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Product: Printer/scanner/copier

Developer: Lexmark

Minimum Requirements: Mac OS X v10.1.5

Technical Specifications: See full list

Retail Price: $99

Availability: Out now

First of all, you have to understand that it's difficult to fault a printer that can print, scan and copy for under $100. Even if it doesn't do any of them perfectly, it's still inexpensive, and you get what you pay for, you know.

Having said that, this is the third or fourth Lexmark all-in-one we've reviewed here at Applelinks, and we can say they've gotten much better with each new model. What you can get for $100 these days stops just short of amazing, provided you're not looking for professional quality results. In fact, Lexmark seems to be taking steps away from professional users. Pricing these so low is a good example. Making them incredibly simple to use is another; the lack of control will appeal to consumers, but will turn off those with a working knowledge of Photoshop, for example.

When installing the ink cartridges, a lever holds the lid in place so you can comfortably get to their carriers, although they do sit quite a ways back in the machine. After the typically simple Lexmark hardware/software installation (the whole process is covered on a two-sided start-up sheet), you're basically ready to go. From within other applications, Lexmark takes full advantage of Mac OS X's printing method, allowing you to simply choose your print quality and the type of paper on which you'll be printing (this can be left on Automatic, and I had no problem with the software guessing incorrectly). Printing speed is not great with photos, but it's pretty good for the price. Printing a 3 1/2 x 5" 240 dpi image at Better quality took a little over two minutes. Printing the same photo at Best quality took over five. I didn't try the faster settings for photos, as my pride won't let me do that. Why would I want to print a photo at any quality lower than best? It defeats the purpose of getting a digital camera if you're going to destroy the images with a bad print.

Priting text is also a bit slower than one would want, but not terribly so. Again, at the lowest quality, Lexmark claims you can get 17 pages per minute (ppm). I found my printer maxing out at around 15, but this is only at Draft quality. For really good looking text, expect around 3 to 5 ppm. Oddly, the printer doesn't ship with a black ink cartridge for text. You get the color and the photo cartriges, the latter of which can be replaced with black if you know you're going to be focusing on text rather than photos. I found this somewhat annoying, as it limits the PrinTrio's usefulness to environments in which a separate printer can be used for text. This is especially upsetting because the PrinTrio's text capabilities are top notch when the black cartridge is installed, even on standard inkjet paper.

As for the photo quality, it's a bit of a mixed bag. On one hand, I was hard pressed to find any hints of banding or "dotty textures." On the other hand, the colors tended to be a bit muddy. The shadow values seemed slightly washed out, harming the crispness of the photos. Certain colors also came out a bit oversaturated; reds, in particular. And speaking of reds, the photos I printed seemed to have a bit of a red color cast on standard ink jet paper, but were quite accurate on coated photo paper.

There are two reasons for this, as far as I can tell. First, of course, is that coated paper holds ink better. Because there's not as much bleeding and saturation, the colors stand out better. Second is resolution (if you know how to take advantage of it; there's very little on this in the manual). Coated paper can handle up to 4800 x 1200 dpi, while all other paper types max out at 2400 x 1200. Remember, you'll generally want to print at a dpi that equals no more than 1/3 of the printer's resolution. I found photos looking their best here at 300 dpi no matter what type of paper I was using.

Now, copying and scanning. Buttons to control these functions are located on the lower right of the printer's top, but the computer has to be on for them to work as they're controlled through Lexmark's AIO Print Center software. I would like to be able to use the copier without having to go through the system, but so be it. Upon lauching this software, you're presented with the option to either scan or copy. Scanning is simply a matter of selecting what's being scanned, telling the software how the scan will be used (printed, viewed on screen, etc.), and picking a destination for the scanned image. You can set up specific applications for this, although I found that the software automatically located my copies of Photoshop, Graphic Converter, Mail, etc. Oddly, although it found Internet Explorer, it didn't find Safari...and why would you want to scan a photo direclty a web browser, anyway?

Lexmark's scanning software remains rudimentary, and there's still no TWAIN support for scanning directly from Photoshop or other graphic apps. For me, this is a drawback. For those who have no idea what TWAIN means, it's a feature. Lexmark has kept this simple for a reason. The scans aren't of printshop quality (they tend to come out over saturated and too sharp), but those who would notice aren't the types to be using the scanner from an all-in-one printer to begin with.

For copying, you select the number of pages and color type, paper size (it can be set to automatic), your zoom percentage if you so desire, copy quality, and paper type. Pretty common stuff. However, you can have the software prompt for multiple pages. You can't feed multiple pages at once, of course, but this simple feature does save you the hassle of mucking about in the print center for each page. I would like the ability to save settings here for documents types that get copied frequently. Hitting the copy and scan buttons on the printer itself doesn't launch the software, it just uses the default settings. Bear this in mind if you have any changes to make.

Oh, and regarding the bed for copying and scanning, it's slanted slightly downwards. As a result, smaller documents and photos would often slide out of position as I was closing the lid. On the other hand, the lid does lift up slightly in the back to allow for scanning of thicker objects.

The PrinTrio Photo 3150 has four slots that can accommodate various types of digital media cards:

• CompactFlash Type I and II


• IBM Microdrive


• Secure Digital


• MultiMedia Card


• Memory Stick


• SmartMedia

Here's the thing, though, and this is a more serious complaint than it may seem. The documentation on this has a heavy PC bias. In fact, all the Lexmark documentation has a heavy PC bias. I'm not even sure if these media readers work with Macs, and I couldn't test them as the memory cards from the two digital cameras I tried wouldn't fit. Reading the PC instructions, though, it seems to me these card readers do nothing more than iPhoto does through USB. I'd like to know for sure, but, well, the technical writers at Lexmark apparently don't want to let Mac users know. There are a couple extra software items on the disc that also aren't well documented. Lexmark Photo Editor allows you to complete minor edits on the photos you've scanned, but it's not as good as some shareware programs out there. If you don't have PhotoShop, I'd recommned Graphic Converter over Lexmark Photo Editor. There's also ABBYY FineReader 5 Sprint. This appears to be character recognition software, but, again, no Macintosh documentation.

Now, what would a printer be without its share of troubles? The PrinTrio Photo 3150's footprint, for starters, is quite large at 10 x 23 x 15 inches. This is acceptible, considering the amount of space three different units would take up, but the problem comes with the paper output tray. It sits just above the desk, rather than atop the printer (that's where the scanner is, after all), so you'll need another six inches or so to properly catch the paper. It's unavoidable, but bear that in mind.

Also, consider the amount of ink the printer needs to lay down to get a high quality print, you'll be running through cartridges quite quickly. As anyone who has worked with an ink jet printer knows, the cartridges aren't cheap. If you print items with any degree of frequency, prepare yourself for regular trips down to the nearest office supply store.

And finally, although nozzle clogs are a common occurance on ink jet printers, they seem especially troublesome on Lexmark printers if you leave them idle for too long. It's a good idea to print a test page at least once a week if you're not otherwise using your printer. Of course, what was I just saying about the price of ink cartridges?

One other thought...the Lexmark printers tend to look better with each new product line. The PrinTrio Photo 3150 has a metallic silver sheen not unlike that of a TiBook, and its sharp angles and lines are reminsicent of a modern stealth fighter. It's good to know my printer can't be detected by radar.

For its price, the PrinTrio Photo 3150 is a great deal for the general consumer. Although the scanner and copier tools aren't the best, they get the job done. Printing is what really matters, though, and starting here, Lexmark has taken a big step towards covering their end of digital photography. If your prints aren't looking good enough to frame and put on your desk, you now have no one to blame but yourself.

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