Now I can see my true pictures (Lexmark P315)

Member Name: Donf18

Product:	Lexmark P315
Date:	30/04/06 (244 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick, Easy with great results

Disadvantages: Cannot use with PC

I have tried many printers over the years and most of them have been manufactured by Lexmark. The main reason for this is the price, they are mostly always cheaper and the quality is usually very good. I have recently purchased or rather upgraded my digital camera and have been on the look out over the last few weeks for a reasonably priced photo printer.

Only last week I saw this model on offer in ALDI for £49.99 and in ASDA for £59.99 so you can imagine my elation and joy when I went to buy paint at Homebase and saw the exact same printer on offer for £29.99. I quickly borrowed £30 smackers of the Mrs and made the purchase.

The printer produces excellent quality photos from its Lexmark Number 33 cartridge. The colours are vivid and bright and I am well chuffed with my purchase. The printer is perhaps 9 inches square by 4 or 5 inches high and has an inset carry handle for easy transportation. It is a mains powered device and has two memory cards slots to facilitate the printing of your pictures taken with a digital camera.

The printer is pictbridge compatible which means that should your camera have the same function you can print direct from the camera. If like me you camera does not support this function simply remove the camera's memory card and insert it into the printer slot and follow the very easy to use menu system.

The memory card which is mostly used on digital cameras is the SD or secure digital format or the small ones to you and me. The camera supports also Smart Media, xD Picture Card, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Memory Stick Duo only with adapter supplied with Stick, Compact flash type 1 and 2 and microdrive. So as you can see it just about has everything covered.

The printer has a small 2.5 inch LCD screen for user interface purposes. It has a selection of buttons to enable you to get the exact picture you require.

The printer uses a very simple yet effective menu system which I believe is almost idiot proof. Through the menu you can alter the brightness colour size and zoom of the picture on the memory card. This is done by selecting the desired function and pressing the select button...............see I told you it was idiot proof. The main button on the control section of the printer has a left right up down button which enables you to scroll through the menu.

Once you have edited the chosen picture and have what you think is the finished product simply press start and your masterpiece will be printed. The printer uses 4x6 photo paper to print the picture on and I have printed many using both the recommended and the cheap Poundland packs of this paper, and I would defy anyone to tell the difference. I have found in the past that using decent paper produces better results but in this case I cannot tell the difference. Depending on the options chosen the printer will take between 38 seconds and one and a half minutes to print the picture.

The results are absolutely fantastic, bright clear vivid pictures just like the ones the Chemist gives you after handing in your film and waiting 4 days, only now you only wait 2 mins max. I have lost count of how many pictures I have printed and the menu system when directed to cartridge status tells me there is still plenty ink left in my cartridge.

For value quality and easy of use this printer is a must have for the budding digital David Bailey and if you are quick off the mark and get down to Homebase the value is even better. Having used this for a bit now I am convinced that had I purchased it for the ALDI price of £49.99 I would still have been extremely satisfied . i would have liked to have been able to use it for pictures on my computer but since it is a portable printer and completely self sustaining this is not possible. This printer is meant only to print pictures from your digital camera and when it gets to work it produces exceptional quality prints at a fraction of high street costs........................................an absolutely brilliant piece of kit.

I have had no problems with this in either reliability or quality so am unable to comment on Lexmark product support since I have had no need to use it. In fact through all my printers from them i have never had to use it, that in itself says a lot about the quality of the manufacturing process.

I'll warn Homebase about your impending visit.

Summary: A superb photo printer at a great price

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