Lexmark Prospect Pro205 Printer Review
At around ?300, you can get an all-in-one inkjet printer equipped with a scanner, copier, fax, card slots, built-in Wi-Fi, individual ink cartridges, a duplexer, a sheet feeder and outstanding output results. So why then Lexmark just want ?170 for the Prospect Pro205? It has more capabilities than you can shake a considerable number of sticks at, nevertheless the elephant in the room is its less pricey, considerably ambitious sibling.
The 'Pro' in this particular printer's moniker points to its business emphasis. Apart from the regular printing and scanning ability, this too carries a built-in fax with specific dialling buttons set at the front-mounted panel, plus a sheet feeder above the scanner. This machine will certainly allow you to allow it to get on with the task whilst you head off to make espresso. Unfortunately, on most occasions, there is you don't need to rush back.
The Pro205, performance wise, trails by a large margin compared to the cheaper, less feature-rich Lexmark Impact S305, not to mention that latter lacks a fax and feeder.. It only took 58 seconds for the S305 to complete our 10-page text test on draft quality compared to the 1 minute and 43 seconds of the Pro205. On normal mode, it took 2 minutes and 6 seconds for the pro205 to complete the test, and 5 minutes and 44 seconds at best quality.
On the brighter side, the Pro205's results are great, therefore you might not mind waiting for the prints. We would be absolutely happy making use of the draft results in a business framework, as well as making use of the best quality configurations delivers results as good as a laser printer's output.
Black texts looked solid at normal and best-quality mode on photocopy paper, and the white texts on black background looked sharp and unfeathered right down to eight points. Although on draft quality, there are some visible misalignment in blocks of solid colour in which the head passed in each direction, thus business graphics should be printed in this setting for testing and proofing reason only.
There was no evident bleeding when we printed black characters on a coloured background, but we did notice a lack of differentiation between mid-tone greys. With a 21-step scale operating among pure black and white, the steps in between 35% and 50% have been hard to distinguish, which runs in to eath other. In the same way, 95% and 100% black was each rendered solid black. Colours look realistic, though, with strong primary and secondary tones, even on cheap office paper.
Despite being so well-suited to business use, the Pro205 is an excellent photo printer, which immediately adds to its appeal for home users. Again, getting 3 minutes and 12 seconds per page, it is not fast enough when compared to the s305, which takes under 50 % of time to generate identical outcomes. However, if you don't mind waiting and use ideal photo paper, you'll be treated with vibrant, accurate colours, satisfyingly solid blacks, and super-smooth transitions among adjoining, corresponding tones.
The Lexmark PRO205 printer ink cartridges are available in two volumes, in return program format, the 100XL cartridges will cost you less.
The Pro205 is without a doubt visually attractive not to mention its excellent build quality. We our disappointed however with the mechanics of the scanner's sheet feeder which won't let you lift the lid in order to scan fat originals such as magazines, which you can do so on the S305.
Judging on its output solely, the Lexmark Prospect Pro205 is an excellent printer, and its substantial set of features - in particular the built-in duplexer, sheet feeder and fax - it justifies more than just the price.. It's a shame, then, that direct comparison with the cheaper Impact S305 dents its appeal.
Lexmark Prospect Pro205 printer ink cartridges are available here.
