LEXMARK C534 COLOR TONER CARTRIDGES SET

Lexmark C534 Review

Overview:

Like the Lexmark C530 and C532 before it, the Lexmark C534 color laser printer produces 22 pages per minute of color output for a reasonable up front cost. This updated version of the hardware features a few welcome tweaks such as a higher maximum monthly duty cycle and (at last) a backlit LCD screen, giving users a little bit more bang for their buck when dealing with this well rounded, semi affordable color printer.

Pros:

The Lexmark C534 is supposedly fast enough to print color pages of output at 22 sheets per minute and black and white prints at 24 pages per minute. While real world testing drops the printers abilities down somewhere near the 17 page per minute range, this is still a just about average speed for the affordable color laser printer category. Those who require speeds reaching and surpassing 30 pages per minute will have to look to brands such as Konica that manufacture units that cost multiple thousands of dollars, while those who have the time to wait a few extra seconds for their color material and wish to save three or four figures can rely on a printer like the Lexmark C534.

While it is always preferable for a printer to be able to break the 10 second mark when it comes to first page out times, the Lexmark C534 falls only just shy with 10.5 seconds for black and white prints and 11 seconds for color output. On top of all its average speed specifications, the device delivers respectable print resolution and quality.

The printer is capable of executing true 1200 x 1200 dot per inch printing, as well as an image mode that produces 2400 x 600 dot per inch output. Either way you go, the Lexmark C534 is sure to produce color imagery that is sub photo quality, but much better than the 600 x 600 dot per inch standard seen in budget printers.

Cons:

Though the Lexmark C534 is listed as having a 51 dBA operating volume, the printer is, in reality, extremely loud; much louder than much of its competition. While in standby mode the device runs at 31 dBA which is quite a bit of noise for a tiny little cooling fan. Buyers of laser print technology are often drawn by how much quieter the machines are than inkjets, but Lexmark C534 will leave them disappointed.

The fact that the Lexmark C534 is not equipped with any type of straight through paper path option severely limits the type of special media it is compatible with. While envelopes can be printed to, they may be permanently bent from being forced through harsh feed paths. Very thick media such as heavy card stock cannot be used at all with this printer due to the single paper path option.

While it is worth celebrating the backlit screen on the Lexmark C534, as the C530 models were not equipped with this feature, the actual navigation of the printer’s menus is not as intuitive as it should be, and the dedicated buttons are not very clear, diminishing the printer’s user friendliness to some degree.