Lexmark Genesis S815 Printer Review

The field of all-in-ones has a tendency not really to be the area to find adventure, however once in awhile a daring producer tries something that really grabs our attention. The real interest in the Lexmark Genesis S815 is the way it scans: within sits a 10-megapixel camera.

The Genesis creates a composite colour preview image in only three seconds. Even if you include the operation of getting that scan to a connected Personal computer, the time hardly increases. We scanned an A4 colour page in to Photoshop at 150ppi in only six seconds, as well as an A4 picture at 300ppi in only eight - then there's a variety of on-device choices for colour fixing, cropping and all sorts before you decide to conclude the task. In addition to that blistering speed, the precision of the colours in our examination images was outstanding, having strong blacks, lively reds and also the numerous graded blues of a summer sky recognized and consistently reproduced.

On the flipside, the 10-megapixel resolution and A4 platen size mean the utmost feasible scan quality is 300ppi - this is very much a consumer as opposed to a professional device. Fine detail seemed to be its one notable weak point, with squishy, frayed edges on text and minor portions of busy pictures mixing in to one another just a little in areas.

The scan technology completely dictates the unconventional upright form of the Genesis. The normal printer portion is still at the bottom with a 50-sheet output tray at the front; over that, the platen is located virtually upright, along with a 100-sheet input tray likewise upright behind the main body. Open up the cover in your direction and, deep behind the glass, you'll observe the camera and also LEDs, reflected by way of a 45-degree mirror at the rear.

The lid hinges out by approximately an inch to suit thicker media, and you can neatly hang a publication over the top of the platen so that you can simply get a single page. The on-device scan engine enables you to keep adding documents ahead of finalising a multi-page scan, additionally it can scan anywhere up to four pictures simultaneously.

It managed normal-quality mono as well as colour print rates of 9ppm and 7.7ppm respectively, and churned out a 6 x 4in print at best quality in 33 seconds. That is pretty much up there with the likes of the A-Listed Canon Pixma MG6150, and if you unite that with the near-instant scanning, you know copies will arrive fairly rapidly too.

Text and colour documents using the Lexmark S815 printer ink cartridges are appropriately fine, with solid blacks and also solid areas of colour showing no speckling or even frazzled edges. Yet picture prints, even at top quality, are middling; colours are fine yet there just isn't enough contrast as well as sharpness to get anyplace close to the splendour of the Canon.

That is certainly a fairly important weak spot, but everything else concerning the Genesis gets a thumbs-up. It has both USB and also 802.11n Wi-Fi connections, with one of the best and most user-friendly setup programs we have used, as well as slots for SD, MMC, xD plus Memory Stick cards sit in comfortable reach on the right-hand side. And it is all governed by the same outstanding 4.3in touchscreen and SmartSolutions interface that initially impressed us so much on the Interact S605.

The Genesis by itself sells at a ridiculous £400 inc VAT. At that cost we definitely would not go near it, but there is a brief workaround: if you are fast and order before 31 March 2011, you could claim a huge £200 cashback from Lexmark. With the value halved it is much more worthwhile, and even though we can think of several ways in which the Genesis needs to improve, due to the sheer bravado and inventiveness we can not help but like it.

Lexmark Genesis S815 printer cartridges are to be found here.