What’s in a name? Is a printer that also scans, copies, and faxes, an MFP—a multifunction printer—or an AIO—an all-in-one printer? It’s starting to look like the “AIO” marketing label is pushing aside the stodgy-sounding “MFP.” The Lexmark X7675 AIO bundles the aforementioned capabilities plus wireless networking and support for myriad memory cards into an inkjet-based printer.
Besides packing a lot of features into a compact package, the X7675 also weighs in at a recession-friendly price point. Listing at $199, the Lexmark can be found at some major e-tailers for as little as $119.
Out of the Box
Built around an inkjet engine, the Lexmark X7675 is lighter and more compact than a typical laser AIO, weighing in at just 18 pounds and measuring 14 inches deep and eight inches high. The top lid sports a 25-page automatic document feeder (ADF) and lifts to reveal a flatbed scanner. The control console includes buttons for copy, scan, fax and photo (for reading memory cards), plus a fax dialing keypad and a 2.4 inch color LCD.
Also on the front is an illuminated “Wi-Fi” badge that indicates connection status, plus an array of memory card slots that support a range of devices including USB sticks, PictBridge cameras, Sony MemoryStick, MMC, CF, SD and xD cards, among others.
On the back you’ll find a USB port for direct connection to a PC, an Ethernet jack for wired networking and RJ-11 jacks for fax/phone lines.
The printer does not have a paper tray like you find on a laser or some inkjet printers, but rather a vertical paper feed that holds a very modest 100 sheets.
Going Wireless
In its favor, the X7675 offers two kinds of connectivity rarely found in AIO’s at this low price point—both wired and wireless networking. In fact, wireless networking is rarely seen in any printers, but really makes a whole lot of sense. After all, it is incredibly convenient to be able to place a printer anywhere in the room, or even in another room.
 |
| The Lexmark X7675 inkjet-based all-in-one printer offers both wired and wireless networking options. |
The printer’s initial wireless connection setup is a little bit frustrating, only because you do need to connect it to a PC to associate the printer with your wireless network. It seems like this should be something you could do from the printer’s own control panel (you can view network settings, but not scan for a network). We temporarily connected a laptop PC to the Lexmark’s USB port, and installed the setup software from the included CD.
After the drivers install, software guides you to the wireless setup wizard, which will scan for and find available wireless networks. You can input a passphrase for secured networks using WEP, WPA, or WPA2.
Once the association is made, the printer will connect to your wireless network every time it is powered on, and the front Wi-Fi badge will light up green to show a solid connection. You can view the signal strength from the front panel LCD, but again, you cannot change the wireless settings from there.
Software Setup
Whether you connect the X7675 by wireless, Ethernet or USB, the included CD includes several software packages, the most central being printer drivers, the Lexmark toolbar and the Printivity Productivity Studio.
The toolbar is an add-on to Internet Explorer which gives you several buttons to trigger print jobs in normal, black-and-white or text-only mode or to schedule a Web page print job for a later time.
Printivity is a central hub with which you can scan, copy, e-mail, fax, manage and print photos as well as posters. For novices, the Productivity Studio is actually well-designed and simple to navigate, consolidating many features that you would otherwise access using a variety of third-party software packages.
