The Lexmark Z 31 inkjet is not a printer to get excited about for its looks. As with many of the earlier Lexmark printers however, the curved and short design is at least practical, and allows for easy maintenance and change of Lexmark Z 31 printer ink. With just two buttons and LED lights making up the control panel, (to denote power and paper feed), and a simple folding paper tray the featureless casing does also allow for the product to be cleaned with no trouble.

Set-up and installation of the Lexmark Z 31 is easy, as is indicative of the entire range of Lexmark printers. It is as simple as connecting the product to the computer and the mains outlet. Whilst drivers may need to be downloaded to ensure total compatibility with your PC, you should be ready to print within about 20 minutes of getting it out of the box.

As indicated earlier, there are certainly no bells and whistles offered with the printer. Many newer models have huge capacity paper bins, and intricate feeders to satisfy anything that is asked of them of course. That is not quite what you get with the Z 31. A simple top loading paper tray, with a capacity of just 100 sheets is provided. There are no upgrades available to boost this, though it does also allow for envelope and photographic printing. Resolution is an impressive 2400dpi, (1200×1200), in both color and monochrome printing.

The Lexmark Z 31 does have a “Quick Print” mode that allows for up to eight pages per minute to be printed. This changes the resolution back to 600dpi, but does improve the speed significantly. However, colors can fade where pinks can appear to be more of a lavender color, blacks a darker shade of gray, and reds to appear orange. Whilst print quality is better in “Normal” mode, the colors can fade considerably here too.

The Lexmark Z 31 is further hindered by its minimal connection via parallel port with no serial port option, let alone the popular USB connectivity. It is also only easily compatible with Windows operating systems, though as mentioned earlier, XP and Vista drivers will need to be downloaded from the Internet.

It is not all bad. Far from it in fact, particularly considering the presence of the Lexmark “Accu-Feed” technology, which is still one of the most effective tools for reducing instances of snagging and blocking.

The compact design, and economy of the Lexmark Z 31 are also to be admired, particularly as cutting down on energy use is key for most people these days. Another benefit comes from the drivers themselves, which give a useful audible update on print progress. Very useful considering the sluggish speed! Just be sure you’re using Z 31 cartridge.

Out of the box, you will have everything needed to set-up and go, making it a great idea for a kid’s first printer. Included in the box are a black, and color Z 31 ink . Toner is as simple to replace as you would expect from this user friendly piece of kit, being no harder than lifting the top, letting the print heads come to the middle automatically, and then switching the old ones for the new.

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