Lexmark X4550 review

Gallery

Verdict:

Review Date: 10 Oct 2007

Price when reviewed: (£59.57 ex VAT)

Reviewed By: Christopher Brennan

Our Rating 2 stars out of 5

Review
Specs

Like the other Lexmark on test here the X4550 is very cheap considering its specification.

The trick up this machine's sleeve is the inclusion of wifi. Also included is a memory card reader but that's where the extras stop. There's no LCD screen for reviewing images, though there is a two-line display that is used for navigating and operating the options.

The X4550 is quite pleasing to look at and though it's clearly not the most solid device, the plastics certainly aren't flimsy. As with its X5470 stablemate the buttons are solid and responsive.

After the poor print performance from the X5470, we were looking for some improvement from this more expensive device. But once again the Lexmark provided us with a poor set of results. Once more a green colour cast blighted the photographic images. The unit came out better than the X5470 but not against any of the other devices.

The X4550 did provide quick text results but ultimately the text was jagged even at large point sizes. The scan provided a file with poor detail and inaccurate colours. At 43 seconds it was fairly slow at producing the file too. Our colour copy was pale and pasty, with deep red emerging almost orange, and blacks a poorly looking shade of grey. Admittedly the yellow was spot-on but sadly one out of three doesn't cut the mustard. Overall, the machine's only strong point is the inclusion of wifi.

If you're in dire need of a machine that can go anywhere and you don't have the money to invest in a better performing device, then the Lexmark X4550 may well be your only choice. However, we'd strongly recommend steering clear of this offering and saving your money.

Print performance is poor and though it's not the worst in the tests, it is kept from the bottom spot only by the other Lexmark.

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