-
CNET editors' rating:
3.0 stars
Good
Detailed editors' rating -
Average user rating:
Write your own review
Product summary
The good: Zippy speed; compact; quiet; Ethernet ready for small networks.
The bad: Limited paper-handling options; so-so text quality.
The bottom line: The E332n hits the small-workgroup sweet spot, but it wouldn't fit as well in a large office.
Specifications: Printer Type: Workgroup printer - Laser - Monochrome; Max media size: Legal (8.5 in x 14 in), A4 (8.25 in x 11.7 in); Connectivity technology: Wired; See full specs
Price range: $575.59
CNET editors' review
- Reviewed on: 10/06/2004
- Released on: 06/01/2004
Lexmark sells toner cartridges in two sizes: the 2,500-page version ships with the printer and costs $74 to replace, and a 6,000-page model sells for $119. Add the 30,000-page imaging drum for $62.50 to the small cartridge, and a page of text costs a pricey 3.2 cents or a reasonable 2.2 cents with the larger cartridge. The back of the E332n sports a 10/100 Ethernet interface, a USB 2.0 port, and even an old-fashioned parallel port. We noticed one small design flaw: the power switch sits on the back, forcing you to grope among the ports to start up or shut down.
CNET encountered another minor problem when hooking up the E332n on a USB connection. As soon as we attached the cable, Windows XP Home jumped the gun and installed the printer as a generic PostScript device, without requesting the correct drivers. We could have avoided this detour if Lexmark had sent us the setup poster, which advises you to install the drivers first. Lexmark provides drivers for Macintosh OS 8.6 and later, Red Hat and SuSE Linux, numerous versions of Unix, IBM OS/400, and all versions of Windows since 98.
The Lexmark E332n is overkill for an individual or a home office, but it's also inappropriate for a large office. Because this printer requires you to hand-feed envelopes or letterhead one piece at a time, to avoid mixing paper from two different sources, everyone in the workgroup would have to stop printing from the main tray before you start printing a hand-fed job. The main paper tray holds only 250 sheets, but you can add a 550-sheet paper tray for a pricey $199. A rear exit provides a straight paper path for card stock and labels, but you'll have to catch the prints as they exit so that they won't flutter to the floor. Lexmark doesn't sell a duplexer add-on for the E332n, an option that's available for the more expensive Xerox Phaser 4500B. The control panel's five inscrutable status lights can display 24 different conditions and errors, described on Lexmark's quick-reference card. But with so many permutations, we'd prefer an LCD to tell us what to do, the way the ones on the IBM Infoprint 1332n and the Xerox Phaser 4500B do.The E332n supports up to 160MB of memory, but it comes with a standard 32MB, which is too limited for demanding jobs. When we fed the printer a 128-page Acrobat file to print two pages per sheet and paginate for manual duplexing, the document slowed and failed to finish, and eventually it disappeared from the print queue. Adding memory is easy, but it comes at a steep price. For example, a 64MB module costs $550, so you'll want to buy your own DIMM memory module.
The Lexmark E332n driver provides useful capabilities, such as showing you how to insert a document for manual duplexing. The driver also includes an account-tracking feature that records how much people are printing and can retrieve watermarks and overlays from the network. You can pick a watermark or an overlay to print on a page, but to create a new watermark or overlay, you have to use the Printer Properties window, which is subject to network administrator access restrictions. Unfortunately, Lexmark gives only the system administrator the power to create or delete watermarks, which takes away control from individual users. Lexmark also includes its sophisticated MarkVision network printer-management software, which provides real-time status reports for all printers on your network and even performs remote diagnostic and troubleshooting tasks. That puts the E332n's networking capabilities in a class with those of the IBM Infoprint 1332n and the Xerox Phaser 4500B.
Overall, the Lexmark E332n performed well in CNET Labs' tests, and it worked quietly, exceeding our expectations for a printer of its size. At 21 pages of text per minute (ppm), it's among the top five fastest on our chart, in line with higher-end laser printers, such as the IBM Infoprint 1332n, which scored 22ppm. The Lexmark also did very well with graphics, pumping out up to 16ppm, an impressive score for a small machine. Continue readingUser reviews
Write your own review Be the first one to review Lexmark E332n and share your experience with the CNET community!
Lexmark E332n:
