Lexmark X342n Multifunction
Laser Printer Review
By Tom Warhol
Reviewed.com Editorial Staff
Published on September 06, 2007
The X342n Multifunction Laser Printer is Lexmark’s cheapest multifunction unit, at $399. It prints, copies, and faxes only black ink documents. If you don’t need the fax but want color printing capability, the X500n provides this for $100 more. A Lexmark color laser with fax capabilities costs just under $700.
If black ink documents are all you need, then the X342n is an affordable option for small offices. The printer is large, but unobtrusive and relatively lightweight (36 pounds) for a laser printer. It’s somewhat less printer-like than other units because of its charcoal gray frame and matte silver control panel. An auto document feeder with a 50-sheet capacity helps to automate the functions. The main paper tray can accommodate 250 sheets of paper. This is expandable to 800 sheets with the purchase of an optional 550-sheet tray. The buttons and controls are laid out intuitively, and they include basic copy and fax functions such as toner darkness settings and speed dial buttons.
The X342n’s menu is accessed through the two-line digital display, the least user-friendly part of this printer. The menu is not extensive—good in terms of access, but not great in terms of overall printer functionality. Computer access to the printer’s driver is solely through applications, and quality and other settings are limited. The X342n comes with a single software program, Presto! PageManager. This simple yet helpful program aids users in organizing and printing documents and scans. This program is where users access most of the X342n’s scanning functions. Users can customize buttons to send scans to specific programs. There is also bundled ABBY Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software that turns scanned documents into editable text.
Text documents printed at a very fast rate of 27 pages per minute. Copies were produced at an equivalent rate, and scans were made very quickly, as well. However, the X342n fell short when printing graphics with much slower print times.
Text quality of the X342n was decent for a low-end printer, but it was not quite as sharp and crisp as some mid-range laser printers, such as the HP Color Laserjet 3600n. Scans were not great, displaying very undersaturated colors.
For the price tag—$399—better units can be found than the Lexmark X342n. The HP Laserjet 3050 sells for $100 less and has the same options minus standard network connectivity. The Brother MFC-8460N sells for the same price as the X342n and has the same options and more, with expandable memory, a larger display screen, greater monthly capacity, greater scan bit-depth, higher print and scan resolutions, more connectivity options, and Energy Star-certification.
Short of color printing, the Lexmark X342n packs a lot of functions in for the $399 price. Text documents printed very quickly, but for the same price or less, users can find better options.For a more in-depth review, visit the Lexmark X342n Review at our partner PrinterInfo.com
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