Lexmark P6250 Ink Cartridges

Lexmark P6250 Printer Review

The Lexmark P6250 is slated for home office use, offering a beginner-friendly design that will enable casual users to print photos, send scans or duplicate an original document. The P6250 will only be able to support low volumes, since its output speeds reach a maximum of 22 pages per minute for monochrome documents and 15 pages per minute for color. Output performance isn't the only issue experts found with the P6250, citing additional problems such as poor printing and scanning quality. However, buyers willing to trade an efficient and quick output for ease of use and low-cost multifunction capabilities will benefit from this entry-level inkjet device.

The P6250 favors its photo printing feature over its other functions, providing slots that support popular CompactFlash and SD cards and a PictBridge-enabled port in addition to the wired ethernet interface. The device also provides software and drivers that are easy to navigate and will allow users to preview and make adjustments to images prior to printing. The front panel will also allow users to access certain control tools without the need of a computer, including an LCD and 4-way pad to navigate settings and menu options, as well as keys to select the number of times a job needs to be duplicated and whether or not it needs to be enlarged or reduced in size.

The unit's build of 17x12x7 inches makes it compact enough for desktop printing, but in return the design only accommodates a small paper input that includes a single 100-sheet media tray. The device can support a handful of different media types such as coated paper, envelopes, glossy photo paper and banner. Thanks to the flatbed design, the P6250 can also scan and copy more unique and thick media such as albums and books. The machine does, however, lack a dedicated automatic document feeder for unattended scanning.

Expert tests show the device's print quality falls below the standard set by inkjet models in its price range, printing text documents with fuzzy characters and scanning poorly-detailed grayscale documents. Photos tested to print with an adequate quality and resolution of 4800x1200 dpi using color Lexmark P6250 printer ink that will suit amateur photographers.

As a result of being primarily designed for photo printing, this device uses two Lexmark P6250 ink cartridges, one 190-sheet capacity supply containing yellow, magenta and cyan printer ink and another with photo cyan, magenta and black. The lack of a dedicated black supply may increase the cost of monochrome text printing, but users do have the option to swap out the photo color supply for a 200-sheet capacity black Lexmark P6250 ink cartridge. High-capacity replacements will help reduce costs by yielding up to 450 pages for the color supply and 475 pages for the black supply.

Unless users are looking to print their personal photos at home and send the occasional scans or create a copy, the P6250's multifunction design is too simplistic and slow to handle more demanding jobs or volumes. Although this device offers 3-in-1 capabilities for a very low price, buyers may not be willing to sacrifice output quality and speeds.