Lexmark's P4350 makes it easy to print, copy, scan and fax in colour. The attractive, low-profile device can also print independently of a computer, reduce and enlarge photos and documents in a snap, and allow you to share your scanned photos by e-mail thanks to an intuitive interface. The P4350 is an attractive product for a new user, and its general performance is pretty good considering its exceptionally low cost, but photo enthusiasts and business users will be left wanting and should pay more for a better-performing unit.

Pros: Price; compact design; decent performer; memory card slots
Cons: CIS scanner; fixed LCD monitor; PC-dependent fax; no ADF


Lexmark's P4350 (493x417x236mm, 4.8kg) sets a new standard for price and features. With its consumer-friendly price point of under £100, this feature-rich printer includes a colour flatbed scanner, copier and computer-dependent fax, PictBridge wireless print support, borderless photo printing, and a colour 1.7in. LCD screen. Lexmark also claims its Evercolor inks will deliver photos that last more than 200 years without fading, when stored in photo albums.

Specifications of the white-and-silver (think Apple Mac) P4350 are reasonable, although you shouldn't expect best-of-breed performance. It offers a native print resolution of 4800dpi using a 6-colour ink process (cyan, magenta, yellow, light black, light cyan, and light magenta and 48-bit CIS scanner (600x2400ppi) and has claimed print speeds of up to 22ppm in black (16ppm in normal mode) and up to 15ppm in colour (5ppm in normal mode). While a single USB 2.0 is fitted to the back of the unit, it also supports an optional Lexmark 802.11g Wireless Print Server.

With a regular scanner, which uses CCD (charged-couple device) technology, the light reflected from the original document passes through a system of mirrors and lenses and is then redirected into the CCD array. In a CIS (contact image sensor) scanner, the array of image sensors lies just under the document to be scanned so that the sensors catch the reflected light directly. CIS scanners are cheaper to manufacture, smaller and more durable, however their image quality is not as good as CCD. They are more suited to cramped desktops and make useful portable scanners - or low-cost multifunction devices.

Similar to most other competing digital photo printers, the P4350 integrates four memory card slots at the front of the device. The benefit of the card slots is that you can print directly from CompactFlash Type I and II media, SmartMedia Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro (Memory Stick Duo requires an adapter), Secure Digital (SD) Card, MultiMediaCard (MMC), Microdrive, and xD-Picture Card.

On the downside, the P4350 has minimal paper-handling capabilities and its fax functionality can only be utilised via your computer - there's no built-in modem or dialpad. In addition to a maximum monthly duty cycle of just 3,000 pages per month, business users should stay well clear. Media supported includes up to 10 envelopes (105x241mm) and 100 A4 sheets, in addition to A2 Baronial (111x146mm), A6, B5, C6 envelope, Hagaki Card (100x148mm), Index Card, Executive, Legal, Letter, 4x6in., and 5x7in. postcards.

Price aside, perhaps the biggest attraction of the P4350 is its ease of use. However, the plastic paper guides, scanner lid and paper trays are flimsy - and the buttons are naff - but at least you can remove the scanner lid to fit large books onto the platen. You can forget about an automatic document feeder (ADF), as well as a straight paper path option and a single-feed tray for envelopes and letterheads. If you need this kind of functionality, you should focus your attention on a more business-oriented all-in-one.

The control panel and LCD offer a relatively intuitive interface and there are dedicated buttons to rotate an image, preview a page, resize a page, change the number of copies, and choose to print in colour or black-and-white. From the copy menu, you can also select the print quality, lighten or darken an image, specify the size of paper loaded, and specify the number of images to place on one page.

You can also carry out basic maintenance duties such as check ink levels, align and clean cartridges, as well as print a test page. The colour LCD is relatively bright and uncluttered and provides some useful user information, such as how to align the new cartridge. Unfortunately, the screen is fixed, so you'll have to position the unit in a readily-accessible area.

The driver software is also easy to use, thanks largely to its single interface that provides quick-and-easy access to the device's most commonly-used functions. If you want to tweak your images a little, more sophisticated photo-editing functions are provided. While still a relatively basic image editor, you can adjust colour balance levels, add fills and erase parts of the photo. There's also a range of drawing tools, but again you shouldn't expect too much.

In terms of print speed and quality, Lexmark's P4350 was average. An average colour print time of around 7ppm was reasonable, although slightly better than Lexmark's claim of 5ppm, but a high-quality 6x4in. photo took a painful 3m 30s. Quality of prints were also run of the mill - even after we tweaked the driver settings to get the best results. Ink droplets were visible and text was jaggy - even on photo paper - but skin tones were relatively smooth and realistic.

Scanner performance wasn't much to write home about either, and quite often it produced colour in greyscale areas. Horizontal banding and missing details were also evident. This is definitely not a photo studio for enthusiastic photographers.

BIOS, Jul 11, 05 | Print | Send | Comments (0) | Posted In All-in-One printer