LEXMARK C522 COLOR TONER CARTRIDGES SET

Lexmark C522 Review

Overview:

The Lexmark C522 color laser printer features some of the latest features in color laser technology, including a smaller footprint and affordable cost. The device is from Lexmark, which means that it is generally more expensive than its competitors, but it is equipped with respectable print resolution and an easy to use control panel that cannot be found on some lower end single function printers.

Pros:

Dimensions of 19 x 17.3 x 15.9 inches (W x D x H) make the Lexmark C522 on the smaller side of color laser printers. With desktop friendly dimensions, the printer is suitable for personal use. Users who would like to partake in sharing of this unique printer can go with the Lexmark C522N version of the hardware that comes complete with a network card.

While the Lexmark C522 is quite a stripped down unit, it does have a few expansion options out there. The device accepts a 500 sheet additional paper tray that brings the device’s paper storage total up to 750 sheets. Of course the unit will become considerably taller with the additional tray, but still will be a far cry from a floor standing unit.

Standard paper storage consists of a single 250 sheet tray that is compatible with letter and legal sized sheets. Non standard media and paper will have to be loaded into the device through its convenient single sheet bypass slot that accepts thicker paper and transparencies, not to mention envelopes.

The Lexmark C522’s 20 page per minute print speed is consistent with color and black and white prints, though only for letter sized paper as A4 paper printing will run slightly slower at about 19 pages per minute. These speeds are slow in comparison to black and white printing, but are up to par for the price range that you will find this printer in. Unfortunately its first page out time of 13 seconds for both types of print is very slow indeed; much lower than average.

Print quality for monochrome and color can be adjusted up to true 1200 x 1200 dots per inch. The printer can also be set to what is called “4800 color quality” which consists of 2400 x 600 dots per inch of resolution. This mode does not seem to work that well and, as usual, users are pretty much better off going with the true 1200 resolution than some gimmicky enhanced quality. Overall, the Lexmark C522 puts out color image quality that is just about average; nothing special.

Cons:

With a 57 pound weight, the Lexmark C522 is on the heavier side of personal color laser printers. The device does not include a built in duplexer to account for the extra weight and printers such as the very similar HP Color LaserJet 2600n produce very similar results in a smaller package. When comparing the device to other printers, one will also notice a considerable amount more setup required for the Lexmark C522. This is primarily due to the over packaging that Lexmark makes buyers deal with upon initial setup.