Print
Discuss
Send to friend
Space-saving multifunction devices are all the rage. For the home user, they make a great deal of sense, as they perform the job of several PC peripherals while occupying the space of just one. Lexmark's X73 is an all-in-one printer, scanner and copier, and it also lets you fax via your PC.
The X73 is compatible with both PCs and Macs, thanks to the USB connection. Although this could be annoying for those who would prefer to keep their USB ports free for other peripherals, USB is faster and uses less obstructive cables.
A USB device can be plugged and unplugged from your PC while it's switched on, whereas with a parallel device, the machine would require rebooting.
Installing the software from the two CD-ROMs is straightforward. The second disc provides additional OCR, photo-editing and fax software.
The accompanying manual isn't great, though. It's comprehensible but lacks depth, and would have been more helpful if it had included more information on the software provided.
The buttons on the front panel have eight functions, including copying in colour or black and white, or scanning an image and sending it straight into an image editor on your PC. Working out how to use the buttons is easy, though, and you'll be scanning and copying those photos in no time.
The X73's printing performance varies depending on whether you choose to print directly from a program or scan a document first. It can print up to nine pages per minute in mono and five pages per minute in colour.
If you want to copy something, the speed is up to nine pages per minute in mono and three pages per minute in colour. The sharp, black, text feature surpassed its claims by providing excellent, waterproof laser-quality text.
The colour printing, however, is of average quality, with grainy, washed-out images, compared with the best printers on the market.
Many multifunction devices scan documents in the same way as a fax machine, feeding paper past the scanning head, but that is a problem if you want to scan anything other than paperwork. Having a proper flatbed scanner on top allows photos to be scanned with ease. If you can't scan a picture exactly as you would like, the accompanying photo-editing software helps with fine tuning.
The scanner claims an optical resolution of 600 x 1200dpi but we were a little disappointed in its reproduction of colour images. It's adequate and captures detail well, but its colour recognition and subsequent reproduction through the printer are poor.
A major flaw in the X73 is that it does not incorporate a fax machine and instead includes software that enables you to fax through your PC. As communication through email is spreading, faxing is soon likely to become a thing of the past anyway; but if you do want to fax from the X73, you'll need to turn on your PC first.
At £169, the X73 is an affordable, flexible device to add to a home PC. There is room for improvement in some aspects of its performance, however, and it is ultimately that which stops it from competing with the best machines on the market.
Contact
Lexmark: 01628 481500 www.lexmark.com
ALSO CONSIDER
HP OFFICEJET V40
A great value all-in-one device.
£199 *****
Reviewed in Computeractive, Issue 89
See also:
Is this all-in-one device good enough for you throw away your printer and scanner? 02 Jan 2003
A capable and low-cost colour scanner, inkjet printer and fax machine. 12 Jun 2002
Space-saving, quality output from this combined fax, printer and scanner. 20 Mar 2001
All Inkjet Printers
del.icio.us
Digg this
reddit!
