Lexmark Z611 Color Inkjet Printer

• Lexmark Z611 USB Color Inkjet Printer General Features:
• USB interface (compatible with USB 2.0 specification) Thermal Inkjet technology Up to 14 ppm (Black)
• Up to 8 ppm (Color) 100-sheet paper input Lexmark Accu-Feed paper-handling system
• Duty Cycle Maximum: 2,000 pages per month PC and Mac compatible Print Resolution Color:
• Up to 4800 x 1200 dpi

I don''t have many printing needs, just the occasional Yahoo map from time to time. I bought this low-end printer without really looking into it at all. I expected a newer version of the Z13, but was really impressed with what I got.

I like how solid it is, it feels a little cheap, but better then I expected from a $30 printer. The fact that allows you to have color and b&w installed together was a big shock; I never expected that from a $30 printer!

For those complaining about it not coming with a black cartridge or USB cable, get over it! Its $30! The cartridges are about $20 each and cheap USB cable is about $4. Do the math, if they included those things then Lexmark would be paying you to take their printer.

If you plan on buying a black cartridge or don''t already have a USB cable then check-out the Z615. It is probably a better value because it comes with those things (it seems to otherwise be the same printer).

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Yes, let the buyer beware on this one. As far as I can tell (by putting the specifications and photos side-by-side) the Z611 is is identical to its "big brother" the Z615 (available for about $20 more) with these important exceptions: the Z611 comes with no black ink cartridge or USB cable...and the Z615 does. Saving a few backs by excluding a USB cable I get...but deleting the black ink cartridge? Come on, Lexmark!...I guess the printer business is a cuthroat one. Apart from that, it''s a fine little printer for the price and performs well...but only makes sense if you happen to have a USB printer cable and a Lexmark #16 or #17 black ink cartridge already lying around. Otherwise, save a few dollars by buying the Z615.

Read Best Reviews of Lexmark Z611 Color Inkjet Printer Here

I absolutely LOVE this printer. I had to get this printer after looking into it, because it is compatible with my computer system (Windows XP Home Edition). At first, I thought about getting the Z730 model, but had to disregard the thought because I read a number of negative reviews about it and its performance. I bought this Z611 from Wal-Mart (their price was almost $23.00). Another reason why I had to buy this printer was because the other printer my mother and I had (an Epson Stylus C80) had quit working after four years, which came with our computer system (in 2002). The Epson was a color printer and used 4 cartridges (one each of black, cyan, magenta, and yellow). It was a great printer, but the prices of ink for it were kind of mediocre; whenever a cartridge ran out of ink on the Epson, the printer could not be used until a cartridge or cartridges could be replaced, and it would be a while until more ink could be afforded. Anyway, with this Lexmark Z611 printer, the price was decent, it came with a color cartridge (#27), software, etc. Installing this machine was not a problem. Within a few minutes, it started working properly. You also get to choose your print quality, especially "Quick Print", where you can print your document out faster and use less ink. You are also given the option to print out color images in black and white to conserve color ink which is convenient (cancelling the color is also a great idea if that cartridge is low on ink or out). I mostly use "Normal"; I have used "Better" or "Best" occasionally for print quality and the result is very excellent. I learned that "Better" and "Best" print qualities provide much sharper results, but take longer to print out and use up more ink; in that case, to extend color and black ink, these latter two quality settings ("Better" and "Best") should NOT be used too often. You can also use this printer with just a color cartridge or just a black cartridge. You also get an on screen ink level monitor that shows you what your ink levels are whenever you have a print job in progress. Another wonderful thing is that you hear a voice at the beginning ("Printing started") and end of your print job ("Printing complete"). Very neat!! When I bought this printer, I decided to also get a black cartridge (#17), which was almost $20. Using only two different cartridges, one black and one color, getting ink is much easier. Color ink is in one cartridge; not multiple ones. Photo printout is excellent. I have only used plain paper to print out a couple of pictures with this printer; results are wonderful (excellent quality if you use photo paper)!! This is a wonderful printer to get because the price is decent and not one to put a flaw in your budget, and ink cartridges are easily affordable, as well. Get this printer; you won''t regret it whatsoever!! UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY, 2009--PLEASE NOTE: The ink levels for the #17 black and #27 color cartridges (these are Moderate Yield) will go down quickly if you do A LOT of printing during a few days. For a longer lasting supply of Moderate Yield ink, print sparingly, but you can buy the #16 black and #17 color cartridges. These cost more than the Moderate Yield ones, but will last longer.

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From the reviews here the lack of USB cable is the biggest beef; I''ve been buying USB printers for years and have a drawer-FULL of USB cables and am glad to NOT have to pay Lexmark to include yet another one.

Another benefit is the lower-than-average cost of the cartridge; once the included one is used up, the replacement is 50% less than typical cartridges.

Simple, basic printer for the kids/household use.

Kudos

OK. So no USB cable is included. I bought this as a backup printer so I just used the USB from the unit that''s in the shop. If I hadn''t had one, I may have just purchased the Z615 to save myself a trip to the store.

As for there not being a black ink cartridge, this doesn''t mean the color cartidge doesn''t print black. It does. The purpose of the separate black ink cartridge, according to the manual, is to have the option of printing entirely in gray scale, thereby saving your color ink. I find that a refreshing way of thinking, rather than annoying. Since the color cartridge runs about $18, this is also one of the most economical I''ve come across.

The printer was ridiculously easy to set up. Plug the power cord into your power strip, the USB cable into the printer, then into the computer, install the cartridge, load the paper, install the driver software and you''re off to the races. You don''t even have to reboot your computer after the software''s installed.

You also get a rather neat pop up box during the printing process that "speaks" to you ("printing has started", "printing has ended", etc), shows you what percentage of your print job is completed as you go along, plus gives you an ink level read out. With my Canon S9000 (which I also love, by the way), I had to go into a separate maintenance window to see how my ink levels were doing.

The Z611 isn''t particularly fast but it''s pretty quiet and gets the job done in a reasonable amount of time. I haven''t tried printing photo-quality items yet so am curious how the quality will be.

In all, I''m pleased with it.