Lexmark MX310dn Compact All-in One Monochrome Laser Printer, Network Ready, Scan, Copy, Duplex Printing and Professional Features

The printer works quite well most of the time, but it says that I have not set up the SMPT Server and I am not quite sure where to go to fix that issue. Occasionally, the printer will just not work until I shut down both the printer and the computer. I suspect I have something set up incorrectly, but I'm not sure what. I like the features on the printer. I like that I can easily do two-sided copies and printing. I do not use it to fax at this time, but I have used the scanner and it works well. It just took me a while to figure out where to go to accomplish that task. Mostly, I like the printer and will up the rating if I can figure out why it will sometimes not print.

I ordered this for myself at work because my company is so cheap that I was sick of having to deal with their crappy printers. I had gone through three "all-in-one" printers in the last two months once my original one died. As I said, the company I work for is so cheap that they got the cheapest ones they could find, and they couldn't do the very basic thing that I needed the printer to do: print through the bipass feeder... or whatever you call it: the front part of the printer that pulls down so you can print on a piece of paper that you just laid there, instead of having to open the paper tray each time you want to print on a different type of paper. Whatever that's called, that's the ONE function I need. All of the other printers CLAIMED it had a 10-page capacity, but none of them would even print one page straight. Long rant short, it works just as I need it to. I forgot to mention the added features that make this thing worth every penny and supersede every negative aspect: the copying, faxing and scanning abilities. Fast, fast, fast - and right from my chair! The scanning function is what I use the most and it's the most convenient and quickest scanner I've ever had the pleasure of dealing with. Not only that, but the ability to scan and read a document and put it into Word format? SICK! That saves me hours every week, and I don't think that's an exaggeration. One issue: it's haunted. I turn off my computer at the end of the day. When I walk back into my office the next morning, before I even turn on my computer, the printer sometimes wakes back up from sleep itself, and prints off the last thing that I printed the day before. I shizz you not. I'm not crazy. Another minor issue that I fixed after the first day was the incessant beeping. Every time the printer did anything, had an error, etc., it would beep four or five times. There are a few options you have to select to turn the beeping off, but it's silent now.

UPDATE Dec 2015: Ready for the bone yard!! Well it's the end of 2015 and the printer is sending me the "blue screen of death" which requires a reboot of the printer several times a day. Printer was good for about one year. Now it's a piece of junk waiting for recycle. DO NOT BUY THIS UNIT!!!!! I WAS WRONG ABOUT HOW GREAT THIS WAS. ---------------------------------- This printer is also very quiet! The printer comes "alive" for a few seconds every hour or so. Be aware because it might startle you. Below are some hints for an easy setup. I'm using Windows 7.0. Helpful hints!!! GENERAL SETUP ISSUES 1. I first selected to install all functions which was a big mistake. I quickly realized I won't be using SMTP or the FAX right away and there is no way to turn the functions off. You will have constant errors/ and or lights flashing. You have to re-initialize the printer all over again selecting from the home menu: SETTINGS; SETTINGS; GENERAL SETTINGS; RUN INITIAL SETUP and then check again what you really want installed. 2. I loaded a few sheets to try the copy function out but it did not pull any paper from the tray. Customer support said to clean the rollers in the paper tray area with alcohol. This did the trick! SCANNING ISSUES 1. I wish the printer had a USB port to scan to. It doesn't so you have to setup to scan back to your computer which is ok but sometimes not practical. Here's where the problems start. Read the directions carefully before you try to set this function up. You have to install JAVA which unfortunately this printer doesn't like the current version. The workaround is: after you install JAVA, you must go into the JAVA Control Panel (from the Windows start menu), select CONFIGURE JAVA, select SECURIUTY TAB, then select EXCEPTION SITE LIST, then edit, then add, http://xx.xx.xx.xx IP address of the printer (see step 2). 2. To find the IP address of the printer, do the following (Windows 7): From START MENU, select DEVICES AND PRINTERS, then right click PRINTER PROPERTIES, then select PORTS, then select CONFIGURE PORTS. You will see the printer IP address. Write it down or do the "copy and paste thing" . You will need this address back in Step 3. Remember to proceed the address with the http:// 3. It might also be a good idea to save the printer menu to your menu bar in case you need to change some settings quickly. To do this: type the printer IP address (see above procedure)in your browser and olah! the printer page ops up. From here just save it as a favorite to to the menu bar. You will need this page open when scanning back to your computer! FAX- The directions (downloaded pdf setup file) are very clear in setting up the fax. I used a dedicated line to avoid issues. SCAN TO E-MAIL: tba (to be addressed later) I had to call customer support which was very helpful. There was no wait time. I will post more as I dive deeper into this machine. I'm not a "power user" as some so I will only deal with the simple aggravations. I like this printer but it is NOT for the truly simple minded. It takes some work to set it up to use all the functions.

