Lexmark MC3426
Packed with features and exceptionally fast, but this printer is both expensive to buy and expensive to run
SCORE
PRICE £317 (£380 inc VAT) from printerbase.co.uk
If you’re looking for a printer to churn out colour pages at speed, this is the one. It was the fastest machine among the 14 we tested, exceeding 19ppm in our standard 25-page mono print test and accelerating to 21ppm in our demanding, laser-only 50-page test. It was joint first in the colour tests, too, inching past the 15ppm mark. It’s also the fastest at duplex printing. You get the idea. It’s fast.
If only the printer’s consumables weren’t so costly. Even if you opt to use Lexmark’s recycling programme, which works out cheaper if you commit to sending used cartridges back, at 5.3p per page it still has the most expensive mono prints
amongst the lasers. It caught up a little with colour prints, but remains pricey at 13.1p per page.
Mono print quality is great, but the high pr price of the printer doesn’t lif lift it significantly above the th cheaper HP and Broth Brother printers on test. We hoped h for better in colour prints pr in particular, with so some banding evident in colour co photos and on graphi graphics.
One of the reasons why this printer costs more, mor however, is the scann scanner built into the top. You’ll be kept waiting 18secs for mono mo copies, a very average time, b but colour copies emerged faste faster than any y other – a second faster than mono copies at 17secs, in fact.
Scanning isn’t one of this MFP MFP’s s strengths. We’re not too concerned that it only goes up to 600dpi, but we found that scans came through more blurred than its rivals, particularly falling short of the quality we saw in Canon’s scanners.
Controlling the printer’s functions is a breeze with the classy, 2.8in colour touchscreen. It makes it easy to scroll through options with a swiping motion, and the design is clear and easy to read. You can use it to print from the USB port on the front, as well as to control tasks such as copying and faxing.
If you need a fast laser printer with all the multifunctional extras, this is it, but it isn’t as well-rounded as rivals and it’s pricey. Tie that in with the cost of consumables and you’re paying over the odds for everything. Consider the lesser features of the cheaper laser printers before you commit to the MC3426.