The Lexmark E250dn monochrome laser printer offers a number of attractive features, but its per-page printing costs are higher than average. Still, this model performs well and proves to be an overall good purchase.

The E250dn supports USB, parallel and Ethernet connections, so you can connect it to both older and newer systems. A wireless print adapter ($249) is also available, as well as several wired and wireless print servers.

Paper capacity is typical for this price range, with a 250-sheet paper input tray and a 150-sheet output bin on top of the printer. An optional 550-sheet paper drawer is available for $199. A manual feed slot is present on the front of the printer for easy access, while an exit slot on the rear of the E250dn helps reduce wrinkling and paper jams when printing to heavier paper stocks.

The control panel on the front of the E250dn lacks an LCD display, which isn't unusual in this price range. Indicator lights let you know when you're out of paper, when there's a paper jam, when there's a printer error other than a paper jam, or when toner is getting low. The control panel also includes Cancel and Continue buttons. The various blinking light sequences can take a little time to interpret, but most errors don't occur very often.

Output quality was above-average to excellent for both text and graphics. Text appeared sharp, even at small font sizes, and out test photos and other grayscale graphics showed good contrast and tonal range. Line art was sharp with few or no breaks, even in fine-lined images. The E250dn ships with 32MB RAM, which is expandable to 96MB, for printing large or complex documents.

The Lexmark E250dn is an expandable monochrome printer that delivers good quality output, but be aware that its per-page printing costs are above the average for this class of laser printer.


Pros:  Good output quality, built-in duplexer and network connectivity, above-average print speeds, compact footprint, supports multiple connections and wireless connectivity (with an optional adapter)
Cons:  Slightly high per-page printing costs, limited paper capacity out of the box, output quality of photos is average, no LCD display, complicated light/blinking light sequences on control panel

Warranty
1 year limited, with LexExpress