Lexmark 45 Ink
Optra Color 45 Ink Cartridges

Lexmark 45 Printer Review

While it is a little dated, the Lexmark 45 may still have some appeal for users who want a basic color inkjet printer with networking. Print speed is slow, at only 8 pages per minute for black and 4 pages per minute for color. High prices for Lexmark Optra Color 45 ink means a high cost of ownership, however.

While not the most compact printer in its class, the Lexmark 45 or Lexmark 45N, is fairly small, with a small footprint that should fit on most desk surfaces. It supports wide format printing for more flexibility, which is a rare feature for such an inexpensive inkjet model. Lexmark 45 ink cartridges are arranged in a single black cartridge and a single combined color cartridge. While the combined cartridge makes replacing Lexmark 45 ink cartridges more convenient, it also often means wasted printer ink. Considering the already high cost of Lexmark 45 ink, this all adds up to a printing solution which is far from economical.

Along with the wide format printing, another surprising feature in a printer of this class and price is its built-in network port. This allows users to connect and share it across a network of computers. With an input paper capacity of 250 sheets, it could potentially support quite a few users, but the problem of expensive Lexmark 45 ink crops up again, making this option less appealing. The printer can also connect via parallel port, but many modern computers no longer support this connection type.

Its low upfront price is appealing, and it tends to be less expensive than similar models with an ethernet port included, but even users looking for a low cost networkable printer will probably not want to pay the premium of Lexmark Optra Color 45 ink.

Overall, the Lexmark 45 is a well-designed machine that offers an affordable network printing solution for a small office, but cost of ownership due to printer ink prices will likely be too high for most buyers.