Lexmark Z 601 Color Jetprinter

Choice
Firstly I should say that I am a complete novice at all things computer-orientated and have never bought a printer in my life before this one! I needed a printer that was small and light and could provide a reasonable standard of print for a low-to-average user and the Lexmark Z601 has not only lived up to but exceeded my expectations in this respect. Its dimensions are width 40.4cm, depth 21.6cm, height 13.5cm and it weighs only 1.8kg.

Purchase
I saw the Lexmark Z601 in the Argos catalogue for £29.99 and went to see it “in the flesh” at PC World just so I could be sure it was what I thought it was! I knew from the Argos catalogue that a colour cartridge was included but that I would have to buy the usb lead and black cartridge separately (sigh!) so there were no surprises there! I probably could have saved a few pounds if I’d shopped around, however I’ve heard printers are notorious for breaking down (and I had to bear in mind that this was one of the cheapest around!) so I wanted to take out the Argos Replacement Product Cover (which at £4.99 for 3 years cover (including accidental damage!) seemed like a good deal to me) so that I would have some peace of mind. Argos do a choice of two usb lead lengths (1.8m cable for £9.99, 3m cable for £11.99) which didn’t seem too bad, so I bought everything in one go.

Installation
Knowing nothing about these things, I was a bit worried that I would not be able to connect it up right or get it going but the installation was really easy (and if I can do it, anyone can!). The instruction manual was very simple (with diagrams!) and the disk to load the software was very straightforward to follow.

Other advantages
I was pleased to see that there were a choice of 4 print qualities (Quick, Normal, Better and Best) and surprised that even the Quick setting provided a reasonable print quality (certainly better than I had hoped for!). Printing is quicker than I expected - supposedly 10 pages per minute in black and 8 pages per minute in colour though I have never timed it! The printer will handle A4, envelopes, transparencies and labels as well as your standard A4 paper and the quality of photos is more than satisfactory.

Whenever you print the computer shows an on-screen indicator of the amount of ink left and tells you when printing has started and is complete. The printer is very quiet when printing, and has a fold down lid to protect it from getting dust in its innards when not in use which I find very useful.

Disadvantages
The only disadvantage is the printer cartridges. You don’t have to print many pages (even in Quick mode) to see a drop in the ink level and the cartridges themselves seem quite expensive. Someone suggested using the refillable type of cartridges so perhaps I’ll investigate and give them a try – if anyone has any experience (good or bad) of refillable/replaceable cartridges, please let me know!

All in all, I would say the Lexmark Z601 is a good value-for-money printer if your usage is low, however if you expect to do a lot of printing you may want to consider another printer that uses cheaper ink cartridges (and possible comes with the usb lead supplied).