Lexmark MC3224dwe Review - Review 2022

Lexmark's MC3224dwe ($299) is an entry-level color laser all-in-one printer designed for small and habitation-based offices and workgroups. Like its rivals, which include Brother's MFC-L3770CDW and Epson's inkjet laser alternative, the WorkForce Pro WF-C5790 Network Multifunction Color Printer (Editors' Choices both), information technology prints well and comes with a wealth of convenience and productivity features. Just it lacks an automatic certificate feeder (ADF) for sending multipage documents to the scanner, and it costs more than to use than several competitors, including the two PCMag favorites merely mentioned. Otherwise, the MC3224dwe is a more than capable multifunction (impress, scan, copy, and fax) color laser and reasonably well suited for depression-volume print and copy environments.

A Characteristic-Rich, Loftier-Capacity AIO

The MC3224dwe is ane of several contempo color laser AIOs from Lexmark, including its close sibling, the MC3224adwe, which does come up with an ADF (hence the a in the production proper noun) and a few other convenience features. These two machines are also a pace downwardly from our midrange color laser Editors' Choice, the Lexmark MC2535adwe, a faster solution with considerably lower running costs.

Lexmark MC3224dwe scanner

At 12.1 by 16.2 by fifteen.v inches (HWD) and weighing forty.ii pounds, the Lexmark MC3224dwe is a scrap smaller and lighter than several competitors, including the aforementioned Brother MFC-L3770CDW and Epson WF-C5790, as well every bit Canon'due south Colour imageClass MF644Cdw. Information technology might even fit on your desktop, whereas these others and the higher-end MC2535adwe are likely to crave a defended printer stand or counter space.

Lexmark MC3224dwe right

Configuration and walk-up tasks, such every bit making copies or scanning to the cloud, are handled from a 2.8-inch color affect screen, which comprises the control console shown below. The control panel besides contains several of Lexmark'due south e-Chore icons, which are shortcuts to workflow profiles such every bit scan to network, scan to electronic mail, and the visitor's Cloud Connector. That last one, naturally, lets you lot print from and scan to your favorite online storage sites.

Lexmark MC3224dwe control panel

Similar most of today's business printers, the MC3224dwe also offers a built-in web portal that provides admission to most features and configuration options, including extensive security settings (more on them in a 2nd), as well as the power to generate multiple usage and other types of reports. The spider web portal is accessible from virtually whatsoever browser, including the ones on your Android or iOS mobile device, locally or over the cyberspace.

The MC3224dwe comes with not simply Lexmark's standard page description language (PDL) just HP'southward Printer Control Language (PCL) versions five and 6 and Adobe PostScript iii. This, of course, gives yous compatibility with HP laser printers and many high-finish typesetters and press presses. PostScript 3 is also the native language of Adobe Illustrator, the manufacture standard in graphic blueprint software, assuasive graphic artists and document designers to apply the MC3224dwe as a toll-effective prepress proofing and blended printer.

Paper handling consists of a 250-sheet master drawer plus a one-canvas override tray for printing envelopes and other 1-off media that would otherwise require you to empty and reconfigure the drawer. This configuration is relatively mutual for entry-level color laser AIOs, though some tin can concord more, while most midrange models, such as the MC2535adwe, provide higher input capacities and expansion options.

The MC2535adwe, for case, comes with the same 251-canvass capacity but is expandable to 1,451 sheets. The entry-level Brother MFC-L3770CDW holds 280 sheets, thanks to a 30-canvas override slot, while the Catechism MF741Cdw holds 300 sheets and is expandable to 851. Epson's WF-C5790 comes ready to hold 330 sheets, but you tin bump that upwardly to 830.

The MC3224dwe's maximum monthly duty cycle of 30,000 pages and recommended monthly impress book of 1,500 pages friction match the MFC-L3770CDW's, merely are 10,000 and 500 pages, respectively, lower than those of the MC3224adwe. As I said about the MC3224adwe, these numbers aren't very realistic, given the printers' high running costs (again, more on those in a moment).

The Catechism MF741Cdw, on the other hand, is rated at 2,500 more recommended prints than the MC3224dwe. And Epson rates the WF-C5790 at 1,000 more than recommended pages than the Lexmark.

Connectivity, Compatibility, and Security

Standard interfaces on the MC3224dwe are Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n, 10/100Mbps Ethernet, and connecting to a single PC via USB 2.0. Mobile devices are continued through Apple AirPrint and Lexmark's Mobile Impress and Cloud Connector apps for both Android and iOS, besides equally Mopria and Wi-Fi Direct. The concluding is, of form, an like shooting fish in a barrel peer-to-peer protocol for connecting mobile devices without either them or the printer being on a network.

