Lexmark X4650

Lexmark was one of the first printer manufacturers to supply home printers with Wi-Fi connectivity. The advantage with a Wi-Fi printer is that you can share the device with multiple PCs around your home and position it in whatever location is most convenient. This three-in-one printer, scanner and copier is the latest model in the range, offering a broad spread of features alongside its wireless flexibility.

Features:
All-in-ones take up a large amount of desk space which is why the Lexmark’s wireless capability comes as a big advantage – you don’t need to keep it anywhere near your PC, in fact it can even be positioned in another room. You can connect it via USB if you prefer and, if you’re a digital camera user, there are memory card and PictBridge slots that’ll accept most popular options.

Of all the wireless all-in-ones we’ve tested previously, none has been able to scan wirelessly. This model, however, does have this facility, which means all its full functionality is available over your Wi-Fi network. The final component is the copier, which effectively lets you scan straight to paper, without involving your computer.

Performance:
There are two ink wells, one that will take a black cartridge for bulk printing and another for the standard three-ink colours (yellow, magenta and cyan). The black well can also take a specialist photo-printing cartridge, with black and paler versions of magenta and cyan for subtle shades, but we weren’t supplied with one of these for review.

Our test shots came out well-detailed but a little over-coloured. However, it’s possible that the quality could be improved with the aforementioned photo cartridge.

The scanner would be fine for general use but is a bit basic for enthusiasts – any advanced processing of scanned images would have to be done in your favourite software image editor.

Ease of use:
If there’s one area where Lexmark printers continue to excel, it’s in their ease of use. An installation wizard takes you through the process step by step, with diagrams throughout, and nothing is left to chance. If you can read, you can set this device up – even on a network. It comes with easy-to-use software and integrates well with your existing programs, if required. The one downside is that it only uses WEP security – if you’ve got WPA set up, you’ll have to downgrade it.

Value for money:
It takes two cartridges at a time so, although you won’t waste any colour ink if you’re only doing a lot of black printing, you may end up throwing some magenta away, for example, if the yellow runs out, which isn’t particularly efficient. However, devices with separate colour tanks tend to cost more up front. The unit itself is good value at £129.99 but shop around – you’re bound to find it heavily discounted.