Lexmark, 2nd mortgage?

Zardon · Dec 1, 2002, 05:32 PM

For years ive had a Lexmark Z52 printer and the reason I bought it was at the time it was the fastest bubblejet for printing letters I could get my hands on. All was fine and dandy.

Until I went in to get my cartridges replaced and I was very pissed off to see that the colour cartridges cost around £30 (£35 in local stores) and the black and white around £20-£25. but the speed was great and for photo printing it was quite good (although not as good as my friends Epson Photo at the time). Problem with the Epson printers in those days was the text printing was pretty poor with 360dpi compared to the lexmarks 600dpi.

Well in the couple of months the printer was starting to act up, so I decided to call it a day and reside it to the attic. it had served me well (and probably cost £300 in cartridges over the years as well).

Heading down to my local store I had a quick look over the printers, some very nice Epsons. not in any rush I decided to go over to the cartridge section to check out the prices for the inks.

Epson = between £15-£25 for both black and colour (yes I know you can get them for less on the net or buy the cheaper refills).

Lexmark - still the same £30 mark for both.

Canon - £15 for colour and £9 for black n white !!!!!!!!

Thinking I was making a mistake I wandered over to the young spotty salesman and got him to hook up a cheap ass canon S300 printer to take it for a couple of test prints. Text quality excellent, photo printing acceptable and the price?? only £50 !!!

Walking over to purchase one, the salesman pointed me to a special deal canon were offering, a Canon scanner with the S300 and extra inks along with some photo paper for £70.

Taking it home ive been really impressed with the overall output of the printer, im not expecting alot for the money, but for letters, the occasional photo, build quality and cost (both of printer and inks) I really find it hard to fault.

Lexmark, well......... im certainly not going back to paying that for the cartridges.

peroni · Dec 1, 2002, 08:25 PM

Wow, buying hardware without researching first!?

I can't remember last time I bought something without first extensively read user feedback.

I also have a Canon scanner, which model is it? They have those flat ones that not only look gorgeous but also work beautifully

Anyway sounds like a very good deal you got there!

Zardon · Dec 1, 2002, 08:49 PM

the printer I bought was on impulse years ago, and yeah I kinda regreted it a few months later. dont we all buy something sometime that isnt perhaps what we had expected?

its a learning experience!

the scanner is the entry level 646U, nice and slimline in blue and its fine for general document scanning (I work with £50,000 drum scanners in my trade anyway so if I need a 35mm or high res image

.......)

I also have an older Hewlett packard scanner which cost considerably more than the little canon, it has better optics but absolutely terrible drivers within XP.

Chaos · Dec 1, 2002, 09:06 PM

I currently don't have a printer on my system since I also own a Lexmark and refuse to buy their cartrides due to the price.

Don't get me wrong it has served me well but as Zardon has stated their ink is way too expensive....

Dec 1, 2002, 05:32 PM	#1
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	Lexmark, 2nd mortgage? For years ive had a Lexmark Z52 printer and the reason I bought it was at the time it was the fastest bubblejet for printing letters I could get my hands on. All was fine and dandy. Until I went in to get my cartridges replaced and I was very pissed off to see that the colour cartridges cost around £30 (£35 in local stores) and the black and white around £20-£25. but the speed was great and for photo printing it was quite good (although not as good as my friends Epson Photo at the time). Problem with the Epson printers in those days was the text printing was pretty poor with 360dpi compared to the lexmarks 600dpi. Well in the couple of months the printer was starting to act up, so I decided to call it a day and reside it to the attic. it had served me well (and probably cost £300 in cartridges over the years as well). Heading down to my local store I had a quick look over the printers, some very nice Epsons. not in any rush I decided to go over to the cartridge section to check out the prices for the inks. Epson = between £15-£25 for both black and colour (yes I know you can get them for less on the net or buy the cheaper refills). Lexmark - still the same £30 mark for both. Canon - £15 for colour and £9 for black n white !!!!!!!! Thinking I was making a mistake I wandered over to the young spotty salesman and got him to hook up a cheap ass canon S300 printer to take it for a couple of test prints. Text quality excellent, photo printing acceptable and the price?? only £50 !!! Walking over to purchase one, the salesman pointed me to a special deal canon were offering, a Canon scanner with the S300 and extra inks along with some photo paper for £70. Taking it home ive been really impressed with the overall output of the printer, im not expecting alot for the money, but for letters, the occasional photo, build quality and cost (both of printer and inks) I really find it hard to fault. Lexmark, well......... im certainly not going back to paying that for the cartridges.

Dec 1, 2002, 08:25 PM	#2
peroni DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: The Netherlands Posts: 591 Rep Power: 0	Wow, buying hardware without researching first!? I can't remember last time I bought something without first extensively read user feedback. I also have a Canon scanner, which model is it? They have those flat ones that not only look gorgeous but also work beautifully Anyway sounds like a very good deal you got there! __________________ Gaming Rig 3DMark2k1 PCMark2k2 The Server 3Dmark2k1 PCMark2k2 Notebook 3Dmark2k1 PCMark2k2

Dec 1, 2002, 09:06 PM	#4
Chaos Number Nine Join Date: May 2002 Location: Nova Scotia Posts: 5,268 Rep Power: 167 System Specs	I currently don't have a printer on my system since I also own a Lexmark and refuse to buy their cartrides due to the price. Don't get me wrong it has served me well but as Zardon has stated their ink is way too expensive.... __________________

Dec 1, 2002, 08:49 PM	Thread Starter #3
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179	the printer I bought was on impulse years ago, and yeah I kinda regreted it a few months later. dont we all buy something sometime that isnt perhaps what we had expected? its a learning experience! the scanner is the entry level 646U, nice and slimline in blue and its fine for general document scanning (I work with £50,000 drum scanners in my trade anyway so if I need a 35mm or high res image .......) I also have an older Hewlett packard scanner which cost considerably more than the little canon, it has better optics but absolutely terrible drivers within XP.