. Overall, it's a great printer - but be ready to buy more ink. Side note: I just purchased the Canon MP500 all in one printer - and it is amazing.

PROS: Inexpensive, fast printer, easy setup, easy installation.

CONS: Can't refill black cartridges, expensive replacement cartridges. Only prints - no scanning, etc.

I bought 6 of these printers at Office Max about 8 months ago. Only paid $15.99 each. I used one for printing and the rest to replace the ink cartridges when they ran out. The printer did a decent job of printing, even photos. After that I donated the printers to our local non-profit thrift store. They were able to sell them for $30 a piece! Everybody won all the way around! I can't understand why they are asking $275.99 for one on Amazon. Papa Larry H

This printer was impossible to install. I accidently made a mistake while installing this printer, and its impossible to reverse the effects of it. I finally found a way to uninstall the printer driver and software, but even after installing it again (the right way this time) it still doesn't work. No wonder you see so many Lexmark printers at the thrift store, and no wonder you see retailers practically giving away this printer with new computers and new digital cameras.