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The E350 series is part of Lexmark's ecofriendly line of printers. It employs the separate photoconductor and toner design we discussed in the review of the C350dn. Because the photoconductor has a much longer life than any of Lexmark's toner cartridges, it makes sense to separate the components so that you need to replace each one only when it expires.
The E350d and the E352dn both ship with a 366MHz processor and 32MB of onboard memory (expandable to 160MB). The E450dn has a slightly faster processor--400MHz--and ships with 64MB of RAM (expandable to 320MB). All three models offer connection via USB port and a parallel connector, but the E352dn and the E450dn also offer Ethernet connectivity for sharing the printer across a network. Lexmark also offers a wireless print adapter for cable-free printing. The $350 Samsung ML-3051ND offers wired networking and the same processor speed and memory capacity as the E450dn, making it a better value than Lexmark E350 series.
Performance
The Lexmark E350d is a little speed demon of a laser printer. In CNET Labs' tests, it cranked out a text document at a rate of 24.13 pages per minute and a page of mixed text and graphics at an impressive 25.47ppm. The comparably priced Samsung ML-3051ND prints the same pages at 19.2ppm and 19.8ppm, respectively, and the HP LaserJet 1022n prints text at 15.91ppm and graphics at 15.3ppm. Lexmark advertises the same print speeds for all models in the E350 series, so you can apply the numbers we found to the E352dn and the E450dn as well.
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Unsurprisingly, the Lexmark E350d displayed excellent text quality, with clear, sharp characters unmarred by jaggedness. The graphics quality wasn't quite as good, but more than serviceable. Details were sharp, but the photo and graphics elements were marred by some minor cross-hatching, and we noticed some minor compression in the dark end of the grayscale. We found the Samsung ML-3051ND's quality to be roughly the same.
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Service and support
Lexmark backs the E350d with a one-year warranty. Free and toll-free phone support is available weekdays from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and on Saturdays from noon to 6 p.m. Eastern Time for the length of the warranty. Lexmark's Web site includes a knowledge base, downloadable drivers, and a resource center to help get you started on new printing projects.
