Lexmark’s X83 printer-scanner is a winner

By Larry Blasko

Associated Press

When you live in an age of technical miracles, it’s easy to take them for granted.

So when I received a package a few weeks ago from Lexmark, the printer-scanner folks from Lexington, Ky., I didn’t rip open the box in excitement. The box held the Lexmark X83, a combination inkjet color printer, scanner and copier.

Yawn.

The machine went into the pile of widgets and software waiting to be reviewed, and it might have stayed there had a colleague not been saddled with a pressing assignment.

Gregg Zion, a database manager, had to scan decades worth of crumbling paper contracts into a database so they could be preserved and found when needed. He asked to borrow the machine for a test.

Zion said the machine performed brilliantly. He was especially impressed with how easy it is to use. Creating multipage PDF files is simple, he said, and the user-friendly control program makes the on-board control panel unnecessary.

All the functions, including number of copies, can be selected from the on-screen interface, and instant previews are available in case the document is not centered correctly.

He also was impressed with the ease of setup. It took him just 14 minutes to unpack the machine and complete his first successful scan.

My interest was piqued, so I took at look at the equipment. It turns out that the Lexmark X83 offers plenty of value for its estimated retail price of $199.

Here are some of the highlights:

A printer with 2,400 by 1,200 dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution. Black ink takes five seconds per page, color takes about 10 seconds.

Black and color copying machines. You can enlarge pages up to 400 percent and reduce to 25 percent. Black-ink copies take six seconds, color copies take 20 seconds.

The machine also can be used to scan documents for transmission as e-mail attachments or to ordinary fax machines through the PC’s modem.

There is a 600 by 1,200 dpi optical resolution flatbed scanner with a removable lid and 48-bit color scan depth.

Connection is by USB port.

Given the price and all the high-end functionality, there’s nothing to yawn about here, especially if you’re trying to equip a small office or a home office. The machine doesn’t take up much room — with input and output trays extended, it’s about 18 inches wide, 21 inches deep and 12 inches high.

Lexmark offers a one-year warranty called LexExpress, which features a next-business-day shipment of a new machine.