This is one terrific printer. It was easy to install, though it would be nice if they''d include a USB cable. One of my first impressions of it was that it was very sturdily built. Unlike many other machines in the same price range, this has a solid feel. The controls are very easy to use, and the color screen is a great feature. It''s got easy to follow menus for all functions.
The list of features goes on and on. Everything works great as a standalone. The basic features function exactly as they''re supposed to; dig a little deeper and you''ll find some pretty neat options. For example you can make a simple copy, or reduce or enlarge, or take one image and duplicate it multiple times on one page. Or it will take multiple different pages and combine them onto one page.
It can read from memory cards, show the pictures on the screen, and print them without turning the computer on. It will also read from USB memory sticks, and can connect directly to some digital cameras.
Print quality is excellent in both black and white and color. I haven''t used it much for photos yet one drawback is that to really do photos you need to swap out the standard color cartridge for a color photo cartridge. With the standard cartridge, color pictures are just acceptable.
Paper handling so far has also been very good. Envelopes and invitation card stock paper work just fine.
The only feature I wish this unit had was network capability. But all in all, a highly recommended product.
Buy Lexmark X8350 All-in-One Printer Plus Photo Now
After doing my research I decided on this printer due to the features and the price. It is the only multifunction printer for $120 that offers a small screen to make corrections to photos and lets you print directly from your memory card. However, it has major software problems. The software did not load easily into my computer, it always showed an icon with error message an the bottom. I was able to print without problem and the quality of the prints was decent. The auto-feeder for the fax jammed if you load more than 3 pages.
My problem really started after I tried to restart my computer the next day, the printer software did allow my computer to boot. The only way for the computer to boot was when I remove the USB cable for the new printer. I reinstalled the software with no success, then I decided to get help from Lexmark. The first person had no clue after an hour of trying to help me; finally she got help from a supervisor that told me that this printer is so "advanced" that require that the bios on my computer be updated, he could not help me because it was not a printer problem, I needed to call my PC manufacturer. I pointed out that my HP PC was only a year old and this should not happen, he apologized and said not much he could do.
Since I had spended so much time trying to get a fix and I did like the printer, I decided to follow his advice and contact HP.
HP was willing to help for $49 and did no guarantee that updating the bios was going to fix the problem.
That is when I call it quits, $49 more did not make it such a good deal anymore.
I returned it and bought the HP 6210. It is more expensive and less features than the Lexmark; but, I did not even need the software that came with the printer, my PC recognized it with no problem.
It is a shame that Lexmark puts out a printer with this type of compatibility problems.
Read Best Reviews of Lexmark X8350 All-in-One Printer Plus Photo Here
This is truly an awesome 3in1 printer! It was easy even for a non-techie person like me to set up. Can''t get any better printer for the money. Going from a simple Canon S520 printer, I really appreciate all of the added features and especially the media slots where I can print pictures from my flash card now instead of having to hook up my camera, download onto the computer, save into a file and then print. This is a good one you shouldn''t pass up on.
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I''ve had the x8350 less than a month and I''ve had numerous problems with it:
(1)When booting up, I receive an error message telling me that the Lexmark device manager has encountered a problem and needs to close.
(2)I have trouble sending and receiving faxes. Faxes sometimes don''t go through.
(3) When I send faxes from the glass (instead of the automatic feeder), the fax prompts me whether I want to send multiple pages, even though I set the machine not to.
(4)When it prompts me to press 1 for yes or 0 for no, the machine often freezes, accepting neither selection.
As for support, Lexmark''s web site contains no support information on the x8350. I called, the phone support, and, after 2 hours, the technician solved none of my problems. He told me last night that a supervisor would call me within three hours. No one called. When I called again today, the technician said a supervisor would call me within 15 minutes. That was over 4 hours ago.
After this experience, I''ll never buy another Lexmark product.
Updated below! 12/29/2007
I returned to Lexmark after a bad experience with HP (see my other review). I have used this unit for several days now.
Another software install caution: the software expects your CD drive to be ''D''. Mine wasn''t. I meant that it didn''t auto-start so I had to manually start it.
Except for that very minor glitch it installed flawlessly.
I am now very cautiously exploring the capability. Why? Lexmark quality is down on this machine. In operation, it shakes, rattles and rolls. It almost misfed a page and makes a scary sound when it does start feeding a page. Print Quality does not seem to be up to what I consider Lexmark standards. I am being cautious because I just may return it. It appears to be straying further from the IBM heritage. I guess it proves again you get what you pay for.
I did not have any of the other problems....yet. So 3 stars to be fair. I hope it stays there and does not dive to 1.
Update 12/29/2007
Now 4 1/2 Stars
After almost a year of use I will have to say Lexmark still has HP beat. No problems. Everything works great. The document feeder amazes me on such a low cost unit. I tweeked things to get print quality up to par. No more misfeeds!
My wife loves the photo printing quality and we do not even use to photo ink cartridge.
Update 1/2/2013 This unit is still functioning flawlessly. Even mellowed with age and shakes less. What can I say Now 5 stars!
