Lexmark X543dn

The look and features on this Lexmark 3-in-1 obviously make it an enterprise model. You can add components according to requirements: Memory (128 MB standard but you can go up to 640 MB maximum) or up to 650-page capacity.


Hardware

This model has been designed to print large volumes (500 to 1500 pages a month), scan and copy, all in colour. On the programme: double-sided, Ethernet connectivity, PCL6 and PS3 language support, compatibility with all drivers. However, in contrast to the X464DE, a high-end machine, there's no touch screen on this model but rather a 5 cm by 1.5 cm screen capable of displaying just 16 characters across two lines. The buttons are distributed on either side of the screen.
You don't set draft mode on the print settings page on your computer but rather in the settings on the printer itself. This requires more effort than a couple of clicks on your computer screen as here you have to go into the settings on the printer and modify toner intensity in the quality menu, which isn't all that practical when you're stationed some distance from the machine.




Speeds

The speeds announced by the manufacturer are optimistic: 20 pages per minute (ppm). Our test documents were printed at 13 ppm in colour and 18 ppm in black & white. This is less than the 30 ppm we scored the Brother HL-4570CDW at but faster, with respect to colour prints, than the Epson CX16NF (5 ppm in colour and 20 ppm black & white).
It's no surprise to see double-sided speeds halved to 10 ppm.




Quality

This model handled our graph print test very well. Office document quality is excellent, both in colour and black & white. The shading on the single colour areas is perfectly rendered and the characters sharp and legible, which greatly facilitates the readability of the document.




Scanner and copier

Unfortunately scanner quality isn't as good. You lose a certain amount of precision throughout, not only on details, and the resulting documents are barely legible. Colour difference is pretty high: 8.6% - with high points at 15%.

It takes ten seconds to scan a 300 dpi document, which is very good.

The copier also works fast on the first copy, but there's a pause of several seconds for the following copies. The first tests made us think that a bug might be at the root of this issue but when we carried the operation out a few more times, the problem persisted.

A black & white copy takes 17 seconds and a colour 22 seconds. There's no difference between the times for 10 black & white or colour copies however, both taking 1 minute 4 seconds (10 ppm).


Energy consumption & noise levels

The printer draws 20 Watts in standby, which is too much when you think that some laser models manage between 1 and 5W. When printing, we measured it at 450 watts, which is fairly reasonable.
A noise reading of 53 dB(A) doesn't make this printer one of the quietest.


Cost per page

We congratulate Lexmark for supplying full high capacity cartridges with this machine, rather than the usual half-full standard size that we're used to with other manufacturers. The cost per page with these high capacity cartridges is 12.1 pence/page. This compares to 12.2 pence for the Epson CX16Nf and 18.3 pence for the Dell 1350cnw. Also note black & white costs: 2.3 pence compared to 2.5 pence (Epson) and 3.6 pence (Dell). Obviously to keep costs down you're best to stick to black & white and only use colour when you need it.

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