Roundup: 13 Multifunction Printers : Lexmark X4650
12. Lexmark X4650
Scanning and Copying Functions
Previewing a 4 x 6 print on the scanner takes 10 seconds, and a full scan of the same image at 300 dpi takes 27 seconds. These are good timings and perfectly acceptable for use at home, especially given that the images produced are high quality, with sharp details and accurate colors.
Copying a black and white document takes 12 seconds, but, disappointingly, color copies take 50 seconds. This is still quite slow, but a definite improvement on Lexmark's last attempt; the X4550, which took 1 minute 20 seconds for the same job.
Lexmark has made some subtle design changes to update its earlier X4550 multifunction printer.
The black and silver casing is still there, along with the vertical paper tray, but the buttons and a small LCD screen are now found on the side rather than on the top.
Most exciting, though, is the addition of WiFi to allow wireless printing.
Printing Speeds
According to the X4650's technical specifications, it can print at 25 pages per minute. In our labs we got close to this in draft mode, with 19 ppm on our own test document.
Things slowed down a lot in standard mode, with the printer only managing 4 ppm in color and 6.5 ppm in black and white.
While other multifunctions are faster, most home users should find these speeds acceptable.
A 4 x 6 photo takes 1 minute to print, which is just a little slower than average in this comparison. The fastest of the bunch did the same job in 20 seconds, while the HP C4480 took well over a minute.
We tried printing over both USB and the printer's WiFi, and the printing speeds are the same - ditching the cable doesn't slow the overall printing time down, which is good news.
Quality
This printer did well on our office printing tests, with faithful colors and legible text thanks to its sharp handling of black and white. In color, tinted areas are nice and even.
Photo printing, on the other hand, is less impressive. It's satisfactory, and as we've suggested elsewhere, will probably do for your family album, but it's far from the best available. HP and Canon multifunctions in particular manage prints that look a lot mope professional. On the X4650, it is possible to add a specialist photo cartridge, which cuts down on the visible ink drops, but, of course, this also adds to the total cost per page.
Cartridges
This printer ships with two cartridges, numbers 36 (black and white) and 37 (color), but if you intend to use it frequently, we recommend you replace them with the XL versions as soon as the supplied cartridges run out. Like with HP, these XL cartridges are more expensive to buy up front, but offer much better value for money in terms of cost per page.
| Cartridge | Lifespan (pages) |
| 36 (black) | 175 |
| 36XL (black) | 500 |
| 37 (color) | 150 |
| 37XL (color) | 500 |
Another thing to look out for when buying Lexmark cartridges is that many stores are now participating in Lexmark's free returns program for empty cartridges. As part of a laudable initiative, these cartridges come with a pre-paid envelope that you can use to return them to Lexmark at the end of their life to be disposed of safely.
| Lexmark X4650 | |
|---|---|
| Pluses | Minuses |
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The most attractive thing about this printer is its simple WiFi. After that, it prints perfectly well, with particularly good results in office printing, and runs very economically provided you install XL cartridges.
Compare prices on Lexmark X4650
I've used Epson photo quality printers at home for years and have been very happy with the print quality and costs. My only issue, is that after a few years 3-5 they clog up and print unevenly. The good news is by then, the newer printers have much better quality and cost less.
if you guys at toms still have these machines i would love to find out if they still work after you leave them sitting for a month and a bit.
my biggest issue with all ink jets is they dry up on me.
i have been through both cheap and pricy ones and all die.
i have given up and turned to mono laser and for the rare occasion i need colour i go to the local copy shop.
the only think I can say is I'll NEVER buy an Epson printer. Good quality colors, yes, but SHIT ink design.
I am still using my HP officejet 1170c which must be well over 10 years old now and not a problem yet (touch wood) would never touch a lexmark again last one lasted about a year and went in the bin
here's a tip for dainsane1 - leave the printer on 24/7 to fix drying/clogging print heads
I just bought a MP620 and so far so good, great quality printing, photos are fantastic, but must use Canon paper for this and so much easier to set-up than and Brother MFC machine (what a nightmare!) had Epson before this and it crapped out after 2.5 years. Its so good to have a WIFI machine !!! At least in Auckland its so damp the jets will never dry out!
This is a really poor article,
1/ some list cartrige span, some don't/
2/ prices? where are they?
3/ Is this easy to use as its simply easy on the front panel? or has the reviewer actually used it?
4/ I could go on and on, I can't make much sense out of whihc to go for, no conclusion, limited info, few facts, duplex?
terrible article, read elsewhere....
Stinkyink now offer ink cartridges for the Kodak ESP5 ink. Oh and it's free delivery too!
Stinkyink now offer ink cartridges for the Kodak ESP7 ink. Oh and it's free delivery too!