UPDATE: This group test has been updated. See Budget colour laser printers

There's no doubt about it, the C720 from Lexmark could quite easily be mistaken for the Tally 8006e also reviewed in this group test. Indeed, the similarities continue far beyond their looks.

As far as printing speeds go, the C720 managed to scoop top spot in the mono test with a rating of just over 23ppm. In contrast, the C720 really tested our patience when printing the A4 colour photo - five minutes 24 seconds was far longer than we ever expected.

We tried installing the latest drivers, and repeated the test a few times, but we simply couldn't get it to print the photo any faster.

In the mono text printouts, we noticed that both the Lexmark and Tally seemed to be overloading the page with toner - we could see the text glistening in the light. This was also apparent in black areas of colour printouts, and might be worth noting if you're looking for ultra-high-quality prints.

The C720 carries with it a fairly sizeable list of consumables, however, the combined cost isn't that bad. The large 12,000-page mono toner at just less than £82 offers great value for money and, as you'll see from the cost of ownership graphs, the C720 looks good in terms of both colour and mono consumable costs.

As expected, Lexmark bundles low-capacity toners with the C720, but they're not as measly as those shipped with other printers at 5,000 pages of mono and 3,000 pages worth of colour toner.

It's just a shame that, considering the price of the C720, there's no network support as standard, although you can purchase a network card as an optional upgrade.

Lexmark doesn't offer the same five-year warranty as Tally, nor does it include the maintenance kit, which you'll need after 120,000 pages.

The Lexmark kit costs a staggering £554, and we think it unlikely anyone would purchase this as opposed to buying a new printer.

Contact: Lexmark 08704 440 044
www.lexmark.co.uk

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