Ten Reasons Why You Should Not Buy Lexmark Color Printers
Save Your Money...Get A Better Brand!
I was the recipient of a Lexmark Z42 Color Printer One Year ago, from a family member. I was happy because I really needed a printer to replace my Dell Computer printer, but soon happiness became frustration as I tried to do simple copying jobs with my newly found resource.
Reason 1: Hard to Use
After you set up the computer, it was very hard to use. What made it hard to use was having to down load the software to set up the actual printer on my Dell computer, and be able to find any good "help" information online was very brief and not helpful when I began to have paper jams and general issues with the computer itself. When I downloaded the software, it was not easy for me to understand, and I actually had to call my family member back to the house, so they could help me finish setting up the printer.
Reason 2: Too Many Paper Jams
After I finally got the printer to work, the problem I experienced most was paper jams. Whether it was a paper, a flyer, or an email that I was printing out the paper would get jammed. It was very frustrating because I took my time to make sure the paper in the paper tray was correctly aligned and it was still jamming. When the paper jammed, I would take my time to read through the book for troubleshooting but I would basically have to take off the entire printer and then reprint all my documents. Clearing out the documents from the printer dialog box was hard to delete as well, which caused me to have to work twice as hard to do one thing.
Reason 3: Cartridges Too Expensive
As a writer, having to replace the color and black ink cartridges became too much. I was very frustrated when trying to replace them. Since I had two cartridges, Black and Color Cartridges, I was spending between $30 - 60 on cartridges. The cartridges did not last that long and I basically was buying them very frequently. It was not cost-effective at all for me. I thought they were way too expensive for someone just printing out basic things.
Reason 4: Button Problems.
Every time I would print, the printer button would get stuck. When it was stuck I normally had a print job in their and sometimes had to try to cancel the print job, because then, the paper would get stuck with the button getting stuck. Sometimes if it got stuck bad, I had to take the entire plug and take off the machine that way. Old school but not the best way to resolve a simple problem of shutting off the printer machine.
Reason 5: Odd Error Messages
As I would print sometimes, I would get odd error messages on the screen. When I try to troubleshoot the problem by checking my printer port, I would see nothing. I would have to change the printer port, or delete it and re-install the entire printer to resolve this problem. Again, who wants to do all this work? Not I.
Reason 6: Slow Printing
Several times I would attempt to print out a document. On my screen, I would check the dialog box and it would state that the printer was "scrolling", but as I looked at the printer, I would see no printing. I would hear no activity of the machine. Again, I would have to check the ink level indicator and cable cords. Often times, I would shut down entirely and re-start the entire process again.
Reason 7: Poor Quality Of Printing
Lots of smudges and dark lines on paper would appear on my paper. It was very frustrating.
Reason 8: Too Hard to Maintain
I would try to maintain the computer by cleaning the printing nozzles, but it was hard to clean. Cartridges were sometimes hard to take out of the machine, they would get stuck. Often.
Reason 9: Not Versatile
I didn't think the machine was versatile enough to do multi-tasking. I could barely print out simple projects and the handbook stated I should be able to print out booklets, posters, two-sided documents, and even t-shirt transfers. I once tried the t-shirt transfer but it did not work well enough for me to put on the t-shirt itself. The machine was not as versatile or flexible enough to do more advanced tasks. In other words it didn't live up to the claims in the handbook.
Reason 10: Troubleshooting.
Just using the book and the help function was not assisting me at all. I felt very frustrated and even with trying to access help online, I felt the troubleshooting was not user friendly. I normally would end up calling someone else for help.
Over all, I don't think the product was well for me based on the reasons listed above. I eventually upgraded to a HP All-in-One Printer which has filled the bill.
Published by Pamela Osbey
Pam Osbey works with a nonprofit program that serves foster youth. Currently, she acts as an editor to authors on new works. She writes about publishing and the arts. She lives in New York where she is worki... View profile
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- Basic print jobs are not executed well.
- Cartridges are expensive.
- The printer is not versatile
9 Comments
Post a CommentI agree that this is an old Lexmark model. I also would offer an opinion about something entirely different. Dell PC's are not user friendly. Dell build their PC's with whatever parts are available. So 2 Dell identical models can have entirely different parts in them. They use different manufacturers and piece meal their systems together for the cheapest possilbe cost. IBM and HP do not do this. So my conclusion is some of the error messages and problems with software was contributed by the fact you have a Dell system. The old addage you get what you pay for still applies. Dell is cheap for a reason.
I wouldnt judge all Lexmark printers as being duds, I have one that is an all in one and so far I havent had any problems with it, it also has the ability to fax through the computer and has pictbridge capabilities, it also has a very simple user interface that my young son could even use if he has too, printouts are good, though I probabily wouldnt use it for photo's, except the odd one here and there though, but didnt buy it for that anyway, I agree ink for it is a joke, but you can purchase cheap refill kits, my lexmark was $89au, which wasn't bad for an all in one for home use.
I am glad that you found something that works out for YOU though. Thats all that counts.
I am interested in finding out where such an old model was originally purchased if it is so 'new'. The Z42 was originally manufactured in 2000-2001 period. Windows XP wasnt even out around the time that the drivers for this model were made. This is an very old printer. I personally have not seen it around in stores for more than 3 years. It may have sat in the box for years be being used.
I agree that Lexmark does tend to have a shady reputation of their low/no cost printers, but of course I would expect the same (and indeed have seen the same) out of all low end printers no matter the brand. I have seen so many times someone purchase a printer in the $50 and less arena and expect it to print out 100 or more sheets/week and then complain that it broke. Thats not what they were intended for. *Just an observation from experience, with no association with what the original poster was commenting on*
Thanks Tony. I did not receive an older model at all. Sorry to tell you that but it was not an old model and it was gently used (1-2 months) by a family member. It was not a year old. It was not "worn" down as Taylor states. I only used the gently used model for 1 month before getting a HP all in three printer which is working out fine - now I have a fax machine, a scanner and a copier with my printer. But I appreciate all the diverse comments. I agree to disagree. Thank you.
What she's writing isn't that out of the ordinary for Lexmark inkjets--they have a lot of quality issues, both the hardware and the output (especially photos). I have an HP and it works like a charm, always has.
You received a very worn down and old model that may have been produced more specifically to run on Windows 98 than Windows XP. As with many manufacturers sometimes a particular model is a dud, perhaps this is what this one was, although after so many years it is hard to say as manufacturers only rate the estimated life at 3 years. Lexmark does have many models that are fast and easy to use in their current lineup and I dont think they would have stayed in business as long as they have by making all their printers as horrendous as yours seems to have been. Maybe you should try something a little more "recent" regardless of what brand that may be.
When my family member used the same printer, it was not used and it was not the best then. He thought maybe it was his computer, but it wasn't. I have several friends who have had the same problem with Lexmark's printers. Thanks for your feedback though.
OK. You recieved an old printer from a family member. Its obvious this was a used printer, because you had to download the driver from the web. A new printer would come with an installation CD. Also, this model hasn't been made in years. This would be like receiving a 4 year old Gateway computer from a friend and telling us that we shouldn't buy a Gateway because you can't play any new games on it. Obviously your family member used this printer to its life and then, knowing it had problems, pawned it off onto you. It sounds like you should be upset at this family member and not at Lexmark.