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Average user rating:
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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6 out of 6 people found this review helpful
3.5 stars
"Good for business/home. Designers will quibble with issues. Customer service needs improvement"
Pros: Fast, sharp output quality, LCD is backlit, minimal hatching for a color laser
Cons: Jet-engine noise, colors muted, light image printing issues, media size limits, customer service
Summary: Opinion from a graphic designer after putting C534dn through the paces with high volume and graphics printing. Running on Mac OSX. Here are my conclusions:
THE GOOD
* C534 is very fast. I printed 4000 pages of a graphics-heavy report and it barely blinked. Only had to realign the K ink cartridge once about halfway through.
* Color output is quite good without much graininess. It is a little muted in vibrancy compared to samples obtained from Okidata 5500. However the C534 ink lacks the nasty waxiness that you get Oki inks, so on the whole it is better. Ink saturation is better than HP 2605. Speaking strictly from a Mac 0SX perspective, the output is a little dark, but I have not tried tweaking color settings yet.
* Font printing has been excellent with no substitutions found so far, even with non-standard designer fonts like FF Meta.
* Text output is clear and sharp for blacks, not as much for color fonts (which is typical for color lasers)
* Photo printing is good (for a laser) but jpeg images with light tonal areas such as pale blue cloudy skies can be a bit unpredictable with potential for banding.
* Consumables (ink) last well, even beyond their "low ink" status warning. Lexmark's ink standard shipping on their order service is quick, but I suppose it depends on where you are.
* Based on calculation, the cost of ownership of the C534 fairs better than the Okidata 5500 after you replace ink cartridges twice or was it three times? I forget. (w. cartridge return program)
THE MIDDLING
* Overall machine fit and finish appears good. Labelling good. It is an expensive machine, but from all indications, you get what you paid for.
* Form factor is hefty. Be prepared for how large this printer is. That being said, the location of wiring ports is on the side, which makes for better access. Why couldn't they put the "on" switch there too?
THE BAD
* Noise level is poor. Sounds like a jet engine during warming up cycle. My big gripe is c534's sudden, loud re-warm up cycle which occurs without warning. Can startle.
* With no straight passthrough, you are limited in media choices. Not a good choice if you are looking beyond standard sizes and weights for envelope and letter. This is best as a high volume business machine, not a graphic designer's photo quality machine (go with Epson for photo quality).
* While backlit, the menu screen operation is not very intuitive and takes some getting used to. Lexmark needs to do more usability tests on their menu system functionality. The "check mark" and "back arrow" buttons need clearer, more appropriate labelling. On the plus side, the "show me" feature with animated images is a godsend.
THE UGLY
* Getting output print samples prior to purchase was like trying to pry teeth. Slow and painful. What arrived did not show a full spectrum of printer's capabilities.
* Lexmark customer service kept passing me from department to department (3 times) when I wanted to buy an extended warranty and find out about product ink program options (conflicting and missing information on their website).Finally I had to give up after customer service rep admitted their website store has issues in not listing product add-on options such as extended warranty.
Where to buy
Lexmark C534dn:
$781.95 - $999.99
| store | price | in stock? | rating |
|---|---|---|---|
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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$999.99 | See Site |
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OfficeGrabs.com
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$781.95 | No |
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