Lexmark X9350
Quick presentation and ergonomics
Wi-Fi, duplex module, fax with an automatic document loader: the X9350 is Lexmark’s product for home professionals or small work groups who want to color print without investing in an expensive laser printer. This spot on the market is justified by their strong presence in quality laser printers. So, here is another product in the pro range, which is relatively fast and economic in ink.
Quality of printing and scanning
Even if the color rendering changes, we recognize that it is a Lexmark by its typical qualities and weaknesses. Note that the print quality of this X9350, except for a few minor details, is identical to the little X2550. Opting for a higher class like with this product doesn’t mean a change in technology or generation.
Characters are extremely precise, comparable to a laser printer and black is deep. Layers and where colors meet are well managed and borders are clean. However, the choice of colors for this X9350 seemed a little off and were less true than on their entry level models. Lexmark pushed saturation here a little too much for our taste, and colors were made lighter throughout the spectrum.
As for the scanner, just because we have a product three times the price does not mean it’s necessarily improved. It’s the same or at least has the same weaknesses as on models below. It’s satisfactory, but has color problems at 300 ppp, and beyond this we don’t recommend its use.
Speed
One small disappointment was that the X9350 is slower in color printing than the X3550. The speed for our test document fell to 6.9 ppm and was even 19 ppm in draft mode. For everyday prints, the good speed and quality of this mode is highly recommended.
Pro models are synonymous with copy making. This is a strong point for the X9350 with a rate of 2.7 ppm right behind the Canon MP600.
Ink costs
The color cartridge produces 350 pages, the black gives us 540. These are rather high autonomies, which means not replacing ink too often. As for the price of cartridges, we obtained a cost per page of 12 cents for color, which is reasonable even if it’s 30% more than Canon, Epson and HP on their mid level and high end models. All the same, it’s a real improvement compared to what we find on the X2550 and X3550 and their standard kits. Lexmark is making some effort here.
A serious defect?
Without any serious problems, the X9350 doesn’t have anything extraordinary besides the many functions such as duplex printing, Wi-Fi, and fax with a document loader. So it’s more for its versatility as an AIO than its performance that we would go with this product. This of course comes with the danger of breakdowns, which means that if one thing goes wrong, all the other uses are blocked.
What really lacks here are higher performances, more speed, a better scanner, and longer lasting cartridges to justify its pro status.
