Lexmark Platinum Pro905

I do not print much but wanted an "all in one" which I can use for printing and scanning in good quality. So I bought a Lexmark PRO905 multifunction printer. This was not the cheapest one around but I had high hopes. The installation was a tragedy but it worked in the end. One thing that bothered me was the lack of performing duplex scanning (by inserting the pack twice). I called support, but with this model no firmware / software upgrades would make it possible in the future. But it is not the end of the world. After giving a print command it takes very long before you see something happen on the PC (Windows 7 / recent PC). Sometimes it finally prints and other times it remains just hanging. The same happens with scanning (also through smart solutions) when using the printer as a standalone. Sometimes it is busy for minutes, but nothing happens. Pulling the plug sometimes fixes the problem and other times it does not. The next time you power it on things might be just fine again... So the printer (in combination with the software / firmware) is not very stable nor reliable. I have tried it both wireless and using USB but that did not seem to make much difference. My biggest problem is that it seems like the cartridges automatically seem to deflate. In the beginning I made a few prints in colour, for testing. But in 99% of my normal use, I use it only for printing text with the black cartridge only. After a while one of the colour cartridges was almost empty and the others were still more than half full. I then ordered a complete colour set and replaced only the near empty one at that time. Despite I almost never print anything in colour, the other colour cartridges continued to deflate (the black one as well by the way). At a certain time all the individual colour cartridges were replaced, one by one. At the moment one of the colour cartridges is completely empty (according the printer). And now I can not even print using the black cartridge only. No, I must first replace the empty colour cartridge before I can print with the black cartridge again… This is ridiculous. I have also called customer support (The Netherlands) on (13-march-2012) and they seem to think it is normal behaviour. According to them when printing with only the black cartridge, you also use a bit of ink from the colour cartridges... Firstly, I do think this is rubbish and if it does, it's just a bad design or a selling method for cartridges. I print on average only about 5 pages a week (black cartridge / text only). And I think it is ridiculous that every week I see the levels of the print cartridges drop, even in weeks when I did not use the machine at all. In short I mainly bought this MFP because you can print economically. Well it does not. Also it is not very stable. I now have it for just over 2 years (with 5 year warranty) and I am fed up with it. I might use it occasionally for future scanning but I am going to buy another printer. Guess what, I will not be a Lexmark.

The Lexmark Platinum Pro905 color inkjet multifunction printer is a well-equipped, competent small-office MFP with a twist: Users can access and view Web-based applications on its large, touchscreen LCD. Though few applications are currently available,...

One of the things that most impressed me—in both senses of the word—when I unpacked the Lexmark Platinum Pro905 ($399.99 direct) multifunction printer (MFP) was a packet of support information with a hard-to-miss, letter-size page featuring a toll-free...

The Lexmark Platinum Pro905 color inkjet multifunction printer is a well-equipped, competent small-office multifuntion printer.

The touch screen technology for printers is here and everyone is jumping the bandwagon. The latest manufacturer to do so is Lexmark and they have done it in style. There is not a single button on the face of the printer except the power button and rest...

The Pro 905 performs very fast. Rather its one amongst the fastest which should actually be the fastest for a price of $ 400. But it just happens to be the runner up to HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless which peroforms at twice the speed of the Pro 905....

This innovative, inexpensive-to-operate all-in-one incorporates some next-generation printer functions, but it's marred by confusing paper handling.

Despite its high price compared to similar all-in-one printers, the Lexmark Platinum Pro905 is an excellent option with extensive features, quality prints, affordable black ink cartridges and its outstanding five-year warranty.