Lexmark Genesis S815 Printer Review

The realm of all-in-ones tends definitely not to be the area to discover adventure, but every so often a daring producer tries something which truly grabs our attention. The real interest in the Lexmark Genesis S815 is just how it scans: within rests a 10-megapixel camera.

The Genesis generates a composite colour preview image in a mere three seconds. Even if you combine the process of getting that scan to a connected PC, the time barely increases. We scanned an A4 colour page directly into Photoshop at 150ppi in only six seconds, and an A4 photo at 300ppi in only eight - and there is a range of on-device options for colour fixing, cropping and all sorts prior to when you finish the task. Together with that blistering speed, the reliability of the colours in our test photos was outstanding, having full blacks, lively reds and also the numerous graded blues in a summer sky detected and faithfully duplicated.

On the flipside, the 10-megapixel resolution along with A4 platen size necessarily mean the utmost possible scan quality is 300ppi - this is very much a consumer as opposed to a professional machine. Good detail appeared to be the only notable weak spot, with soft, frazzled edges on text as well as small portions of busy pictures blending into each other just a little in spots.

The scan technology completely decides the unusual upright design of the Genesis. The normal printer element stays at the base along with a 50-sheet output tray at the front; over that, the platen is located nearly upright, together with a 100-sheet input tray also upright at the rear of the main body. Open the cover in your direction and, deep behind the glass, you can observe the camera as well as LEDs, reflected via a 45-degree mirror at the rear.

The lid hinges out by around an inch to work with thicker media, and you may comfortably hang a book over the top of the platen to easily pick up one particular page. The on-device scan engine allows you to keep adding documents before finalising a multi-page scan, additionally it is able to scan anywhere up to four pictures at once.

It managed normal-quality mono and colour print rates of 9ppm and 7.7ppm respectively, and produced a 6 x 4in print at highest quality in 33 seconds. That is certainly pretty much up there with the likes of the A-Listed Canon Pixma MG6150, and as soon as you combine that with the near-instant scanning, you will know copies will arrive pretty quickly as well.

Text and colour documents utilizing the Lexmark Genesis S815 ink cartridges are thoroughly decent, with solid blacks as well as rock solid regions of colour displaying absolutely no speckling or even frayed edges. However photo prints, even at best quality, are middling; colours are decent however there is just not sufficient contrast or even sharpness to get anyplace close to the elegance of the Canon.

That's quite a important weak point, yet everything else concerning the Genesis gets a thumbs-up. It provides both USB as well as 802.11n Wi-Fi connections, and among the clearest and most user-friendly set up routines we have utilised, as well as slots intended for SD, MMC, xD plus Memory Stick cards sit in convenient reach on the right-hand side. And it's all controlled by the same outstanding 4.3in touchscreen and SmartSolutions interface which initially impressed us a lot on the Interact S605.

The Genesis by itself sells at a preposterous £400 inc VAT. At that cost we definitely would not go near it, there is however a brief workaround: if you are fast and order prior to 31 March 2011, you'll be able to claim a huge £200 cashback from Lexmark. With the price tag halved it is more worthwhile, and even though we can visualize several ways that the Genesis needs to get better, for its sheer bravado and originality we can not help but like it.

Lexmark Genesis S815 printer ink cartridges are available here.