There are a lot of things my customers used to love about laser printers. They print quickly, are reasonably priced, and can get it done without the risk of a paper jam. These days though, it’s been all about the inkjet printers which can do things that laser printers couldn’t believe even 10 years ago. Fast forward to today and here we have the Lexmark C3224dw color laser printer with wireless capabilities. After reading this Lexmark C3224dw review, you’ll know whether or not you should switch from inkjets machines for your office.
For many reasons, one cannot help but admire the success that Lexmark has enjoyed in the field of computer peripherals. While many will question the quality of the printer models that they manufacture, it is difficult to reject their appeal to the general public. Many people who have used printers manufactured by them have nothing but positive things to say in regard to their printing performance.
This Lexmark C3224dw review is mostly designed to describe this printer’s in-detail performance and capabilities. Is the Lexmark C3224dw your printer too? Well, then you are at the right place. We have done a lot of research on this printer, and we are sharing our findings with you in this post. Have a look at the features and make your own decision.
Lexmark C3224dw Color Laser Printer Review
The Lexmark C3224dw color laser printer with wireless capabilities is an affordable printer that helps you save time, space, and money. This powerful device prints up to 22 ppm in black and white or 22 ppm in color. It allows easy access to control panel functions so you can print remotely from your phone or laptop. With its standard two sided printing feature, this budget friendly color laser printer will help you save on paper costs by saving money on buying toner and paper. The two line LCD screen offers full spectrum security where encrypted authentication is a standard requirement for many industries such as government agencies and financial service firms. With faster print speed, high capacity toner cartridge, and low cost per page printing, this printer will help your small business run smoothly.
Design & Build
C3224dw measures 9.6 x 16.2 x 15.5 inches and weighs 35.5 pounds, making it a little smaller and lighter than many other printers in its class. Canon’s imageClass LBP622Cdw is another single-function color laser printer that’s similar in size and weight. But Epson’s WorkForce Pro WF-C5210 is much taller and longer: it’s an inkjet laser alternative that only prints.
Despite its sturdy construction, the C3224dw is a simple machine with limited options for walk-up and an uncomplicated control panel. A monochrome two-line LCD, a Back key, a navigation toggle, a power switch, and a cancel button are all included in the unit.
One 250-sheet cassette forms the input capacity, while just above it is a one-sheet override tray that allows printing of one-off envelopes or other media without needing to empty and reconfigure the storage container. As an output bin, the top of the printer holds 100 sheets.
The C3224dw can print up to 30,000 pages a month with a recommended monthly print volume of 1,500 pages.
Printing Quality & Speed
A color laser printer, the Lexmark C3224dw offers high-quality prints and fast printing speeds. The Lexmark C3224dw printer offers a print speed of up to 22 pages per minute in black and 22 pages per minute in color. The Lexmark C3224dw offers excellent print quality with sharp text and clear graphics. In addition to its fast print speeds, this printer can also print in color, which makes it an ideal choice for busy offices where a lot of people use the printer throughout the day, week, or month. For the driver’s default resolution, it chooses a proprietary 4800 CQ, which is designed to provide a good balance between quality and speed. If you want to get a 600dpi option, you can customize the driver, but it seems to make no difference.
Thanks to the C3224dw, even at 6pt font size regardless of the settings. Although the complex fades visible in our color chart, the mono photos reveal plenty of detail in darker areas. Consequently, you can expect eye-catching reports and beautiful color photos with barely any banding.
Cartridges & Costs
With the C3224dw, you have to worry about running costs. A toner cartridge with a capacity of printing 1,500 pages is the highest you can get. The average cost for mono pages will come out to 4.1p, while the cost for color will be 17.7p. Additionally, you’ll need to replace waste toner bottles periodically, resulting in a 12.2p average cost. In this situation, color printing must be strictly controlled because it is so expensive.
Additional Features
Lexmark C3224dw features fast speeds and excellent print quality in addition to other attractive features. With its touchscreen interface, it is easy to use, and with an automatic duplexer, it will print two-sided documents without you manually turning the pages. Besides that, it has a scanner that lets you scan documents and photos directly onto your device.
The Lexmark C3224dw comes with an input capacity tray that can hold 250 sheets of paper and an output capacity tray with 100 sheets of paper. This means that you’ll be able to print more projects without having to refill the trays as often.
Advanced Print Security Settings
Additionally, you get plenty of options for printing, like printing single or double-sided, creating booklets or posters, and adding watermarks. When you need more than one copy of a document, you can stop it after the first run to go back and prove it before you release the rest. You can also assign a security PIN to your print job, so you have to walk up and put in the right code to release the pages. Due to the lack of a numeric keypad, this can be a bit of a hassle.
Unlike most products in this category, this Lexmark printer has more robust security. You can limit access to features, such as printing in color or denying access based on a group, user, or IP address. The C3224dw’s Confidential Print Setup feature enables you to securely store documents in its memory with up to 10 PINs. Only users who have the PIN for that document will be able to print it. As well as keeping duplicate copies of the documents on the printer, you can also set expiration dates, disable password protection, and block web access when too many attempts have been made.
Connectivity
Wi-Fi Direct and NFC aren’t supported, nor is Google Cloud Print on the C3224dw, so the connectivity options aren’t quite as robust as some competitors.
However, it offers Ethernet, wireless, and USB 2.0 connectivity to connect your PC, tablet or smartphone. Support for mobile devices is also a strong point. Printing documents or web pages is a breeze with the C3224dw as it supports AirPrint. Additionally, you can print photos directly from the iPad’s camera, and you can connect the application to your Dropbox account to print directly from the cloud.
What We Like
- Toner cartridges with high yields
- Compact enough to fit in any space
- A robust security system
- Integrated wireless technology
- Suitable for a variety of devices
- High-quality printing at a fast speed
What We Don’t Like
- It is a bit expensive to run
- NFC and Wi-Fi Direct are not supported
Note: Overall, the Lexmark C3224dw is a good balancing printer with the solid print quality and a bit high running costs. But that doesn’t mean it’s the right choice for everyone. Take your time in deciding if it’s worth purchasing or not, think about what you need out of a printer, and then you should be able to decide if you want to purchase the Lexmark C3224dw printer. This will be the best choice for you if you prefer high-quality output and fast printing speed.
Final Words
Overall, the Lexmark C3224dw is a very good performer. It’s inexpensive and delivers good color printing. The control panel is easy to use without being cumbersome and there is an auto-document feeder for when you need to print a lot of pages quickly. We recommend the Lexmark C3224dw to business users who are in the market for a reliable color laser printer. o if you’re looking for a reliable laser printer with excellent wireless capabilities, a fast print speed, and impressive mobile printing functionality, then the Lexmark C3224dw is an excellent choice.