Lexmark Z52 Color Jetprinter

Rating:
Summary: Not happy
Review: I upgraded from a basic HP610 so I could get great color prints from my digital camera.I wanted another HP but let the store salesman talk me into getting a Lexmark Z52. It eats ink cartridges which cannot be refilled sucessfully. Constantly gives message "unable to communicate with the printer" and the color pictures and also black and white are terrible. I talked with Lexmark tech service and they had me send them some pictures illustrating my complaints and after they reviewed them phoned me to say they thought THE PICTURES WERE FINE. Unbelivable. Am shopping now for either an HP or a Canon.I have been working with this printer for 18 MONTHS so this is not a casual review after just a few days.

Rating:
Summary: BEST PRINTER EVER
Review: I use my Lexmark Z52 every day printing alot. Let me tell you this is a heavy duty printer. When you use the ink you get to use every last dro pof it. All it comes with software that estimates when the ink is done. This has more than that. The printer actually has its own indicator to tell you this! Also this is one of the fastest InkJet printers I have enver seen! Buy this printer. It is worth the price!

Rating:
Summary: OK for the price, but no HP
Review: I was looking to upgrade my three year old Hewlett Packard 722C color printer with a newer version that would produce photo quality resolution. Since I have been very pleased with all my HP printers in the past (I own several for business) I immediately gravitated towards them again, only to take a second look when I realized I would have to spend two to three times the price of a Lexmark with similar specs. The Z-52 was VERY well priced, and though the reviews complained it had a voracious appetite for ink, I figured it was probably still a good value if one didn't print like a fiend. (They were discontinuing it, replacing it with the Z-53, virtually the same model, if only ever so slightly faster. It was therefore quite discounted-- under a hundred bucks at QVC and came with a cable and choice of three additional software programs to boot) I had never owned a Lexmark, and was a little leary, but decided that, for the price, it was probably still a safe bet. Unfortunately, I was disappointed. The color tones were nowhere near as natural as the HP. Now, I should say that have a very discerning eye for color,and some may not be as picky. But, if you prefer Kodak film tones to Agfa, or a Sony Trinitron TV to an RCA, you'll know what I am talking about. Just to experiment, I printed a low VGA quality digital photo on my old HP 722C (300 dpi) and then ran it on the lexmark at a higher resolution (1200x1200 dpi). I then showed it to two not so discerning people who did not know which was which, and each chose the old HP 722C hands down. There was no doubt in my mind that the tones on the older HP were still superior, and the resolution was virtually non-distinguishable. All in all, it's an OK printer I suppose, but sorry to say I will be sending mine back and shelling out for a new HP.

Rating:
Summary: Complete waste of money
Review: I will never buy a Lexmark again. The printer software contains spyware that runs continuously in memory, phones home with usage information and crashes computer. The print quality is poor, it has never been able to produce true black text. Cartridges constantly dry up and are expensive.

Rating:
Summary: A Textbook Printer
Review: I'll keep this short and sweet. This printer offers simply incredible performance on black and white text. It's fairly quick, although no where near the rated 15 p.p.m. It is however faster than the Xerox C-11 it replaced. Quieter than it's predecessor in my system, it is a decent to very good value at the going street price. Color performance on text is very good but not world class. Photo mode is no where near H.P. type performance but then again neither is the price. Recommended!!!

Rating:
Summary: A solid, reliable printer.
Review: I've been using this printer for two years now and it has seen me through the end of my undergraduate degree, printing photos, T-shirts and a host of other uses. I have not experienced even one failure with the hardware or the drivers and I plan on using this same printer for all my graduate projects.
I'm amazed at the people who claim that they go through an ink cartridge in one day! While Lexmark ink is a little pricey,(Hence the 4 star rating) the cartridges will last as long as any other on the market. If you manage to use one in a day you might want to consider a commercial grade printer not one designed for home or home office use.
Text is crisp and clear and images are excellent. I'm sure you can find a printer that will produce better results but probably not in this price range.

Rating:
Summary: Great printer for a great price!
Review: I've went through about 3 diferent kinds of printers before I bought the Lexamark Z52 and all of them can not produce the brilliant photo quality that this printers provides. Practically no dots can be seen! Color is vibrant and paper jams are much easier to handle. Speed is amazing! This printer is a must for all of those out there who like to print photos a lot. Don't go wasting your money on HP! Be smart and save money with this printer and buy it now!

Rating:
Summary: Excellent low cost rinter
Review: Prints about 13 pages a minute for me. Color graphics and text look excellent for such a low cost printer. Printer does not take to long to calibrate. Very happy with purchase.

Rating:
Summary: Need black based gray and color on the same page?
Review: Recently installed a Z-52 in a Windows 2000 environment with a peer-to-peer LAN. Printer works fine. Has a great pinter interface with several very nice options. Resolution is excellent. Speed is great in normal mode, but if the resolution is increased to maximum, everything slows down drastically (much more data is being transmitted). The way the printer driver is set up does not allow you to print black based gray (i.e. 20%, 40%, etc. gray) when using other color. If the color option is selected, black based gray on the screen comes out pinkish blue (lavender). At normal resolution, constructed (as opposed to pure) colors tend to exhibit some striping. Tends to be a little loud.

Rating:
Summary: This printer stinks
Review: So how does this printer stink? Let me count the ways: 1) 2400 x 1200: yeah right, and Bill Clinton didn't inhale. Color prints are pale with terrible color bands throughout, particularly on the reds. My sister's Canon S600 puts this turkey to shame; 2) ink hog: be prepared to shell out the bucks for ink. I tried refilling my cartridge to avoid bankruptcy, but the cartridge didn't seem to like that; 3) unstable software: expect to hear "trouble communicating with the printer" alot. In the space of about 4 months I had to re-install the software twice, the only program on my computer I've ever had to re-install; 4) obnoxious default settings: the printer always goes back to "standard" mode when 95% of the time I just want to print text that looks just as good in the much quicker "draft" mode. But every time I print I have to remember to change the setting to "draft" or else it starts cranking out the page in the slow, ink-guzzling "standard" mode.

I'm getting rid of mine and buying a Canon.