Lexmark Impact S305 review

The Lexmark Impact S305 is a rather fussy-looking device. It's quite large and heavy, but with the added attraction of having a built-in scanner and Wi-Fi connectivity, and also being a decent all-round photo printer.

You'll find a paper feed tray on the top of the Lexmark and an input tray at the front. Controls are via a small mono LCD display on the front. There is a wide array of buttons, but setting up the printer is straightforward, with clear onscreen instructions.

Along with a USB port and built-in Wi-Fi support, which we found easy to use, you'll also find a PictBridge port and media card slot down on the right-hand corner of the printer, making this a fully rounded device.

Quality scanner

The scanner has a 1200dpi (dots per inch) maximum scan mode and we found that scans were far more acceptable than on the HP PhotoSmart C4680. However, printing can be a slightly loud affair.

This is the first printer we've seen to make the most of Lexmark's new Vizix print technology. Our test prints showed a great balance between colours and even blacks looked sharp for such an entry level machine.

The main reason for this warmth of colour is that this is a four-cartridge inkjet printer, packing in a double-capacity black and three separate cartridges for cyan, magenta and yellow. You'll find replacement black cartridges cost around £10 (inc. VAT) each, while colour is slightly more expensive at £16 (inc. VAT).

If you have room for a larger printer in your home, the Lexmark Impact S305 is a surprisingly good all-round machine. We don't like its rather fussy design, but we were more than happy with its print speeds and, more importantly, the quality of images it delivered.

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