The documentation was a little difficult to manage. The printer is easy to set up once the documentation is conquered. I tried to use the manual but ended up using the supplied CD web based installation/setup program. The documentation doesn't make it clear how to use all of the capability of this printer. I still have not figured out how to email from it directly. Once I figure something out then I kind of get an Oh feeling and it seems simple. Tried to set it up from the little printer control panel and it was too confusing. For some reason, when it goes to sleep, it doesn't wake up when I send it something to print. I have to walk over to the printer and touch the menu button. As soon as I do it awakens, warms up and prints. The monitor program is too aggressive. I have another Lexmark and it also grabbed the control of that printer and decided the new 310dn should be the default printer. Trouble is I didn't want the new one to be the default on every computer I installed the software on. I finally solved the problem by leaving the print driver installed but I deleted the monitor program from that computer. Even so, I think this is a great printer and well worth the effort to set up. You may need more expertise than a typical HP inkjet takes to set it up though.

No real issues with printing. Functionally this device has lived up to all expectations. But it has an alarm that goes off all the time. You can disable the alarm for things that require user interaction, and I have, but it still beeps even when just printing. I guess in a one-man office this would be OK but not in a workgroup or team setting. For a printer rated to work withing small offices, it is very distracting.

SECOND UPDATE: I am downgrading this to 2 starts because of problems that have crept up with this unit and another new Lexmark I have. In this case, the printer decided I was out of paper where there was still about 25% of full left in it. I figured no big deal, I'd just fill it up and I did. But it kept saying that. Eventually I found online that this isn't uncommon and they want you to clean the rollers that grab the paper. I did so (though they looked pristine) and that didn't change it. I kept doing it and eventually it worked. But there's no reason they should have thought they were dirty and I think that some sensor is bad. I haven't had this unit all that long (several months) and it gets light use. And I'm being harsh because the other new Lexmark I have had started doing things that no other printer I've had before has done. UPDATE after a couple of months: I have updated this printer from 2 to 4 stars, though the stars are dependent on the price. What has changed since below? I always thought it odd the way you have to set up profiles to do scanning - it just seemed to hard to be the way it was. But the user guide is really horrible. So.... about 2 weeks ago the printer stopped printing and I wound up reinstalling the software suite. I know it was the same version as I used the install program I'd downloaded before. But this time a desktop shortcut appeared that hadn't been there before, which opens a page that enables a few things, including easy scanning, and it has an "Advanced" button on scanning that lets you do what you should be able to. Also, I found that going to the printer's web page and setting up 'network scanning' to be a great help. You have to have a folder that is a network shared folder on your PC (I'm using Win 7) and you tell the printer to put the docs if creates in that folder. There is one thing that I don't like: Several times a day, but at no set times, the printer wakes up, sort of 'looks around', as it were, and then goes back to sleep. In a regular office I doubt anyone would notice but I use this in my home office and it's right next to my desk, and it's annoying. These are early impressions as I've been using the printer for about 3 days, so I can't say anything about toner usage and the like. However, there are certain pros and cons that are obvious from the beginning that aren't going to change, I think. I should point out that I think printers have to be evaluated based on their price and right now amazon is selling this for about $250. PROS: 1) it's a fast printer for it's price, and the time-to-first-page is quick (from sleep, not from power up - it's slow to reach ready if it's been turned off. 2) Power draw: I have yet to have this draw more than 600 watts. I have a Brother that I like that is about the same speed but the power draw is much much higher. At 600 watts, this one shouldn't cause problems. (I'm using a simple KillAWatt to determine this.) When it's resting but still awake it draws 12 watts and when sleeping about 6. 3) About as noisy as expected for this speed printing. However, if you don't need speed that high there is a 'quiet mode' that slows down the printing but draws less power and is genuinely pretty quiet. 4) At $250, if you really just need a group printer with minimal faxing and scanning, this might be a good deal. CONS: Some of these don't much matter, like the really bad unpacking, setup guide, as if you're careful it'll be fine. But I've set up a lot of printers and this seems very clumsy. But as this is a one time thing I'm not listing it other than as an aside. 1) Network setup (and this is the only way I use these kinds of printers, I don't do USB) is clumsy. The install finds the printer easily enough and though the printer doesn't seem to lose connectivity, the danged monitor program often thinks the printer is off-line, but then changes it's mind a moment later. 2) The interface is wretched. You can use a web browser, which is probably the best way. There is also a little program but it seems cumbersome and lacks access to all of the options. But even the web browser interface seems crude and poorly designed, especially compared to an HP or Brother interface. 3) Print quality is OK, but even on the highest setting it doesn't handle small fonts well. For instance, I printed out the front page of the NY Times website, and I have a little Brother laser that prints the small text perfectly fine using 600 DPI. On this machine, even using 1200 DPI and setting the toner to the darkest setting, the text is poor. 4) Scanning seems so convoluted that I find myself thinking "oh, c'mon, Dave, you're just not paying attention." I can make it work, but it means starting a fax on the computer, then walking over to the printer and pushing buttons and then going back to the computer and waiting... and waiting... It's incredibly slow, and I don't mean the mechanical process of scanning, I mean how long it takes for the image to be available on the computer. At first I thought something wasn't working (and this is doing a 1-page scan either to PDF or to JPG) so I'd cancel. Eventually I just waited and sure enough, it's just that slow. 5) Scan quality is OK for utility/general purposes, but it's not good for photos. And it lacks some of the obvious things: If you're scanning a photo (and you tell it you're scanning a photo) I can find no way to get it to show a preview so that I can create a border around the photo: It scans the entire platen and then you have to crop the photo. This is the kind of feature that was on the first scanner I bought in the late 90's. 6) The control panel on the printer is crude and minimal. I don't usually have it connected to a phone line, but during first-power-on allowed fax and now I can't get rid of constant error messages complaining that it's not connected to a phone line, nor does there seem to be a way to disable faxing, having once OK'ed it. Also, you can't initiate scanning from the printer, which is unusual. Some of these issues might seem less problematic if the user guide weren't so minimal. I kid you not: The instructions for scanning to a computer fit on one page, and if you single-spaced them would take about half a page. There's no discussion of all of the options at all. I'm a vine reviewer and I didn't pay for this, but if I had I'd return it. It's not a horrible printer, and I suspect that most of the issues are software-related. But I downloaded the latest drivers and made sure my device had the latest firmware. But it's not acceptable to me with the software as it is. Are there ways around some of the problems I mentioned above? Perhaps. But the documentation is very poor and it's just not worth my time to try to figure it out when other brands make is so easy.

