New York, NY -- The Impact S305, as the name may imply, can have an immediate and positive effect on you or your family’s printing. It was originally released in September 2009 as part of a new series of affordable and practical printers from Lexmark aimed at home (or student) users.
Offering print speeds of up to 33ppm and 30ppm for black and color respectively, the Impact delivers a max print resolution of 4800 x 1200 dpi. One thing that has to be accounted for compared to their cousins in the professional series is that each comes with trays that extend out of the back and the front. That said, with those trays extended the Impact measures 10.47 x 18.31 x 13.31” (H x W x D) and weighs about 20 lbs.
The Impact S305 is almost the equivalent (not in a bad way) to the camera industry’s point-and-shoot models. That is, it is not particularly glamorous (nor does it aspire to be), but it does get the job done well. For instance, it has a simple display, just a two-line monochrome LCD screen, and a tidy looking control panel. It has the convenience of either a wireless connection to your computer or USB 2.0.
In terms of ink, the Impact S305 has four-cartridge ink system with slots for black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. All of the ink cartridges that ship with the unit use Lexmark’s high definition Vizix ink. Because this model is geared towards homes and students, Lexmark ship the unit with standard yield cartridges. If you know will be printing somewhat frequently, it may behoove you to buy a set of high-yield cartridges while at the store.
Overall, we’d have to say that this printer does everything you’d expect of a printer at this price point. Since it is designed for home users, the monthly duty cycle is a little low, 200-770 pages. That should still get most home users through an average month.
