Good use of a touchscreen with this business-focused printer.
Unashamedly business-oriented, the Pro5500 is on the large side for an A4 inkjet, but it sports some worthwhile features.
Like a growing number of printers, the Pro5500 is web-enabled through a series of SmartSolutions that can be installed via the Lexmark web site. These provide PC-free access to a variety of online services ranging from RSS feeds through to MapQuest maps and photo services such as Photobucket. Depending on the function, content is displayed on the responsive 4.3in touchscreen or printed. Scanning directly to Box, Evernote and other services is also supported. We tried Scan to Box and while the file arrived in the right place, the SmartSolution consistently hung at the end of the process and the only way we found to recover was to put the Pro550 to sleep via the power button.
The other side of SmartSolutions condenses multi-step processes into one-touch operations, such as ‘Copy and Send to Computer’. Some involve emailing documents and if you make a mistake when setting up the account details, there are no diagnostic messages, just a failure notice. Lexmark told us it plans to address this in future models.
Copying gave good results with no banding and very narrow margins from full-bleed originals. We were also satisfied with the scan results. The one-pass duplex ADF is a plus and combines well with duplex output on heavier paper (like 100gsm). The downside is that copying one double-sided sheet takes just over a minute.
As inkjets go, the Pro5500 is subjectively on the noisy side and we wouldn’t want it right next to our desk. The first page out time for our business document was 14 seconds. Page two took another 7 seconds. As usual with inkjets, that’s well below the claimed ‘up to 14 ppm’ and duplexed output more than doubled the time to 45 seconds. The quality of text and graphics output was good, and the ink is water- and highlighter-resistant. Unusually, we had to clean the print head shortly after installing the printer, but Lexmark says this is sometimes necessary.
Special features:
- Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB
- Fax
- Memory card support
Pros: Web connectivity, duplex scan and print.
Cons: Bulky, noisy.
Verdict: 7/10
Available from Lexmark, retailing for $499.
