Lexmark X215 Printer Review
The Lexmark X215 is a multifunction laser printer with printing, copying, scanning, and fax capabilities. The printer is only monochrome, so prints and copies will only be black and white. Scanning can be done in color, but slower scanning and copying speeds may be an issue for some users.
The unit can be operated without connecting to a PC, which is a nice feature. Some multifunction units require a connection to a PC even for copying and faxing capabilities. Printing speed is average, around 16 pages per minute. High-yield toner cartridges are available to lower the per page printing costs, and toner save features can decrease costs even more.
The number of features available in such a compact unit is impressive, but it comes with some disadvantages. Scanning speed is very slow, especially compared to the competition, and scanning quality is below average by comparison. Print quality is good, but not great, when compared to Xerox toner based printers, with small fonts becoming somewhat fuzzy when printing text. Lack of color printing might get confusing for some users, who might expect to be able to print their color scans directly from the same unit. Also, many users have reported issues with paper jams and other malfunctions, which could indicate a trend.
The X215 includes Paperport software for managing documents, which is a nice added feature. The software is very useful, but in many office environments, other software packages might already be in place, making it difficult to switch. In this case, buyers may be paying extra for software they can't use.
Overall the Lexmark X215 is a very capable multifunction that can replace many separate components in an office. A higher price than competing products and lackluster performance in some areas make it less appealing.
