[MW Forums]

At $499, the Lexmark X500n is a bargain for a device of its kind. Although it’s slow with scanning and its copies lack some detail, this MPF is fast, easy to use, and a strong overall performer. more

[Jamus]

I don't think of Mac compatibility when I think of Lexmark...
How reliable and good are their drivers? I have seen very nice hardware reduced to a pile of frustration when a company puts out junk software needed to interface with the hardware.
PS -- I should mention I don't have knowledge of Lexmark being bad on the Mac side of things, but I just don't hear much from them on the Mac side.

[nels0360]

Does the ADF on this device support automatic two-sided scanning? In other words, can it scan both sides of the page without the user having to reload the document?
I too am concerned about Lexmark in the Mac arena. I don't doubt that it can print, but how is the scanning interface?

[TalkinMan]

Not sure about the quality of their drivers in a technical sense, but I bought one of their X5470 multifunction inkjets, and it has exceeded my expectations - I got that at Staples for just $99. The printing is good, the scanning is good, the copying is good. Haven't tried the fax yet.
On the whole it seems to work just fine - if their color printer drivers are as good as these, I'm guessing the X500n would wind up being a very good buy (perhaps not for demanding business needs or proof printing, but for this money I think it delivers a solid value).

[lantzn]

We have used a Lexmark laser B&W (W840) printer for years in our print shop with Macs.
I have been very pleased with their drivers. I was even able to use the PPD files from OS 9 in the early versions of OS X with good results, before they release X drivers.
At home I bought the C500n when it was released, hooked it to our Apple Base Station Extreme using ethernet and we have all printed to it from various Macs with no problems whatsoever. I can't say the same with our Brother MFC8300.

[AndrewRodney]

I've had a Lexmart B&W Laser as well (E234n) which has worked flawlessly on my network of Macs (PPC and Intel). I'm seriously thinking of replacing the above for this new unit. Sounds sweet.

[AndrewRodney]

Pulled the trigger and got the X502N yesterday (wanted the fax machine). Setup was fine and easy, quality excellent. The only issue I had was using the web browser to configure the unit, I couldn't figure out the admin password (none given). Tried everything, then called. Tech support was superb. Waited maybe 45 seconds for a human. He told me how to reboot and reset (turn unit off, hold down the 0171 button, that's used for quick sending, then turn unit on). That cleared whatever password was in the printer, I could then enter my own and leave the field blank. It worked.
So I can only say good things about tech support for the Mac from Lexmark. The guy knew all the right questions to ask. The lack of a printed manual or a PDF on the CD isn't great but otherwise, the build quality, print quality and support is top notch.

[carya]

There are NO DRIVERS for OS10.5 Leopard! After owning this very nice machine for 3 months, I upgraded to Leopard and now have NO communication between my Intel Mac and the Lexmark!
Their technical service people have said, essentially, "too bad." I am appalled that the machine is still advertised as Mac Compatible. It ISN'T.

[wworsham]

I bought this printer in response to an article in Macworld that NEVER mentioned it's lack of LEOPARD compatibility. I can't believe that MacWorld so led me astray. I cannot express how disappointed I am in this oversight in coverage.

[teddyp]

so there's no workaround??? I can print but only one page at a time. And I can scan (with this printer on my iMac) but there's no way to adjust color/quality/anything. Nothing at all???

[Picciano]

I just spoke with technical support and asked about the avaiability of a Leopard (Mac OS X 10.5.2) driver. I was told that their engineers are "days away" from releasing a compatible driver.

Good news for those of us who purchased one of these based on MacWorld's review...

By the way, here's a link that describes how to scan over the network to a Mac. I tried it and it's pretty slick.

http://support.lexma...650&relevance=0

[Picciano]

And just to clarify another confusing point...it's true that scanning via USB is not supported on the Mac. But, scanning into Photoshop over the network seems to work fine. You have preview, resolution and color adjustment, and can even use the auto document feeder. (And no, I don't work for Lexmark, I'm just a new owner of an X500n.)

[carya]

That's great news about the drivers! I found the printer to be excellent, except for the driver issue!

[teddyp]

great news about the imminent driver for Leopard if that's true - please keep us posted.

and good point about scanning - I use photoshop to scan things in - I haven't tried using the autofeeder though. I'm just looking forward to not having to print everything one-by-one and in color all the time.