Lexmark CS510de review

Lexmark’s CS510de A4 colour laser is a big step up from the older CS310dn, bringing double the memory, faster print speeds, a colour touchscreen and extended toner options.

It ships with 6,000-page K and 4,000-page C, Y and M high-yield cartridges, and running costs aren’t bad either. Lexmark’s return programme offers a discount if you send back your used cartridges; sign up and you can print in mono for 1.8p per page and colour for less than 9p, including all consumables.

The CS510de offers USB and Gigabit Ethernet, and the optional MarkNet USB wireless adapter costs £33 exc VAT – a third of what Dell charges. The 250-page lower tray can be supplemented with two more 550-page trays.

Installation is simple, and the touchscreen lets you search and view jobs and bookmarks. A web interface provides access to all functions as well.

In tests, we had no problem achieving the claimed print speed of 30ppm. Both our 30-page Word document and our complex 24-page DTP colour document came out in a minute or less, with a time to first page of between nine and 11 seconds. Duplex printing halves the print speed, however.

Output quality is more than a match for our previous A-List favourite, the HP LaserJet Pro 200 Colour MFP M276n (web ID: 379879). Text is crisp, and colour photos are superbly detailed – and noise levels are low, making it a great desktop companion.

Admittedly, the printer’s short of web and mobile features; it can’t compete with HP’s Connected service or Dell’s Document Hub. Still, it’s AirPrint-enabled, and it worked with our Google Cloud Print account, too.

The CS510de normally costs £439, but until at least the end of June, Printerbase is selling it at £249, making it a superb deal. Running costs aren’t as low as Kyocera’s Ecosys P6030cdn, but Lexmark’s wireless upgrade is great value, and its output quality can’t be ignored.