Lexmark E460dn

Fast printer, great customer service

I bought this printer because PC World rated this one of the Top 10 monochrome laser printers: [...](actually, the E460dn model). I also wanted the printer to have a wireless network interface, so I went with the E460dw.

The printer toner cartridge comes in a plastic frame that is wrapped in a foam layer. The installation manual that comes with the printer as well as a picture card attached to the foam layer describe that the cartridge and frame must be pulled out, and you must remove the foam layer, and then re-insert the frame and cartridge. Simple enough, right? Well, it just so happens that when I tried to pull out the cartridge, the left side was stuck. I thought I just wasn't pulling hard enough, so I pulled harder, and the cartridge came out. BUT, I broke a small plastic hinge in the process. I went to the Lexmark Tech Support site, and behold, one of the top Knowledge Base articles says this is a known issue: [....], Knowledge Base article ENUS32262: "The Toner Cartridge (Print Unit ) Is Stuck Inside a Lexmark E260, E360, or E460 Printer". Now why didn't Lexmark put a warning message somewhere inside the printer to warn customers that this can happen?

I called Lexmark Customer Support, and filed a customer care ticket. Wait time was less than 5 minutes, and I was greeted by a very helpful customer care rep who gladly said he would immediately send a printer replacement with a return shipping label. I received the replacement printer within a few days (it was the July 4th weekend), and shipped back the original printer.

Overall, I am very satisfied with Lexmark's customer support.

Installing the printer driver on my Mac, on the other hand, was tricky. The E460dw has a built-in Web server that broadcasts on its own private wireless SSID. I entered my home SSID and WEP password, and clicked Submit, only to find the printer can't be reached on my wireless network. I then realize that the set-up page also asked for the wireless channel number, whose default is Channel 11, which is different than the channel my wireless router is set up with. Fumbling through the user manual on the installation CD, I found that I had to connect to the built-in Web server by powering down the printer, attaching an Ethernet cable to the printer, and powering the printer back on. After the printer started up, it suddenly print a test page, which contained its IP address. I hit that IP address on my Mac, and behold, I connected to the printer's Web server again, and this time, I set the wireless channel correctly. But I still can't see the printer in my Network settings on my Mac using Leopard. I can only see the printer if I have it connected using an Ethernet cable. I paid extra for the wireless network interface, and I still need to figure out how to make it work with my Mac.

But overall, the printer is blazingly fast!