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Lexmark X4550
Price: £99 inc VAT

Features
Performance
Ease of use
Value for money
Overall

Reviewed By: Andy Shaw

This review updated: 25/08/2007
Featured in magazine:
Issue 166
Manufacturer Contacts:
Supplier: Lexmark
Tel: 08704 440044
Web Address: www.lexmark.co.uk


Best Price:
If you've got a wireless network with a printer attached, it's most likely to be connected to a PC via a cable. This is fine if you're printing from the computer it's plugged into, but can prove problematic if you're printing from a different computer in the network, as you may end up having to go through the rigmarole of booting up the connected computer in order to get the printer to work.

With a Wi-Fi device like this all-in-one printer/scanner/copier from Lexmark, you don't even need to position it near a PC – let alone wire it up to one – in order to print across your Wi-Fi network.

Features
As its name suggests, this device is long on features. Straight out of the box it will print, copy and scan in colour; print directly from your digital camera with PictBridge; print directly from a memory card or USB drive; and connect to your computer via either USB or Wi-Fi.

If you are printing directly from a card or similar device, you can make a contact sheet showing thumbnails of all the photos on the card. You can then select which prints you want, mark how many copies of each you'd like and finally scan it back through the printer again to automate the printing of your chosen pictures.

Performance
The print quality of the device was average – it wasn't bad but then it wasn't cutting edge either. If you want better photographic results, you'll need to buy some Lexmark photo paper and the optional photo cartridge, which produces subtler shades for natural colours.

The weakest link was probably the scanner, which offered a limited selection of setting options and, for that reason, produced disappointing results.

Ease of use
We expected set-up to be a nightmare, but Lexmark have kept the operation simple and smooth. As long as you're connecting to an existing Wi-Fi network that you know the settings of, there should be little to obstruct your progress. Printing works the same as if the device were connected by a cable, while copying is a simple one-button process.

However, there are a few general usability issues. We inserted a Sony Memory Stick Pro into the card reader and found it impossible to retrieve without the use of tweezers. Scanning via Wi-Fi isn't particularly good either. Normally you'd expect a modern scanner's settings to appear in the 'import' or 'acquire' section of your image-editing program. This scanner worked on more of a push system, sending scans to a preferred selection of programs or simply as a pre-scanned file to your PC.

Value for money
While under £100 is undoubtedly a cracking price for a printer equipped with all these extra features, it's worth remembering that elements of it may disappoint. If you've got this amount of money to spend, you could certainly buy a better printer and a better scanner, or even a better all-in-one device. However, you won't find one with Wi-Fi, so if this is the deal-breaker you'll have to be prepared to sacrifice a little quality.

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