Lexmark MC3224dwe rear

Also available are various workflow contour printer apps (for, say, scanning to certificate management systems or social media sites) from the control panel'south e-Task interface. Lexmark also provides a prodigious number of drivers for increased compatibility with macOS, several flavors of Linux, Windows dorsum to version 7, multiple Novell OS iterations, Citrix, and a few Unix variants.

If stringent security protocols are a concern—such as, say, in HIPAA medical offices—the MC3224dwe is a expert choice for meeting them. Security options abound. In addition, this and several other Lexmark light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation AIOs meet the European Matrimony's strict General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) standards.

The Confidential Print Setup characteristic lets yous deploy up to ten personal information numbers (PINs) to secure impress jobs in the MC3224dwe'due south memory. This allows only users who know a document'southward Pivot to print it. Other security concerns, including access to certain functions, can exist controlled or denied by users, groups, or IP addresses. Yous can also set expiration options, control admission to both the printer and its web portal by the number of failed logins, and go on duplicate copies of all documents on the printer.

Decent Speeds

As with the MC3224adwe, Lexmark rates the MC3224dwe at 24 pages per minute (ppm) for one-sided (simplex) pages and 13ppm for ii-sided (duplex) prints. Since it defaults to duplex press, we examination both one-sided and two-sided scenarios. I clocked the MC3224dwe over an Ethernet connectedness from our standard Intel Core i5 testbed PC running Windows 10 Pro.

To begin, I timed the MC3224dwe every bit information technology churned out our just formatted 12-folio Microsoft Discussion document. Like its MC3224adwe sibling, information technology managed 24.4ppm in simplex and 17.3ppm in duplex style. College-volume machines like the Lexmark MC2535adwe and Canon MF741Cdw outpaced the MC3224dwe, specially in i-sided manner, by several pages per minute. The MC2535adwe, for example, was alee by about 15ppm.

The Epson WF-C5790 and Brother MFC-L3770CDW practise not default to 2-sided press; both outpaced the MC3224dwe by almost a page per minute.

Next, I clocked the Lexmark MC3224dwe as it printed our drove of Acrobat, Excel, and PowerPoint documents containing charts, graphs, and other concern graphics and fonts in diverse sizes and colors. Then I combined that score with the results from the 12-page Word doc and calculated a score for printing our entire suite of business documents. The MC3224dwe turned in a simplex score of 11ppm, which is near average among the entry-level color lasers nosotros've tested recently.

More than-Than-Acceptable Output

Similar the MC3224adwe and most other Lexmarks reviewed hither lately, the MC3224dwe prints well, with highly legible serif and sans-serif type down to very small point sizes. Several of the decorative and display fonts nosotros exam came out looking better than average, also.

Our test-standard Excel charts and graphs and PowerPoint handouts also looked good, with solid dark fills and evenly flowing gradients. I saw just very minimal banding in one particular slide that most of the printers nosotros test have trouble reproducing perfectly.

Photos, too, were slightly nicer than those I see from most colour light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation printers. Colors were brilliant and accurate. Graininess was barely perceptible, and detail was skilful. Overall, I've no complaints almost the MC3224dwe'southward impress quality.

Steep Running Costs

As with the MC3224adwe, this AIO'south running costs are iv.three cents for monochrome and 19.three cents for colour pages, making it comparatively expensive to use. Brother's MFC-L3770CDW, for example, prints blackness pages for 2.6 cents and color pages for 15.5 cents. In addition, to get the per-page cost quoted above, you're required to render empty cartridges to Lexmark's recycling program. There are other buy options, but with them, your price per page (CPP) will run even college.

Mid-volume colour laser AIOs, including Canon'due south MF741Cdw (two.ii cents black and thirteen cents color) or Lexmark'southward MC2535adwe (i.8 cents monochrome and 11.7 cents color), can give you pregnant savings if you impress a lot. And so, as well, can opting for an inkjet like Epson's WF-C5790 (1.seven cents monochrome and 7.7 cents color). As I said about its sibling, the MC3324dwe's folio costs make sense only for print and copy applications with depression volume needs of well under 500 pages monthly.

Filling a Niche

The MC3224dwe'southward lack of an ADF, despite the $100 price divergence between it and the MC3224adwe, is probably a deal-breaker for many small offices and workgroups. Its running costs should too warn off environments with high print and copy volumes. The Brother MFC-L3770CDW offers both an ADF and lower operating costs, as does Epson's WorkForce Pro WF-C5790. Even and then, the MC3224dwe is a capable printer with excellent output quality and a stiff feature set up, making information technology a adept fit where high volumes and scanning or copying multipage documents aren't essential.

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