I work with Lexmark products in my day-job so when it came time to upgrade from my $30 DeskJet, I chose this model. Being familiar and certified to work on it is one bonus, but pretty personal so I can't recommend it on those merits. I can recommend it as a more than adequate small business printer or a stellar home printer, especially since it is a network printer. Installation on your client computers is a breeze: plug in the power, plug it into your router via Ethernet cable, and it's visible and useable by all your Windows based home PCs. Note: Make sure there is clearance for the flatbed scanner to open; you've got the ADF feeder on top of it which adds dimensions to the lid. Also be patient with the letter feeder tray; it's lazy and really only good for one at a time. Fold your peel and stick flap into the envelope before you run it through to help prevent the fuser from melting the adhesives.

I originally purchased a Lexmark x264dnw, but over the year I had it there was more downtime than uptime. Lexmark finally admitted there were several design flaws, and to resolve the issue Lexmark replaced it with an MX310dn in January 2014 (directly from Lexmark). Initially I felt this newly released and designed MX310dn (received directly from Lexmark) was a "real winner". I even ordered a separate unit from Amazon [this Amazon unit was never taken out of the box]. However within 200 pages printed/copied it started "restarting on its own accord." Given the nightmare I had with the x264dnw, when this problem with the MX310dn became a regular occurrence, I just put it back into its original box, then immediately purchased BROTHER brand units (one MFC and one laser; each using the same drum and toner for efficiencies). [I went back to BROTHER units because over the many years I had used them, they ... "held up well".] A few months later in July 2014 when I contacted Lexmark technical support on the MX310dn "restart" issue, they said "the problem is probably a power board problem"... AND "we are not going to honor the warranty". This even though the System Device Information page showed it was set up January 16, 2014 and last used March 18, 2014 with only 318 pages printed/copied. I ended up having to bring a "war charge" with Lexmark's legal department back in Kentucky at which I just told them "Lexmark has never provided me one single unit which was not a lemon, and thus the only thing I will accept is a return with a full refund. I want Lexmark out of my life forever. I can never use, nor recommend a Lexmark product again". Lexmark accepted their unit back and are returning all funds to me in full. Amazon accepted their unit back and are returning all funds to me in full. NOTE: Lexmark's own technical support staff stated they "were worried about the new units coming out because they contained many more parts and components, and this usually means more problems". Thus it appears Lexmark, by coming out with TOO MANY PRODUCTS (or varieties within a line) and BRINGING THEM OUT TOO QUICKLY, is SACRIFICING QUALITY. Lexmark engineering is suffering. Lexmark product manufacturing / quality control is suffering. And when you speak with corporations who purchase or lease thousands of Lexmark units, their employees invariably say "Lexmark products require too much support. We have too much downtime". Unfortunately, Lexmark rates a BIG BUYER BEWARE.