Inky! (Lexmark Cartridge No. 70)

Member Name: sirg0508

Product:	Lexmark Cartridge No. 70
Date:	14/12/04 (335 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great quality, amazing clarity

Disadvantages: EXPENSIVE, can take a while to dry

The Number 70 Lexmark ink cartridge is again compatible with my Lexmark X85 all-in-one printer. (Please see my other review on the Lexmark Number 20 ink cartridge for the colour cartridge).

This ink is the black original Lexmark version and again comes in different packaging to that of the picture shown above (although that one is still available in certain shops).

Compatability: This is just the same as the colour but i’ll add it here again:

Lexmark Colour Jetprinter: P122, X63, X73, X83, X85, X125, Z42, Z43, Z45 Series, Z51, Z52, Z53, Z54 Series, Z82, Z2700 Series, P700 Series.
Compaq Ink Jet Printer: A1000, A150, A3000, A4000, IJ1200, IJ400P
Samsung Fax/MFP: SF4700 Series, SCX1000 Series, SCX1100, SCX1150
Lenovo: 5110 DigitalPrinter, 6110 DigitalPrinter.

Packaging: The box is red in colour with a white panel and the Lexmark brand name as well as a picture of the cartridge on the front. It has a little box in the bottom right hand corner telling us it is 100% Lexmark quality! Opening up the box you are faced with a thick silvery coloured packet which is very difficult to open by hand – I always need to use scissors! Just in case you do loose the packet, the Lexmark brand name and number 70 are printed on the packet as well as the ink cartridge inside. The silvery packet also names all the US patents this cartridge is covered by.

The cartridge itself is relatively the same size as the colour although this one is still black it has a very deep purply/plum top. It is just more than an inch in width, about an inch and a quarter in breadth and three inches in height so is quite bulky. It has a label so you know which it is as well as having a black dot, the Lexmark brand name and a big number 70. Again, this one will have a blue tab which keeps the air out of the cartridge and will stop it drying out before it is used.

Handling: This can be rather tricky as you feel you want to hold it upright but the contact and hole for the ink to come out is at the bottom so it is very important you don’t touch this. I normally just lay it on its side if it is not being used (if not in the box) but you can get clips with foam pads for the contact to rest on meaning it can be kept upright without the worry of getting ink everywhere – try not to press the foam pad to the ink cartridge though as it could become soaked with ink and run if compressed.

For my Lexmark X85 printer I need to open up the drawer and set the printer to know it is getting a new cartridge. The cartridge compartments will then come to the middle of the printer so they can easily be inserted. Just for reference – the Colour No. 20 cartridge goes on the left and the black No. 70 on the right (just incase I forget and can use this as reference!).

When the lid is closed again, the cartridges automatically move back and start cleaning themselves to get the ink running so there won’t be a gap in the printing. My computer also prints out a test page which will allow me to check the alignment is correct (so it will print straight lines) and recognise there is a new cartridge in the printer – other wise it will keep poping up on my computer that ink is running low (GRR!).

Black is probably the most common cartridge we use in our computer with lots of text documents and some pictures. I normally have a cartridge in the printer for at least a couple of months before it is used up. According to Pricestorm.com this cartridge will allow "Average Yield: 800 pages @ 15% coverage in Quick Print mode (600x300 dpi)/ 275 pages @ 15% coverage in Normal mode (600x600 dpi)"

One problem I do noticed with this ink cartridge is the fact that I have to keep blowing on the paper to get the black ink to dry more than I do with the colour. If you don’t wait and lightly brush the page you will smudge it and get the ink all over your hands. The way to check it is dry is to jsut look at the page and see if there is a wet look to it – move the page back and forwards to see if you can see a difference in the texture. Another problem with any picture of thick block of black ink is it seems to go through the paper. It might just be me and the paper we use but currently we have some HP paper and you can see the ink coming through on the other side although it is not a solid black colour. This is a big problem if you are trying to save paper by printing on both sides which is what I normally do (or try to but my computer doesn’t get the concept of ODD pages or EVEN pages ONLY!).

Another HUGE factor in the idea of even thinking of buying one of these cartridges is the price. All Lexmark cartridges seem to be extortionally highly priced – e.g. you will be spending at least 45GBP on buying one colour and one black ink cartridge for your printer before you can even do anything and looking at other cartridge prices this is far too high! My printer is an all-in-one and came to over 100GBP where as it is usually the ink cartridges that come to more than the printer with other brands!

The cost of a single black cartridge will set you back 22.55 (inkfactory.co.uk)

My dad always buys these and we have three printers in our house so you can imagine how much we must spend on buying ink!

Once you are finished with the cartridge, Lexmark do allow you to send them back so they can be recycled. If you are buying them from a website like InkFactory.co.uk hey will sned you a special plasticky envelope to use. These cartridges are specifically only for 1 use only and we haven't found a way of refilling them without getting covered in ink. There are special cartidges you can buy if you do want to refill them yourselves.

Lexmark are a high quality product and they say their inks will give good clear images and not fade in colour. The only time I have noticed a fading is when the ink level is very low but I have normally already received a message telling me the ink is low on the computer so I can’t fault Lexmark.

These cartridges are made by Lexmark International which is a US company that started back in 1991 but now sell to over 150 countries. On the box you will see three choices and one ticked as to its production:

- Assembled in Mexico
- Made in UK - (This is what mine says it is)
- Made in Philippines.

More information on Lexmark can be found at www.lexmark.com or www.lexmark.co.uk.

Again, I'd give this 4/5 stars - just those expensive prices that bring it down!! If Lexmark do ever read this = MAKE THEM CHEAPER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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