Lexmark E 120n

...major problem for me, as Lexmark consumables are notoriously expensive. However, after reading up on it a bit, I find that Lexmark offer a 'Returns Program' toner, which is priced at a reasonable level, with the condition that the toner be sent back to them after use, presumably to compete with the likes of Cartridge World.

As I have mentioned, the main requirement for me was that the printer supported Linux, and this one does. It ...
...was quite easy, using the Lexmark provided utility.

Once I had it running, it was impressive to behold. Having had a reasonably fast inkjet printer before, I was expecting it to be fast, but this thing blinded me with its speed. It is rated at 19ppm (A4), 20ppm (Letter), and I would believe it too. The specification says that the printout of the first page should be within 8 seconds, and this could reasonably be said to be true.
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I bought his printer because my old printer had finally decided not to take cartridges any more, and I needed to print urgently.

I decided that I wanted a laser printer, as the bulk of the printing that I did was black and white, and mostly text. This is the kind of thing best suited to a laser printer. I also wanted to be able to network my printer quite easily, as my house-mate also uses it for printing. I had tried using a print server in the past, but had problems getting it to support Linux properly.

Since my computer runs exclusively on Linux, this was a major factor for me in my choice of printer. I had a quick look through the selection of printers available locally, and this was the only one that I could find that met these criteria.

I gave Cartridge World a ring, to see if they could refill the toner cartridges for this printer. When I spoke to them, they didn't think they could, but they may be able to in the future. This was at first a major problem for me, as Lexmark consumables are notoriously expensive. However, after reading up on it a bit, I find that Lexmark offer a 'Returns Program' toner, which is priced at a reasonable level, with the condition that the toner be sent back to them after use, presumably to compete with the likes of Cartridge World.

As I have mentioned, the main requirement for me was that the printer supported Linux, and this one does. It also supports:
- Windows 98SE,ME,2000,XP,XP64,Server 2003
- Mac OS 9,10.2,10.3,10.4
- Linux (as mentioned)

The system requirements vary between systems, but are not unreasonable.

The final requirement for me was that the printer support easy networking. This printer does indeed support networking, and supports it well. I just plugged the printer into my network, and it obtained itself an IP address from the DHCP server, and was easy to detect on my (Kubuntu) Linux machine. I didn't even have to use the supplied driver disk.

I walked 2 miles down to the shop to buy this printer, carried it all the way home, and then realised that there were no data cables supplied. If I had read the box more carefully, then I would have known this. A little tip for other potential buyers is to arrange transport back from the shop - it's not heavy, but 2 miles is a long way to carry anything in a large box.

If I had read the contents list more carefully, I would have noticed the bottom line. Still, here's the whole list:
- Printer
- Starter Cartridge (Return program) - only does 500 or so pages
- Long life photoconductor kit
- Set up sheet
- Driver CD and (online) Documentation
- Power cord
- PURCHASE ETHERNET OR USB CABLES SEPARATELY

Fortunately, I had a spare cable, so I was able to start setting up.

The installation on my house-mate's Windows XP machine was a little more complicated than I would have expected, but was not impossible. There are instructions given for installation, but they didn't seem to work for me, I had to set up the TCP/IP port manually, though this was quite easy, using the Lexmark provided utility.

Once I had it running, it was impressive to behold. Having had a reasonably fast inkjet printer before, I was expecting it to be fast, but this thing blinded me with its speed. It is rated at 19ppm (A4), 20ppm (Letter), and I would believe it too. The specification says that the printout of the first page should be within 8 seconds, and this could reasonably be said to be true.

Image quality, according to the specification is 1200, 600x600dpi. I don't have the ability to count dpi using just my eyes, but the pictures are presentable for a black and white printer, and the text is very crisp and clear.

All in all, I am quite happy with this printer, and would recommend it to anyone who wants a reasonably priced, but effective networked laser printer. 

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