Lexmark X2500 Ink Cartridges

The Lexmark X2500 is a basic multifunction printer with excellent photo printing capabilities. Its low price and compact size will appeal to home and small office users with a small budget. Print speed is solid, at up to 22 pages per minute for black and 16 pages per minute for color. It best photo quality requires swapping cartridges, and Lexmark X2500 ink costs are very high.

The maximum printing resolution is an impressive 4800 by 1200, so prints are very sharp. Photo quality is particularly impressive, but requires a photo Lexmark X2500 inkjet cartridge for the best quality. This means swapping out the color Lexmark X2500 ink cartridge each time you want to print photos, and switching back for other printing tasks. This could become very tedious for users who print a lot of photos but also use the machine for other tasks in between.

Color scanning is available at an optical resolution of 600 by 1200 dpi. There is only a flatbed scanning surface available, so users who do a lot of scanning may want to opt for a unit with an automatic document feeder. Color or monochrome copying is well-designed, offering reduction and enlargement options from 25% to 400%. There are convenient 1-touch buttons for color copies or black copies right on the machine's front panel, making it a quick and easy process. More importantly, the copy function can operate in standalone mode, without needing to be connected to a computer, making it a very affordable standalone copy machine.

In their professional review of the Lexmark X2500, Cnet gave it a rating of 3 out of 5 stars. They praised its excellent software, which helps users print photo projects quickly and easily. They also liked its inexpensive price. The disliked the lack of a front panel LCD screen and the lack of media card readers for a photo-centric printer.

Overall, the Lexmark X2500 is a great choice for home and small office users who want excellent photo printing options and need to occasionally scan or copy.