Performance
The Lexmark Z1420 was a tiny bit faster than the slightly cheaper competition (at least some of the $30 price difference can be accounted for by the wireless capability, we think). It printed black text at a rate of 6.68 pages per minute, faster than the Canon iP1800's 5.82ppm. It tied the Canon, however, in 4x6 photo prints with a score of 0.72ppm.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Text speed |
Unhappily, the speed comes at the expense of print quality. Both color and black text were beset by obvious flaws: nearly none of the characters showed clean edges, and italicized text looked shrouded by shadow. Color graphics didn't fare much better--colors were faded, even with a fresh ink cartridge; barcode-style graphics were rendered an unscannable blur, and everything was marred by faint, but obvious, horizontal bands and striations. The 4x6 photo prints showed decent color, but details should be sharper, and the entire image was distractingly grainy.
We realize this is a low-end $80 printer (with wireless, no less), so it's hard to judge print quality too harshly, but on the other hand, the $50 Canon Pixma iP1800 did a much better job with prints. If you only print the occasional directions and maps for yourself, the Z1420 is fine, but we don't think it's good enough for attractive holiday newsletters or other graphics-laden tasks.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Photo | |
Graphics | |
Text |
Service and support
Lexmark backs the Z1420 with a one-year warranty. Free, toll-free phone support is available on weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT 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.
What You'll Pay
- Set Price Alert
