The good: The Lexmark Pro715 is a streamlined version of its predecessor, the Pro705, with a higher-resolution 2.4-inch LCD screen and the company's enhanced Vizix 2.0 set of inks for vibrant photos and
professional-quality documents.
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The bad: For the same price, the Epson WorkForce 845 trumps the Lexmark Pro715 in several areas.
The bottom line: Lexmark's latest all-purpose office machine introduces a new set of inks with a separate print head that outputs higher-quality photos than the previous model, but competing devices give you convenient features like cloud printing and a larger touch-screen display for the same price. The Lexmark Pro715 is designed for the office, with a button-based control panel, an autodocument feeder, and other features that should encourage smooth business work flow. At $200, the affordable and speedy Pro705 will make a helpful assistant in your office, but we hesitate to recommend it if you print a lot of photos.
Design and features
We like the Lexmark Pro715's updated design and quick print speeds, but looks aside, its core is a near replica of the previous model, the Prevail Pro705. That printer earned a rating of Excellent for its simple control panel and studio-quality snapshots, but there aren't enough updates in this new version to catch it up to the Epson WorkForce 845, a competing device worthy of its "all-in-one" moniker with mobile printing features, a massive 500-sheet paper input capacity, and a generous 7.8-inch interactive display. By comparison, the Lexmark Pro715 comes up disappointingly short, and small offices and busy home users will get more done with the WorkForce 845 at the same price.
Like the Pro705 before it, the Pro715 has a drab gray-black color palette that may have earned points with us in the past, but now feels all too typical of an office printer. Its smooth edges and rounded paper input tray shave off the sharp corners and make the device look more streamlined, but the general design of the line has changed very little.
Instead of the large touch-screen LCD you get on the Epson WorkForce 845, the Pro715 has a 2.4-inch color LCD display with a directional panel just to the right for scrolling through onscreen menus, as well as a number pad for dialing fax numbers.
Lexmark also includes an Eco Mode button marked with a green leaf on the right side that triggers two-sided printing, copying, and faxing thanks to the duplexer on the back. Lexmark also lowers your ecological footprint with continued Energy Star certification, and an updated XL black capacity Vizix 2.0 print cartridge is included in the box--to our knowledge, Lexmark is the only printer vendor to provide this service. In fact, most of them ship printers with a "starter" cartridge that contains less ink than the refills you'll need to buy in the store.
The silo paper drawer is built into the base and can only hold 150 sheets of paper, which may be enough for a small business. Still, many businesses may find the Epson WorkForce more convenient with its 250-sheet tray for standard 8.5x11-inch paper and separate 250-sheet tray for photo paper.
Strangely enough, Lexmark decided not to include a media card reader like the one to be found on the bottom right side of the Pro705 model, perhaps to inspire customers to spend the extra $50 on the step-up Pro915. Again, for the same price as the Pro715, the Epson WorkForce has two media card slots on the front in addition to a PictBridge-compatible USB port for direct prints from your digital camera. You even get a copy of Epson's Easy Photo Print software in the box for light image editing.
You can connect the Pro715 to a host computer using an 802.11b/g/n wireless setup or via a hardwired USB port. With the included driver disc, we were able to set up the printer to communicate using both connection methods in less than 10 minutes; just make sure you have your network log-in and password available.