Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 – need focus on printing speed and quality

Thumbs Up:

SmartSolutions widgets; good driver features; easy wireless setup; two individual paper trays; fast printing speed.

Thumbs Down:

No option for adjusting auto-document feeder; expensive price tag; missing Bluetooth support.

The Whiz Kid Speaks:

Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 is a multifunction printer that has features for print, scan, copy, and fax. It is based on Lexmark Thermal Inkjet technology. It has 4 ink palette for cyan, magenta, yellow and black.

Lexmark is providing 5 years warranty with its printer. The maximum operating temperature is 89.6°F and minimum is 60°F. The Platinum Pro 905 is ENERGY Star qualified.

Razzle Dazzle:

Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 has an expected size and weight being a complete office multifunction device for fax, scanner, copier and printer. It is 12.1 inches tall, 18.31 inches wide and 15.42 inches deep and weighs 25.6 lbs. It has more professional looking design. The upper body has Apple-esque white glossy color. The complete printer with auto-document feeder, touch-screen, and paper trays has sharp edges and gives an attractive look.

Inside Dope:

Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 is a full-fledged office printer that costs $400 and offers touch-screen controls without any physical shortcut, two auto-document feeder trays, Wi-Fi, SD memory card and PictBridge support. What’s more – you can connect it directly to Internet and browse Lexmark’s Smart Solutions to add widgets on display. However, if you think that you need the physical buttons instead of touch-screen options and want fast printing speeds then you can opt less priced – HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless. On the contrary, the Platinum Pro 905 is more advanced and latest as compared to both Brother MFC-990CW and the HP Pro 8500 wireless.

4.3 inches MyTouch LCD display is located on the 9.5 inches wide front panel. The display is enough bright for easy view, but it is fixed and you cannot move it. There is only one physical power button on the left side of LCD panel. Media card reader slot, PictBridge USB port and Wi-Fi status indicator are located on the right of display. Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 printer has inbuilt silo drawer in paper tray that enables to contain 150 sheets easily. In addition, there is a separate 150 sheets paper tray. It is important to mention here that only first tray has necessary guides for containing 4×6 inches photo paper, whereas the bottom drawer only accepts letter and legal paper sizes. You can detach the bottom tray from the printer to save space on the desk.

Let us get back to the touch-screen display. The reflective LCD works as magnet to capture smudges and fingerprints. There are four large icons on the home screen including one separate icon for Smart Solutions to show customized menus for downloaded applications. You can tap on “Add more Applications” for going to Smart Solutions page. From here, the printer can be connected to your network and computer either via Ethernet cable or through wireless from inbuilt Setup Utility inside drivers. However, Bluetooth support is not available in the Lexmark Platinum Pro 905.

We connected our test model of Lexmark Platinum Pro 95 with our computer in just 8 minutes. Obviously, you must know the security key for your wireless connection. Lexmark provides free software inside the included disc that has applications for connecting to printer using wireless, USB cable or Ethernet wire, photo viewers for Picasa and Photobucket, and online Google Calendar.

Lexmark is offering only 12 SmartSolutions currently and all of them are simple shortcuts that you might need on physical buttons. One of our favorite shortcuts is Eco-copy that allows customizing a button for printing on both sides of paper with low quality and minimum ink. We will prefer the manufacturer to include a SmartSolution to locate and print map depicting nearest retailer for refilling or buying new ink cartridges. The printer driver gives the option for printing in all inks, color ink or black only.

The Platinum Pro 905 uses latest Lexmark Vizix ink cartridges – three for cyan, magenta, and yellow as well as other one for black ink. The printing cost is 1 cent for black and 3 cents for color page while using $5 priced 105XL cartridges.  The black ink print costs very less than 1.6 cent for HP Office jet Pro 8500.

You can access promotional offers, warranty information, and other information inside the included CD. Supported operating systems are Mac OS X and Windows XP/Vista/7. The software also displays onscreen progress bar while printing and shows graphic representation of ink depletion. It will also give low ink warning message on computer as well as on printer’s LCD display.

The presentation printing speed of Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 is 3.73PPM (pages per minute). On the contrary, less priced – $399 HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless has presentation printing speed of 6.46PPM. Color graphics printing speed of the HP 8500 is 5.75PPM that is better than 3.27PPM of the Lexmark 905. Moreover, the text printing speed of Lexmark 905 is 7.33PPM that is less than 11.35PPM of HP 8500. The photo printing speed of both Lexmark and HP models is 1.39PPM. It is important to mention here that the printing performance of Lexmark Pro 905 is better than that of Brother MFC-990CW, Canon PIXMA MX860, and Epson Artisan 800.

The black text print quality is not like that of laser one. Black lines looked rich but created overall blurry image. These imperfections are passable for an inkjet printer. The color photo prints from Lexmark suffered from smearing and jagged edges, whereas HP 8500 printed sharp photographs.

Lexmark is providing five year generous warranty with its Platinum Pro 905 with free life time priority phone support. You can also transfer the warranty if you sell the printers within five years. Device drivers, its updates, online courses, warranty information, device specifications, how-tos, and FAQs are available online at Lexmark website. The email or chat technical support is available from 5AM to 8PM PT on weekdays and 9PM to 3PM on Saturday. It is also offering service training at selected authorized locations.

Nitty Gritty:

Lexmark Platinum Pro 905 is a full fledged office multifunction printer that features touch-screen, SmartSolution widgets, and two individual paper trays. If you need an office printer with complete touch-screen interface and do not mind low color printing quality, then you can buy – the Platinum Pro 905. However, you can check HP Officejet Pro 8500 Wireless that offers touch-screen interface, physical shortcut buttons, faster printing speed and better quality in fewer prices.

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