Instructions for unpacking the printer are usually printed on a paper or quick start guide. Lexmark bucks this trend and puts the unpacking and setup instructions in the software. Once you start the software, the instructions are easy to follow.
Even though the print head and cartridges were inside the printer, they still needed to be installed. The software gives detailed instructions and both the print head and ink cartridges popped in easily. The setup CD walks you through the entire setup, from inserting the ink to connecting the printer via Wi-Fi. As you can see in Figure 5, there is also a step-by-step guide on the printer’s screen that appears automatically when you open the printer.
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Figure 5: The on-screen guide.
The only instructions that were missing were on the positioning of the touch screen. As you can see in Figure 6, the screen angles out from the body of the printer. When you set up the printer, you should tilt the screen upward until it locks in place. If you ever want to move the printer, you will want to fold the screen down. Again, there are no instructions on how to do this. Although it may seem easy, we had some trouble with this. There is actually a place in the middle under the screen that you must press in just the right way to get the screen to close. (Please Lexmark – make this easier!)
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Figure 6: The touch screen angles.
Wi-fi setup was amazingly easy. You must hook the printer up to the computer with a USB cable to perform this installation, but the USB cable is included. We tried this wireless installation on several computers and several networks and it worked seamlessly. The setup allows you to sync the printer to a WPS-enabled router with the touch of a button, but even if your router is not WPS-enabled, setup is easy.
As shown in Figure 7, a green Wi-Fi light on the front of the printer indicated that the wireless is working correctly. The printer supports wireless printing 801.11 b,g, and n. When used with an “n” router, it gives an excellent broadcast area and very good transfer speeds.
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Figure 7: Green Wi-Fi light.
Unfortunately, installing the printer drivers didn’t work as well in our tests. Installation went seamlessly on a Windows XP computer, but when we tried to install the printer drivers on a 64-bit Vista machine, the installation hung, even with the proper drivers. After an hour of looking at the “Please wait… preparing your printer windows,” we canceled the installation and called tech support. The experience was mixed. We talked to Eileen, a very nice lady from Manila whose English was very good. However, after 1 ½ hours, our problem was still not solved when our telephone connection was cut off. At this point, we decided to restart the computer, and low and behold, after the reboot, we were able to print from the computer. We finished the conversation with Eileen through an online chat.
Although the printer installed, it only worked properly for two days. Then it started throwing up an Internet Explorer script error every time we printed. We found that there was already a firmware update for the printer and so we updated the firmware, but still got the same error.
Another call to tech support yielded the worse response we could imagine. Upon explaining the problem to tech support, the representative said, “Since this is an Internet Explorer error, you will have to go to Microsoft or your computer manufacturer to find the solution.”
After the tech rep realized how upset we were with that answer, she did try to troubleshoot the problem. So we spent another 1 ½ hours on the phone and the call ended with no solution to the problem.
