Lexmark E320 review

At $299, the Lexmark E320 is priced like a personal laser printer. But look a little closer, and you'll find that the E320 is everything but a personal laser printer. With its speed, features, and expandability options, the E320 is well suited for offices with multiple users and would do fine at the end of a small network. At $299, the Lexmark E320 is priced like a personal laser printer. But look a little closer, and you'll find that the E320 is everything but a personal laser printer. With its speed, features, and expandability options, the E320 is well suited for offices with multiple users and would do fine at the end of a small network.

Gung ho to go
Following the instructions provided, we found setting up and connecting the E320 via USB fairly simple. The printer supports a variety of environments, including Windows 95, 98, Me, NT 4.0 (Server), and 2000; Mac OS 8.6 or later via USB, standard Ethernet connection, or MarkNet Print Server; and Red Hat Linux 6.1, 6.2, and 7.0. In addition to USB, the printer also sports a parallel port (cables not included) and offers an optional external serial adapter ($103) and Ethernet and Token Ring ports (ranging from $255 to $530, depending on the number of ports).

The small size of the E320 is deceiving. It measures just 8.7 by 15 by 14.2 inches, easily fitting on the corner of a desk, but its petite size is no indication of how you can trick out this printer. It ships with 4MB of memory but is expandable to 68MB. Out of the box, paper handling is fairly basic, with a 150-sheet input tray and support for 100 sheets of output. However, for $155 you can add an optional 250-sheet drawer, thus boosting your input capacity to 400 sheets, or 150 sheets more than the $399 HP LaserJet 1200 and the $299 Brother HL-1440 can handle. The printer supports the usual media types, including envelopes, transparencies, and labels. For heavier media, the E320 has a manual single-sheet slot with a straighter paper path.

Sophisticated software
In addition to its expandability, the E320's software sets it apart from other personal laser printers. The drivers serve up the full range of printing options, including control over the resolution, toner darkness, overlays, and more. The printer also offers a host of customization options you won't find on lower-end printers. For example, a Custom Form option for paper and envelopes lets you set the width and length. There are also Personal Profiles, which let users on a network customize individual settings, although we could find no explanation of how to configure these in the user guide, online help, or index. One thing we'd like to see in the software is a one-button return to default settings. You can restore defaults, but the process is tricky and buried deep in the user guide. On the plus side, the software includes a great summary graphic that shows all of the options you have selected, such as paper type, orientation, resolution, and collating options.

Powerful performance
The Lexmark E320's performance was head and shoulders above that of other printers in this price range. In CNET Labs' tests, it clocked an impressive 12.1ppm (pages per minute), compared to just 11.4ppm from the HP LaserJet 1200 and the Brother HL-1440. Combined text and graphics was even more extraordinary, coming in at 11.4ppm--well ahead of the HP's 8.3ppm and the Brother's 9.6ppm.

The Lexmark's output quality couldn't measure up to that of the HP and the Brother, however. The E320's text was sharp and legible, but at smaller point sizes, the letters appeared light and lost some detail, especially italicized and serif text. Our graphics document also looked good, but we noticed some banding and loss of detail in shaded areas.