Lexmark X2600 All -In-One Printer (12L1685) Review

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(More customer reviews)I purchased the Lexmark X2600 primarily because, out of all the printers on the shelves, this was the cheapest. I wasn't looking for quality--I just needed something that could print and scan. It came without a USB cable or black ink. The cable I could understand--it's pretty much a given for any printer--but the ink was a little odd. Why include color but not black?
I picked up some black ink along with the printer since I only intended to print text files. The print quality is mediocre, but you get what you pay for. I'd be willing to let this slide and would probably never write this review if not for what happened next.
Only a couple weeks after purchasing the printer, having printed, at most, about fifty or so black and white pages, I was informed that the included color ink cartridge was about to run out. I had no idea why it was using color ink to print black, but I didn't really care. Finally, after sending it a print job one day, a warning popped up that the color cartridge was completely empty. That's annoying, but whatever. I click ok and re-send the print job. The warning pops up again. It won't let me print. I make sure "black-only" is selected in the options menu. No dice.
I assume there's some way around this. There's no way an empty color cartridge would seriously prevent you from printing in black. No printer I've owned has ever done that. I ring up tech support and am told that, BY DESIGN, the Lexmark 2600 will not print AT ALL without a color ink cartridge. I'm sorry, but that's just inexcusable. Poor print quality? Fine. Lousy ink levels? Sure. But you're telling me I have to spend $40 on ink I'm never going to use on a printer that costs only ten dollars more so I can print in black and white?
If not for the scanner--which still works, thank god--I would have a $50 paper weight right now. I've never encountered such a bold-faced attempt to force the consumer to purchase ink. I'm no stranger to ink cartridges that are only half-filled or claim to be "out" when there are still 100 prints left in them, but this is a new low. Let this serve as a lesson. Even if you're on a tight budget, go ahead and spend the extra money and buy from a reputable company. Fifty dollars sounds like a great deal, right up until you have to spend another forty dollars less than a month later. Avoid Lexmark at all cost!

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