Lexmark Z25 Color Inkjet Printer

• Desktop-sized color thermal inkjet printer
• 1,200 x 1,200 resolution
• Supports standard media types and sizes, plus Japanese envelopes
• Standard USB interface, optional Ethernet
• PC and Mac compatible

This is a neat little printer. It is light, so it is easy to move around. It is easy to install, and really easy to operate. The print quality is also excellent for such a small printer. It takes two cartridges, a black one and a multi-colour one.

The paper handlers slip neatly into the body of the printer when it is not in use, so it takes up very little desk space. And even when in use it is very neat. The paper holder is vertical, so it takes up no space behind the printer. So only the printed document tray is using up space as you print.

The drawback is the speed. It is very slow, especially printing a full colour document. But there has to be some drawback when you purchase anything, and for the price this is an excellent home printer. Because it is easy to use, the kids are less likely to mess with it.

If you are running an office, forget it! It is just too slow for business use.

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Prints well for the first couple of runs. Cartridge runs out quickly. Cartridge build is nothing more than a foam sponge inside very poor design.

You get what you pay for.

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I was sucked in by the low price of the printer but the ink cartridges will have you paying through the nose (the editorial review already mentioned this). The low productivity per ink cartridge will have you buying cartridges very often, for me it was every three or four months and with the total cost for two cartridges being around $90 without no generic cartridges available the printer was definitely not worth it.

Actually, the cartridges can be refilled but there are other problems with that.

The printing quality is okay but with the market for printers so large there is no reason to settle for this. Now I''m looking for a new printer and I am definitely not buying a Lexmark again.

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The Z25 and Z35 are low-end printers designed for use at home. They use a USB cable to connect to a computer running Windows 98, Me, 2000, and XP after you install the software from the CD. You must select CANCEL when the OS detects the connected printer and only use the CD software. The 24 page manual explains the proper method to set up this printer. You connect the modular power supply, the USB cable, install the print cartridges (#26 tricolor, #16 black) into the color-coded receptacles (light green for tricolor, dark green for black), then load the plain paper on the top and extend the paper exit tray. The printer software is installed last. Run the SETUP program to install the software (if it doesn''t start automatically). Follow the instructions on the monitor screen. Print an alignment page so the tricolor and black cartridges will be properly aligned. This printer will work when either or both cartridges are installed. You can customize the printer settings in "Print Properties". Various sized paper can be used in portrait or landscape mode. When installing the printer you may have to create a USB Virtual printer port if another printer was previously defined (not for printers connected to a parallel port). Like other Lexmark printers the paper follows a shallow curve in printing.

The Lexmark Solutions Center will guide you in printing photos, envelopes, banners, etc. It will help to solve printing problems. A blinking paper feed light may result in an error message on your screen. Page 11 offers suggestions to follow when there is a problem. There are pages for Mac OS 8.6 to 9.2 and Mac OS X version 10.0.3 to 10.1. Page 20 tells how to contact Lexmark. The Index to topics is on pages 19 and 20. Other manuals warn against setting up a printer during an electrical storm, or removing the inkjet cartridges except to replace or clean them. This printer has a modular plug-in power supply with an attached power cord. [Does this make it run warmer?]

The audio response will tell you what to do if there is a problem. A right click on the "Lexmark Z25-Z35" icon will allow you to choose the Lexmark Solution Center for various options. You can select the alignment tool to fix blurry edges, print a test page, or install a new print cartridge. This is one of the least expensive printers and a bargain when bought used for light duty printing. You may find a better printer at a higher price. Shutting down the computer turns the printer off, applying power turns it on.

[I found the indicator for ink levels wasn''t correct for the used tricolor cartridge when the printer was installed on another computer.]

I must say I''m not a stickler for print quality and print speed, so I didn''t notice that the blacks came out dark brown, or that printing a full-page photograph took more time than it should. What I have noticed is that this printer will never feed more than one sheet of paper without jamming. That is to say, it might get the first page through alright, but when it goes for the second sheet, it feeds the right side of the sheet too quickly, starts printing at an angle, which crumples the paper, and jams the machine. In, fact, I wouldn''t even reccommend leaving paper in the tray. Feed it manually, always.

I also have to say that the software (at least that which came with the Brazilian installation package) is irritating to the point of never wanting to print again. "Printing is starting" "Please feed paper" Blablabla, I''m not blind, you don''t have to speak to me, just beep and that''s enough. I take it back. No stars! This printer is going to printer hell when it dies, along with all its Z25 brethren. Avoid it like the plague.