Lexmark Prospect Pro205 user reviews

Pros Seemed like a nice unit at first, but...

Cons Two units defective.

Summary Bought this on line at Best Buy with local store pickup based on a favorable rating by Consumers' Union. First unit had a broken hinge part right out of the box. Back it went. Local BB store had to order another one. At least they had the decency to knock $30 off the price and ship it directly to me without my even asking. Second unit worked fine for about six weeks, then without warning started to print gray blocks about 3/4 inch square all over the page. I worked with on-line help which was responsive. They suggested download and installation of updated firmware as a fix, then doing the deep clean routine. No go. Still printing gray blocks all over the place. This one's going back and I'll select another brand/model. I've wasted enough time. Don't waste yours.

Pros separate ink colors, but expensive

Cons Does not work well with Windows 7, even with revised drivers and firmware from Lexmark, this printer requires constant rebooting of computer to print

Summary Does not work well with Windows 7, even with revised drivers and firmware from Lexmark, this printer requires constant rebooting of computer to print

Pros The price was good.

Cons I purchased original at Staples. During installation I got an error message concerning printhead. Called China tech support and after an hour they determined printhead was defective and authorized a return to Staples.

Summary I returned the unit and exchanged for another. Installed the second unit and this time it had no complaints about the printhead installation. But when I raided the cover to install the ink cartrages I could not get the carrage to move to the center of the printer for installation. When you raise the cover this should happen. So I put unit in box and back to Staples. The tech there installed them and said everything should be fine when you get back home. After connecting the printer it went thru its startup routine and presented the follwing IMPORTANT WARNING. The printhead is in need of a DEEP CLEANING. This must be done or damage to the printhead may result. The instruction manual said deep cleaning should be done as a last resort because this will USE A LOT OF INK. For a brand new printer that never printed a single page I said this is the last straw. When I called Staples they said they would replace it with an HP. They said they have had a lot of complaints with Lexmark, but very few with HP. I presently have an HP Photosmart over five year old. Until now it has been OK but is starting to have a lot of paper jams. So I decided to upgrade to a new machine. The current Consumer report rated the HP machine as a #2 best but and the Lexmark at a #3. Since I am a retired IBM engineer I decided on the Lexmark becaude they sold the unit a few years back to a China company Lenova. Big mistake on my part. I plan to return this clunker for an HP. If the new HP is as good as thew old HP I am replacing I will be happy.

Pros I cannot think of any....

Cons Too many to mention, and the customer service is the worst I have ever had to deal with.

Summary I have a Prospect Pro 205 printer which I bought in 2010. I registered it right away which extended my warranty until 2015 (or so I thought - more on that later). After 400 pages, I had to replace the print head. After 380 pages I had to replace the print head again. After about 20 more pages, things started going wrong. I would constantly get a message my phone line for the fax was plugged into the wrong port - it wasn't. The printer, if it had 'gone to sleep' for an extended period, would not wake up to print and had to be powered off / powered on. Scanning from the printer to a computer on my network was an exercise in futility - it would simply sit there saying it was 'downloading an application list' and freeze.

I finally had enough and contacted Lexmark. They said they would send me a 'new' printer to replace mine. I received the printer and set it up only to find out it was more 'used' than my original printer was, and to top it all off it still had someone else's network still configured on it!

I contacted Lexmark again - all I got was 'you can reset it to factory defaults'. I told them this should have been done BEFORE they sent it to me, and I was not going to accept a more used printer than what I had.

Then they started with the 'we have no confirmation of your extended warranty, can you send us your email confirmation', which I did immediately. The email clearly shows it is from Lexmark, thanks me for buying the printer and confirms the warranty was extended until 2015.

I get another email - sorry but we didn't receive it, and our online system shows the warranty is expired. We 'already made concessions' when we sent you the replacement printer, and can't help you until you send us the confirmation of the extended warranty.

I lost it... I think I am going to box up both printers I have, send them back to Lexmark and go buy an HP or some other brand. Lexmark is obviously not interested in standing behind their products or honoring their warranty, much less assisting their customers.

I can honestly say I will never buy another Lexmark product, nor will I ever recommend one of their products to anyone.

Way to go, Lexmark - way to go.