Lexmark T652n Monochrome Laser Printer

Lexmark's T652n monochrome laser printer combines a speedy engine, lots of paper capacity, and a vast array of paper-handling options. But in view of its high price--$899 as of May 25, 2009--it seems a bit skimpily configured. (We have the same complaint about its similarly priced competitor, the HP LaserJet P4014n.)

Though the T652n didn't come anywhere near delivering Lexmark's promised top speed of 50 pages per minute in our tests, it was still fast. Plain-text pages printed at a swift rate of 38.2 ppm, and graphics exited at 7 ppm, a solid midrange speed. Text quality was great, but the graphical images we printed--from high-resolution photos to pie charts and line art--looked poor even for monochrome laser output: dark and rough.

The T652n comes with a 550-sheet main input tray and a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, plus a 350-sheet output tray. All components are sturdy and nicely designed. If you need more, you can take your pick from a laundry list of options, including 250-sheet ($199) and 550-sheet ($249) input trays, envelope feeders (also $249), staplers, and mailbox units. One of the few things this printer can't handle is duplexing--not even as an option; for that, you must buy its cousin, the $1149 Lexmark T652dn.

The boxy unit's other features are appealing, too. It connects via USB or ethernet; a front USB port accommodates direct input from a key drive. The intuitively designed control panel includes a four-line, backlit monochrome LCD that shows simple graphics as well as clearly written text messages and context-sensitive help.

Toner costs for the T652n show some compassion for high-volume offices. It ships with a 10,000-page starter cartridge; returnable replacement cartridges are available in a 7000-page standard size for $153.84 (or 2.2 cents per page) and a 25,000-page high-yield size for $430.50 (or 1.7 cents per page); these are average price-per-page figures for high-volume monochrome laser printers.

In contrast to Lexmark's usually excellent documentation, the T652n's poster-size setup guide employs a largely a wordless format with illustrations that sometimes are too small to understand clearly, or lack key details. The PDF-based user guide is up to Lexmark's usual high standard. In our most recent survey of vendor Reliability and Service, readers judged Lexmark significantly below average.

Lexmark's T652n has almost everything you'd want in a high-volume printer. Its few omissions however (especially the absence of a duplexer), make its price seem excessive.