Lexmark may not be the first name you think of when you consider purchasing a new printer for home or at work. They are not what I would consider to be one of the "big names" in printer. People normally think of Cannon, Epson and HP. However, this is a very robust manufacturer for office and home printing solutions, if a little expensive on consumables.
Reason for purchase. This printer is actually recommended by our software supplier as it is fully supported in our bespoke software. So caught between a rock and a hard place, I always opt for the printers that are supported. However, Im pleasantly suprised with the results.
Looks/ergonomics. the T640 is a direct replacement for the T630 which in turn has been direct aesthetic decendants tothe T610 range. They all look the same and all seem to perform the same until the T640. It now has lost its contoured curved look and gone for a sleek, angular design. The basic layout remains the same. The front of the printer comprises of the Paper feed draw that is built in and can take up to 200 sheets of paper, as well as the drop down Paper/Envelope feeder. This in turn is linked as a "double door" layout to the control panel which is liftable to access the Toner Cartridge. Still with me? good! The beige drabness of the casing has in some way been replaced with charcoal grey sides but retains its colouration on the front, top and back. On/Off switch is recessed and towards the rear on the side. This can be a right pain when stacking 1 printer next to another. Power Sockets are also access from the side and need a 90 degree plug to allow printers to stand side by side. Network connectivity is built in to the printer thus eliminating the need for Jet Direct boxes to put it on the network.
Setup/functionality. Setting the printer up is straightforward. The Control Panel is vastly improved with more buttons. Extra controls just simplifies the process of setting up instead of confusing the issue. The Numeric Keypad with text style numbers helps when typing text entries in during set up. The display screen has also been extended so more can be read and digested without scrolling through single lines of text. A nice little addition is the USB port on the front of the picture. Handy for direct transfer of files or connectivity. The printer cannot internally duplex but an additional piece of hardware can be bought to do this function.
Speed/Print Quality. Dont forget this is a MONOTONE printer so it is not going to produce colour documents. However the speed it is able to print letters is amazing. It almost spits the pages out and at a fantastic quality. Only downside is it still suffers the uneven "graining" of print when the toners are running low. You do get a warning but can end up with printless stripes down your pages. We use them for producing large multi page documents for clients and these are always crisp, ledgible and fast!
Toners. Hmmm....We use the high Yield toners from Lexmark and these will set you back between £160-£200 each. Very pricey and lets the printer down badly. However for this you do get your 30,000+ pages of print easily. Fitting is quite straightforward but again you need to open 2 doors to fit it and remember to close them in the right order! The times i have not and then needed to open it all up again. Remember it is a monotone printer so you only need to buy black ink toners.
Expansion. 2 Great additions are available for this printer. 1 of these i feel should be included in the printer itself as most of the competitor printers seem to offer this built in. A duplex unit can be purchased for £150 that sits either under the printer or between the printer and the expansion draws. It is a matter of placing the printer on the duplexer. No screwing or drivers need installing. This works well for double sided documentation if a little noisy. The other essential addition for our office is the abilit to add an extra 2 paper trays to the printer. These can be either 250 or 500 sheet trays and again just allow the printer to rest on top. The in built mechanism allows the printer to pick up paper from these trays.
Problems. One thing we have found with the T640 and as a matter of fact all the Lexmark range is its sensitivity to changes in paper. If we use a slightly waxier or thinner grade paper to our usual supplier, it tends to suffer from paper jams. While the printer is able to identify where the jam is and warn you on screen, it sometimes requires a bit of head scratching to work out how to remove it. Another issue is the graining of toners as already mentioned and also the maintenance of the printer. This can be a little tricky if you dont know what you are doing as replacing fuser and transfer units can be messy and difficult.
Pricing. The Printer itself retails about £700 which is about right for its abilities. However be warned the price of consumables is very high.
heavy media, recycled media and specialty forms, Lexmark T640 series printer can be easily tailored to an array of business output application needs through the s...
heavy media, recycled media and specialty forms, Lexmark T640 series printer can be easily tailored to an array of business output application needs through the s...
