Lexmark T650dn Toner Review

The Lexmark T650dn is one of the latest mono workhorse printers aimed at small businesses and work groups. The same engine is in three different T650 models. You get a 350 sheet input tray with the T650n while the T650dn includes a duplexer and the T650dtn has a 900 sheet input tray. All three models therefor should have similar print speeds and output qualities.

At 13.7x16.7x19.4 inches the T650dn is fairly big and is made even more so by the duplex unit. At 40.6 pounds the T650dn is also quite heavy but once you have decided where you want to put it it is quite easy to set up. Windows XP and Vista and Mac OS 10.2 and later operating system drivers come provided and others are available from Lexmarks' web site.

The front panel of the T650dn includes a back-lit LCD display, buttons to navigate its menus and a number pad that can be used in conjunction with the printer's internal memory to hold jobs and release them only when a user enters a pin or password. The T650dn includes both USB and Ethernet sockets on the front and rear and if required it is possible to get wireless networking and parallel interfaces as extras.

You can also get 250, 550 and 2000 sheet trays, and output expander with an extra 550 sheet output bin, a 1,850 sheet output stacker, a five bin mailbox, and a stapler finisher as extras for the T650dn. At 350 pages the paper capacity of the T650dn is likely to be on the low side for most small businesses.

There are two capacities of Lexmark T650dn toner cartridge available: 7,000 pages (0T650A11E) and 25,000 pages (0T650H11E) and the larger capacity ones are far more economic to run|.

The quality of text prints from the T650dn is highly professional. Graphics are not quite as good with some banding evident in darker patches. Photos from the T650 were OK, again showing some banding and there was a loss of some detail.

The T650dn proved to be a quick printer producing 34 pages a minute. Duplex printing from the T650dn was also fast at 27 sides a minute.

There is no doubt the Lexmark T650dn is an excellent printer for its target market. It is well equipped and did most things to a very high standard. It is inexpensive to use and prints are of a high standard. The low capacity paper handling was the only real disappointment but this can be rectified. The T650dn should definitely be high on your list of contenders.


Lexmark toner cartridges are to be found here.