Lexmark builds a better multifunction printer

The $2,999 price tag on Lexmark’s X646e monochrome MFP (multifunction printer) makes a fast printer/copier available at a painless fraction of the $10,000 you might spend for a high-quality stand-alone office copier. Most office copiers have the advantage of running tabloid-size paper, but if you can get by with letter/legal-size jobs — and somewhat disappointing copy quality — you’ll be pleased with the X646e’s zippy performance, comprehensive management tools, list of fancy copying features, and free scan-to-network function.

At 28 inches high, the slightly squat, two-tone-gray X646e sits comfortably on a table instead of rolling around on casters, although you can put a rolling base under X646 configurations with higher paper capacities. In contrast to Lexmark’s earlier cobbled-together MFPs, the X646e’s printer engine, scanner bed, and control panel are combined in one sleek unit, with sturdy hinges and flaps that simplify unpacking and prepping. Lexmark’s driver installs with a couple of clicks.

Most aspects of Lexmark’s design make the X646e a pleasure to operate. The main paper tray holds 500 sheets, and a fold-down auxiliary tray holds another 100. (For a second 500-sheet tray and the ability to print on both sides of a page, consider spending $3,499 instead on the X646dte.) It can scan both sides of documents from the 50-page ADF (automatic document-feeder) in one pass, and the scanner lid floats easily over thick documents such as books pressed to the scanner glass.

The integrated toner cartridge/imaging unit slides smoothly in and out of the machine; it’s the only component that needs routine replacement, and Lexmark’s toner works out to only about 1.1 cents per text page if you buy the biggest cartridge. The bright 6-inch-by-5.5-inch touchscreen LCD’s angle is somewhat adjustable, so the shortest and tallest people in our lab could easily read and poke its buttons.

The main paper tray’s length and width guides adjust easily. However, as with many Lexmark paper trays, it comes out so easily you might dump it on the floor, and its sloped walls, designed to break up adhesion in a fresh ream of paper, interfere with adding and removing paper.

You can use MarkVision, the company’s free printer-management software, to integrate the X646e into the rest of your Lexmark fleet, or keep an eye on it by browsing its internal Web site, where you can pull reports and set up password controls over the multifunction’s various features. Lexmark’s Driver Profiler and Script Install utilities let you preconfigure the driver and then push it across the network to users; it might be more convenient to have both features in one utility, but the dual-barrel approach is workable.

People in your office will be able to accomplish a lot with the X646e’s deep and accessible feature set, particularly when making copies. The X646e can reduce and combine two or four originals onto a single page, insert separator sheets between copies or jobs, date- and time-stamp documents (but not add page numbers), and mix and match several batches of originals into one document — for example, combining originals printed on both sides and originals printed on only one side to produce single-sided copies.