Lexmark X502n Toner Cartridges

Lexmark X502n Printer Review

The Lexmark X502N is a multifunction color laser printer geared toward the small office or home office user. It has fast printing speeds and a large feature set, but a few missing features such as network printing for Macs might be a dealbreaker for some users. Perhaps those users would prefer the HP CP2025 toner printer.

Lexmark has managed to cram a lot of features into the X502N, making it a great all-in-one machine for the small office. Its multifunction features include printing, scanning, copying, and faxing. It includes a built-in ethernet port for sharing across a network, and most of its features can be accessed and used remotely. Unfortunately, this doesn't include some fairly important functions. Scanning is only possible with a computer connected by USB, and network scanning is not supported. Essentially, this means that in a networked office, scanning is not a usable feature. With so much of the competition including network scanning as a standard feature, this is a pretty big misstep. Also, many users report that printing from Macs over the network causes errors and problems, so offices with Macs should probably look elsewhere.

It's not all bad, however. The X502N has excellent print quality. Text is very sharp and defined, and highly readable at small font sizes. Graphics print quality is a little subpar, but only a little below average what is expected from a laser printer. Print speed is quite fast, at around 19 pages per minute for black and 3 pages per minute in color, which is just a little slower than the magicolor 2530 toner printer.

The unit comes with starter toner cartridges with a capacity of 1,000 pages each. The standard cartridge capacities are 2,500 for black and 1,500 for each color. High-yield cartridges are available, however, with capacities of 5,000 pages for black, and 3,000 pages for each color, which is easily the most economical option.

Overall, the Lexmark X502N provides great print quality, fast printing speeds, and a wide array of features for the small office environment. A few lacking features such as network scanning, and lackluster graphics prints make it a less appealing choice than some of its competition, such as a LaserJet 2550 toner printer.