Lexmark C524

Part of a new range from Lexmark,the C524 is aimed at small businesses wanting high-quality colour printing without spending a fortune.

Its compact, upright design gives it a conveniently small footprint while simultaneously bringing the control buttons and LCD screen to a more comfortable height. Descriptive, plain-English menus make operation relatively simple.

The new range comprises two main models, each of which is available in a number of different specifications.

With a price of £349, the entry-level C522n comes with a 312.5MHz processor, network and USB connectivity. Starting at £419, the C524 range boosts performance with a 500MHz CPU and adds a 100-sheet multipurpose input tray.

At the top of the range, the C524dtn has an additional 500-sheet tray and automatic double-sided printing and costs £809.

Based on a single-pass design, the C524 prints up to 19 pages per minute in both colour and monochrome in true 1,200 x 1,200dpi (dots per inch). Photographic colour-reproduction quality is also impressive, thanks to the 2,400 x 6,00dpi mode.

If you’re worried about the cost of running a colour laser you’ll be pleased to see Lexmark has put a great deal of effort into reducing running costs.

Toner cartridges are available with 5,000- or 8,000-page yields, allowing you to choose either a lower purchase price or lower cost per page. High-yield cartridges cost £99.18 for each colour and £95.43 for black.

To help you keep track of costs, Lexmark’s coverage estimator will calculate the amount of each toner used on any given page and the Colorsaver mode saves up to 50 per cent of colour toner on the page.

You can also lock the printer into mono-mode, so only authorised users may print in colour.

Paul MoncktonDetailsPrice £419Best price www.pcw.co.uk/bestpricesContact Lexmark 08704 440 044 www.lexmark.co.ukSpecifications Postscript 3 • 500MHz processor • 1,200 x 1,200dpi or 2,400 x 600dpi resolution • Single-pass colour technology • Up to 19ppm colour and mono • 65,000 page-per-month duty cycle • 1yr on-site warranty • 484 x 440 x 408mm (w x d x h) • 26kgVerdictPros Small footprint; easy to use; good managementCons Poor documentation for beginnersFeatures HHHHHPerformance HHHHHValue for money HHHHHOverall Powerful, highly configurable, helps keep costs down and has a competitive priceHHHHH

See also:

Dell Laser Printer 1100

At less than £100 this has no frills, but is easy to use  25 Oct 2005

Canon LBP-5200

Decent output at a reasonable price  10 Oct 2005

Dell 1600n

Print, copy, scan and fax at a good price  14 Sep 2005

HP LaserJet 1020

Affordable prints at an impressive price  03 Aug 2005

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