Lexmark CX921de and CX922de Review

The new CX921de and CX922de joins its single-function sibling, the CS921de, in Lexmark’s lineup aimed at the medium-to-high volume market with tabloid-sized (12″ x 18″) media handling. Both devices support standard printing, copying, scanning and faxing functions.

The CX921de ($5,399) prints and copies at up to 35ppm in black and color. Its first-page-out time is 6.8 seconds. The CX922de ($7,699) prints at 45ppm in black and color and includes a fast first-page-time of 5.1 seconds.

Both devices include a 1.2GHz processor and standard 2GB of memory, which can be expanded to 4GB. There is a standard hard disk drive. They both also include the 10″ Lexmark’s eTask interface that works like a tablet with a 10-key number pad. The eTask interface includes a variety of apps, both standard and optional, such as Forms and Favorites for commonly-accessed documents.

PCL and PostScript printing languages are supported. Other standard printing languages include direct PDF, direct image, personal printer data stream (PPDS) and Microsoft XPS. USB and Ethernet connectivity are standard, while Wi-Fi is optional.

Mobile printing is supported via the Lexmark Mobile Print app, Google Cloud Print, Mopria and Windows Mobile.

More details on both devices is in our Features section below.

Lexmark continuously upgrades its devices with faster engines and newer features, and the CX921de and CX922de are no exception. They include strong features and flexible paper-handling designed to help medium-sized businesses improve productivity and still save money.

Features

There is a 100-sheet duplexing automatic document feeder that supports scanning up to 80ppm simplex and 160ipm duplex. The devices support scanning to a variety of locations, including email, USB, flash drive and the Lexmark Document Solutions suite. File formats accepted include JPEG, PDF, TIFF and XPS.

The faxing function includes a 33.6kbps modem and JBIG compression.

Paper handling starts with two 500-sheet trays and a 150-sheet multipurpose feeder. Lexmark offers optional paper input, such as an additional two 500-sheet trays, a 2,500-sheet tandem tray and a 3,000-sheet tray for a maximum capacity of 6,650 sheets. As noted above, both devices support up to A3 (12″ x 18″) paper size as well as envelopes.

The output capacity is 250 sheets.

Lexmark offers three optional finishers. Firs, there’s a stapling finisher with a 5,000-sheet capacity and 50-sheet multi-position stapling. Then there is the stapling punch finisher with a 200-sheet bin, a 3,200-sheet bin, a 3-hole punch kit and supports up to 50 sheets multi-position stapling. Finally, there’s a booklet finisher a 200-sheet bin, a 2,200-sheet bin, a 3-hole punch kit and supports up to 50 sheets multi-position stapling and 20 sheets booklet-making.

The CX921de and CX922de has different monthly duty cycles: the CX921de has a 200,000-page duty cycle while the CX922de supports up to 250,000 pages per month. However, Lexmark’s recommended range is 4,000 to 20,000 per month for the CX921de and 6,000 to 50,000 pages per month for the CX922de.

Like other newer Lexmark devices, the CX921de and CX922de use Lexmark’s Unison Toner. The Unison Toner’s print system has a separate toner, imaging unit and fuser, using a multi-piece architecture design that leads to reduced toner waste and long-life system reliability. It also prints at up to 1,200 dpi for crisper print quality. And it alerts users when supplies are needed (e.g., low toner warning and number of pages left to print).

The CX921de ships with 5,000 pages of black and 6,000 pages of each color toner cartridges, while the CX922de ships with 18,500-page black and 11,500-page color cartridges. However, both devices support aftermarket high-yield consumables of 34,000 pages for black and each color toner. We estimate the cost per page (just on the toners and no other consumables) as less than a penny in black and 6.2 cents in color.

Lexmark also offers environmental saving features that includes Eco-Settings solutions and power saving modes. There is also a ColorSaver feature that, by default, prints images at a lighter toner shade while retaining the dark shade for text.

The CX921de and CX922de contains strong security features, such as network and user authentication, port filtering, hard drive encryption, secure remote management and optional secure print release.

And finally, there is a limited one-year warranty with onsite service and next business day (NBD) replacement.