Lexmark T650 Toner

The Lexmark T650dn is one of the latest mono workhorse printers aimed at small businesses and work groups. It is actually one of three T650 models all built around the same engine. The T650n has a 350 page input tray, the T650dn also has a duplex unit and with the T650dtn the input tray is upgraded to 900 pages. Comments about print speed and output quality applies to all three models.

At 13.7x16.7x19.4 inches the T650dn is fairly big and is made even more so by the duplex unit. Getting the T650dn up and running is easy although you will want to decide where to put it from the beginning because it weighs 40.6 pounds. Drivers for Windows XP and Vista and Mac OS 10.2 and later are included while drivers for many other operating systems can be downloaded from Lexmarks' web site.

The front panel of the T650dn includes a back-lit LCD display, buttons to navigate its menus and a number pad that can be used in conjunction with the printer's internal memory to hold jobs and release them only when a user enters a pin or password. The T650dn includes both USB and Ethernet sockets on the front and rear and if required it is possible to get wireless networking and parallel interfaces as extras. You can also get 250, 550 and 2000 sheet trays, and output expander with an extra 550 sheet output bin, a 1,850 sheet output stacker, a five bin mailbox, and a stapler finisher as extras for the T650dn. At 350 pages the paper capacity of the T650dn is likely to be on the low side for most small businesses.

The T650 uses either 7,000 page or 25,000 page toner cartridges (0T650A11E and 0T650AH11E) with the bigger capacity being much cheaper to use over time. The T650dn prints text of a high standard. Graphics are not quite as good with some banding evident in darker patches. Photos from the T650 were OK, again showing some banding and there was a loss of some detail. The T650dn produced 34 pages a minute which is an excellent result. Even when using the duplex unit the T650dn managed 27 sides a minute which is most impressive.

Overall the Lexmark T650dn is a good printer for small business and work groups. The features offered are generous and overall it performed very well. It is inexpensive to use and prints are of a high standard. The low capacity paper handling was the only real disappointment but this can be rectified. The T650dn is a real contender.

Theodore Beach is a long time member of the Cartridge Concept team which specialises in printer cartridges.