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Speed limits

Posted on 8 Jul 2008 at 14:54

Paul Ockenden clears up the confusion surrounding the options available for mobile data from the UK phone networks.

Lexmark revisited

Multifunction printers have been around for a long time now, as have Wi-Fi printers and indeed network scanners, but recently I came across a device that neatly combines all of them, the Lexmark X6575. Let's get some prejudices out of the way first. I originally came across Lexmark back in the 1990s, and was expecting its kit to be brilliant, knowing as I did that the company was a spin-off from IBM's printer division. But I remember being disappointed, as its products didn't seem particularly good. In fact, they looked like an exercise in what's often called Gillette Marketing: sell the base product cheaply and then make a fortune from expensive consumables. To be honest, I hadn't really paid much attention to Lexmark since.

But the X6575 sitting on my desk has completely changed that opinion. It's well bolted together, with a duty cycle of 3,000 pages per month that's easily suitable for most small businesses or departments in a larger organisation. The whole installation and driver experience is very well done, too.

What I really like about this device, though, is its wireless capabilities. On the front panel it says "Wi-Fi Printing", but actually it does far more than that: it will scan and fax wirelessly, too. It's only once you come to use this in a typical home-office environment that you realise how wonderful it is. Let's take an example: it's a nice sunny day and so you're sitting out in the garden using your laptop to work on a presentation. But you realise that you need to add in a logo, which you've only got in printed form. Simply pop indoors to the X6575, press the scan button, select which computer you want to scan to (there can be several registered), then choose which application you want to scan to - let's say Photoshop. Press the Scan button, and by the time you're back in the garden, you'll find Photoshop open with a scanned page sitting there ready to be tidied.

Faxing works wirelessly, too, so while still sitting in the garden, I can fire off a fax to a client asking why they haven't paid last month's invoice. I know that some other multifunction devices have a degree of wireless connectivity, but I've never seen a professional model with quite the degree of flexibility that this Lexmark provides. Couple that with the likes of the Automatic Document Feed (ADF) on the scanner, automatic duplex printing, high-yield print cartridges, and it all adds up to a brilliant business tool. I know what you're thinking, "sounds expensive", but amazingly enough you can find it for £110 inc VAT in places such as Currys and PC World, and for well below £100 if you hunt around among the mail order suppliers. With those high-yield ink cartridges available for about £12, I think it's something of a bargain.

Naming conventions

And, if you hadn't already guessed, the regular reader called Richard is a certain Mr Pountain of this parish, who is currently fiddling with his mobile data connection in the Umbrian Appennines.