Lexmark E 330

'''Introduction'''

Lexmark E 330, a workgroup monochrome laser printer, is my main printer at my workplace. With the size of around one foot in all dimensions (Width: 39.6 cm X Depth: 35.3 cm X Height: 24.9 cm), the printer can be placed almost everywhere in the office; on a tables, cupboards, shelves, or else. It is a network printer which surpassed 40,000 pages right now, so, I have many things to review about!!

'''Installation ...
...personal printer. The driver for Lexmark E 330 is included in the package which I found it can easily be installed. You can plug it in USB or parallel port as you like. After that, the printer had to be installed in the network which was beyond my responsibility. The IT staff was there to set it up. I watched them and realised that, it was also easy to setup Lexmark E 330 as a network printer too but what I missed was the know-how.

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Introduction

Lexmark E 330, a workgroup monochrome laser printer, is my main printer at my workplace. With the size of around one foot in all dimensions (Width: 39.6 cm X Depth: 35.3 cm X Height: 24.9 cm), the printer can be placed almost everywhere in the office; on a tables, cupboards, shelves, or else. It is a network printer which surpassed 40,000 pages right now, so, I have many things to review about!!

Installation and Setup

On the very first day if my use, I've used it as my personal printer. The driver for Lexmark E 330 is included in the package which I found it can easily be installed. You can plug it in USB or parallel port as you like. After that, the printer had to be installed in the network which was beyond my responsibility. The IT staff was there to set it up. I watched them and realised that, it was also easy to setup Lexmark E 330 as a network printer too but what I missed was the know-how.

Speed and Performance

Specification:
- Print Speed: Up to 26 ppm - B/W - A4 (210 x 297 mm), up to 27 ppm - B/W - ANSI A (Letter) (216 x 279 mm)
- Max Resolution (B&W): 1200 dpi x 1200 dpi Image Enhancement Technology: 2400 IQ
- Media Type: Envelopes, transparencies, labels, plain paper, cards

First of all, I am very impressed with Lexmark E 330 speed. The printer use only several seconds to get ready for the first page print and then I can print for an unlimited number of pages with takes only around 5-6 seconds per A4 pages in normal mode. The printing and be increased slightly if I switched to draft mode, less than 5 seconds, approximately. In the best performance mode, I still need three fourths of 10 seconds per page. I previously found this speed only in the large photocopier, not in any printer. Generally, the printer can be printed continuously, but from my experience, I have found that in some particular types of job, such as, high resolution pictures in the same pages, the printer needs some compiling time on those pages which I believe this problem can be solved if the printer's RAM has been expanded from manufacturer default (32 MB) to its maximum capability of 160 MB. From my experience of years' usage, the speed is of about the same since the very first day, so, nowadays, I am still very impressed by the speed of this printer.

Secondly, the printing performance of Lexmark E 330 is of very memorable quality. It produces super high-contrast documents for both texts and pictures. Like other laser printers, I have found that when the toner is almost low, the darkness is dropped a little. When the printer shows that toner level is low, I can continue using it for a while, for environment sakes, by remove the tone and then shake it. Normally, I can use a toner for 2000 pages approximately (can be checked easily).

Printing Options

Lexmark E 330 can be printed in several options. Selecting the option can be done easily in the printing preference. The printing option includes the followings;
- Multiple pages per sheet - this option can be selected to reduce the paper usage; personally I think the printed document will be not good for old workers. I can't make it compatible with Adobe Acrobat Professional 8.1.2 of mine somehow.
- Print on both sides - the printer will print even pages of the document first and will ask you to refill the printed pages back into the feeding tray to print odd pages, so, it's like a semi-automatic option, I would say.
- Book printing - you can also specify number of sheets per bundle, manual refilling of printed pages is also required, another semi-automatic option.
- Poster printing - the printer can print large posters with the option of 3x3, 4x4, etc. A4/letter pages

Supplies

As I have said, the Lexmark E 330 at my office surpassed 40,000 pages. I've found out that, unlike many printers, toner of Lexmark E 330 and its photoconductor are separated. This means you do not need to change the photoconductor every time the toner is low. From my experience, the printer will warn you to replace the photoconductor after 20,000 pages, approximately. You can continually use it without losing printing performance until you are reaching 30,000 pages which the printer will refuse to print any job. Personally, I think its photoconductor has a very long life.

Conclusion

All in all, I think the Lexmark E 330 is the best durable and value-for-money office network printer I have ever used to date. It is remarkable for its speed, performance, and printing options. It can also work greatly as a network printer. The cost for consumable parts is low since the toner and photoconductor are separated. However, it is not a printer of choice if you need a colour printer, or need a printer that can automatically print on both pages. 

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