The T430 from Lexmark is primarily designed for business use, and it delivers speedy output to help reduce waiting lines and disgruntled users.

There are two reasons that the T430 does the job: first, it has outstanding print speeds. Secondly, Lexmark's instant-on fuse technology can deliver the first page of a print job in 8 seconds, even if the printer hasn't been used in while. The T430 does an excellent job handling text, but photo and graphics quality fall short, with noticeable banding in both light and dark areas.

The T430 also falls short on its out-of-the-box paper handling capacity, particularly for a printer that's designed for shared use. It ships with a 250-sheet paper tray, which is skimpy even for a business printer that isn't designed to be shared. You can add another 250-sheet paper drawer ($163) and a 500-sheet paper drawer ($216) if your budget can handle it. Per-page printing costs are middle of the road, which may help balance some of the cost of increasing the printer's paper handling capabilities. If you're looking for wireless capability, you can add a wireless print adapter for $149.

Set-up is quick and simple. The T430 supports USB and parallel port connections, although the package doesn't include any cables. A control panel at the top front of the printer provides access to all printer functions. The menu system is easy to navigate, and the LCD is backlit.

The printer includes a 100-sheet multipurpose feeder, a 150-sheet output bin, and a 20-sheet rear output bin. It can handle a wide variety of paper sizes and stocks, including letter, legal, envelopes, card stocks, labels, and transparencies.

The T430 supports four printing resolutions: 600X600 dpi, 1,200X1,200 dpi, 1,200 dpi image quality, and 2,400 dpi image quality. It ships with 32MB RAM and is upgradeable to 288MB, another way to reduce waiting times if some of the individuals who share the printer tend to print large or graphics-heavy documents.

If your small office handles a lot of varied print jobs, especially text, and speed is of the essence, the Lexmark T430 gets high marks for getting print jobs done quickly.

Pro: Speedy output. Excellent text output quality, even at small font sizes. Expandable paper handling capabilities and memory. Available wireless network option.
Con: Only accepts Lexmark toner cartridges. Standard paper input is skimpy for a business printer, particularly a networked business printer. Photo and image quality are barely average.

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Warranty
1 year limited LexExpress