Lexmark X1240 Scan/Print/Copy Printer-Fine for scanning

Author's Rating:

Pros: Inexpensive start-up, decent scanning capabilities.

Cons: Uses too much ink, loud, paper feeds incorrectly at times.

The Bottom Line: 
If you want a printer, scanner, or copier, buy them separately and put up shelves. Multi-use are pieces of junk... Need I say more?

Author's Review
So I got this printer/copier/scanner at WalMart. Yeah, yeah, I hear you. "If you want a decent electronic device, get it from an electronics store." The only problem is, I live an hour from the nearest WalMart, so that puts me a good four hours from a Fry's. Anyway, it was cheap, so I decided to give it a try.

First, it's attractive. Gray and white, so it matches with all decors. Large 14" X 18" footprint, and the paper feed is straight from the top, so it does need a large open space above it to feed paper into. I hate that. But the paper feed tray does fold forward, so it can be closed when it is not in use, or when the printing capacity has been retired and it is only in use as a scanner. More about that later. It did not come with a USB cable, which is also a pain in the butt, but I have learned to expect that and always have a few on hand.

The power cord is not real long, and as anyone who has read my reviews knows, that is a big pet peeve to me. I hate short cords. What about people who have BIG desks, or have to run the cord halfway across the room? Yeah, so the cord is about 3 feet long.

It uses a TON of ink. You come to expect that from any ink-jet printer, especially those with the tiny cartridges and a sensor that asks you to replace it after about 80 prints. To me, that is about one research paper, so I have pretty much dedicated this machine to scanning, and I print on my Laserjet 4L, which is used only for text.

Speaking of scanning, this thing is loud. When it scans or prints, or just turns on, it emits a loud noise that is not at all unlike pulling a tighly fit door closed-quickly.

It is all plastic, except the glass scan bed, so it isn't the strongest machine, though I guess all printers these days are all plastic. Just don't get mad at it and throw your bottle of Sobe at it, or stuff breaks off. Oops.

There are 5 buttons on board. Power(duh), scan, copy black, copy color, and paper feed. These buttons do not work at all if the program is shut off on your computer. This is a plus to me when I am working and my 3 year old comes in and wants to push buttons. It wouldn't be so bad if it weren't so loud turning on and off.

It does print at a high DPI (4800 X 1200), but with resolution comes ink cost, so I don't use it to print. $50 for ink every 6 weeks is rediculous. It scans nicely, and has a short program that allows you to do minimal editing on your images; things such as crop, lighten, darken, and some image editing options like paintbrushes and text, erasor and fill. The basics, you know. And again, you can disable the printer buttons from your desktop if you so desire.

What else can be said? It is loud, paper feed is generally smooth, as it is a straight path, which is a plus in my book. I've never had a jam, so that is nice. It does occasionally pick up too many sheets, which is a given with gravity fed paper feeds. And because of this, it sometimes prints on half a page because the other half fed with the page before it. That sort of little annoyance.

Basically, folks, it comes down to this. If you want a scanner, purchase a scanner. If you want a printer, buy one of those. If you want a copier, find a place to stick one of those and purchase it separately, too. I am not a big fan of multi-use printers, and this one is no exception. I think every aspect suffers because of the combination of them all. But for $35, what do you expect, honestly. You get what you pay for when you are talking about electronics.