Multifunction printers call the tune

Print Quality

The Evercolor inks used by the P6350 are, like on the majority of Lexmark products, a mixture of pigmented inks and dyes. The idea is to be able to benefit from the advantages of the two technologies, yielding a good lifespan from the first and shimmering colors from the second. The results are, however, a bit mixed. Without even using a magnifying glass, dottiness is evident on photos despite their resolution of 4,800x1,200 dpi. Colors are on the whole treated well; the only real inadequacy is fading in the pale shades . Black and white should be avoided, however-the graining was visible even after several sessions of alignment and print head cleaning.

Print Speed

Lexmark has made great progress on print speed with the P6350, but unfortunately, not in photo mode. The unit needs almost 6 minutes to produce an A4 photo, a time we can rate no better than mediocre. On the other hand, in text mode, it manages a rate of 12 ppm in draft mode, which is excellent, putting this multifunction printer amongst the fastest. But be warned, it's best not to look too closely at the quality of draft mode results, which are nothing compared with those of HP, for example.

Cost Per Page

The use of combined ink cartridges doesn't help the P6350 when it comes to cost per page. Admittedly, the manufacturer has made efforts to reduce the costs and increase the lifespan of its cartridges, but the net result is still worse than the models with separate inks. For example, the cost for a 4x6" print is 39 cents (still lower, however, than Dell and it's AIO 944 Photo).

Scanning And Copying

As is so often the case, the scanner part is the Achille's heel of this Lexmark multifunction printer. Up to a resolution of 300 dpi you can bear it, but beyond that patience is strained-almost 2 minutes 20 seconds to scan a document at 600 dpi! You might as well just admit that it's no use for scanning photos. The copy part works a bit better, courtesy of the good compatibility between the scanner and the printing head, but the quality of reproduction is only just about acceptable.