Lexmark B3442dw Black and White Laser Printer, Wireless with Ethernet, Mobile-Friendly and Cloud Connection with Automatic Two-Sided Printing CarbonNeutral Certified Office Printer (4-Series)

The printer does not seem to come with a USB cable. Same with the ethernet cable; if you want to connect this way, you’ll need to have an extra one on hand or buy one. Or at least mine didn’t come with any cables other than power. That was ok for me because I am using Ethernet and I have a bunch of spare Ethernet cables, and there is also wireless connectivity available. But USB likely the easiest way to get up and running for non-techies, so if this is you, have a spare printer cable lying around, or purchase one with the printer. Same with the ethernet cable; if you want to connect this way, you’ll need to have an extra one or buy one. Once unpacked and set up following the crude pictograms included, it was necessary to download the drivers and install them. The unit does come with a CD installer disk, but even if you have an antique computer with an optical drive, it makes more sense to go to the Lexmark website and download the latest drivers. Who knows how old the ones on the CD are? After plugging the printer into my switch using Ethernet, and running the installer, the software could not find the printer, nor was it listed by my router as being connected (though the Ethernet activity lights on the printer were flashing). Eventually, I noticed that the small LCD display on the top of the printer had some questions about time, date, and language that must be answered on the printer before it will even show up on the network. After completing the setup on the small LCD screen, the printer was connected but the installer still could not find it. Instructions would have been helpful here, especially for people who aren’t technically inclined, but you can probably find help online. It was necessary for me to go to my router’s web page, get the printer’s DHCP provided IP address, and plug that into the installer manually in the “advanced set up” area. Also, it asks for you to manually type in the port name. I typed in “Ethernet” (no quotes) and it worked, the installer was able to proceed. After doing this on my main computer, I went back to the router and assigned a fixed IP address to the printer so that I will have no trouble finding it when I install the driver on my laptop and other computers. The software itself is nice and compact. I have a Canon printer that came with software that’s all up in your face all the time… meaning, it came with a bunch of bloatware like scrapbooking apps and card making apps and a bunch of docks and control panels that I had to carefully remove after writing the review. In the case of this Lexmark, it’s all business and it’s not in your face at all, and I appreciate that. The printer is fast and quiet. Over Ethernet, when I send a page the printer, it’s done printing before I can even start wondering how long it will take. Coming from an inkjet printer, this is really nice. Also, the network connectivity is indispensable these days. It certainly is if you have two or more devices in your life that you’d like to print from. That network connectivity also makes it easy to tweak the settings as the printer publishes a web page that you can reach from any web browser (if connected to from your local network). Just type the IP address of the printer into your browser and the settings page comes up. By the way, this is another good reason to assign a static IP to the printer; you can then just add a bookmark to your browser. That administrative web page allows you to change many parameters in several categories. Some of the settings are beyond my paltry comprehension, but there is a lot there that is useful to me, and some of it I’m sure is useful to IT personnel deploying these things on larger networks. There are a lot of IT tweaks and settings available here. The printer is handsome looking and compact, and it feels durable and professional. I think it will be perfect for my home office. Every computer I have can now print quickly and quietly from anywhere in the house. The unit comes with a toner cartridge that is described as a “starter cartridge.” It’s not clear to me how many pages we will get out of this; also, at the time of writing this, I couldn’t find replacement cartridges on Amazon or on the Lexmark site. No doubt they will be rolling these out soon; I just hope it’s sooner than my “starter cartridge” lasts. When available, I expect the replacement cartridges to cost well north of $100 each. I remember when laser printers cost a couple thousand dollars each, and then you had to pay extra for network connectivity. The price of this one is very appealing. In fact, it seems like a steal at this price. Just don’t forget that they get you on the toner, same as inkjet makers get you on the ink. There’s still no free lunch. Other than that, I’m delighted with this little printer. It really is quite perfect for a small office.

Ok, set up was kind of a pain but once I figured it out, everything else went smooth. It comes with a software disk which is useless for me sense my laptop has no disk reader. Basically, you just have to connect it to your internet through the settings on the printer (no apps needed,at least for me) and once it was connected I was able to print thru WiFi from my phone. Havent tried from my laptop yet but Im sure it works the same. The print quality is clean and it prints pretty fast. I printed out a large packet of about 200 pages or so and not one jam. So far, this printer is great and worth the money.

The packaging looked perfect, no punctures, tears, or scrapes. But as I unboxed the printer, a small coil spring fell out. Not sure if this matters, but it was a sign of things to come. The printer never printed a single page. Each time I tried, the page would make it about half way through the printer and then the thing would decide that it was jammed. Although I did not get far with the printer, I did get far enough to find three problems. Problem 1: the printer cannot accept a long WiFi password, and it does not inform you that this is a problem. You have to use supernatural methods to conclude that you must use a WiFi access point with a short password. Problem 2: the back door of the printer went off one of its two hinges, for lack of a better word. I have no idea how this happened, because I was very gentle with the printer while opening and closing it. But I had to use considerable force to get the door back in place. I have to wonder what other plastic deformations this printer is capable of. Problem 3: the entire printer is thin plastic and bendy. I realize that the days of solid office equipment are long gone, but this printer is especially shoddy. I cant imagine how it could last, even if it starts out alive on arrival.

Sometimes it prints, sometimes you can hear the spinning but nothing happens. This was under Windows 10

Good printer. Easy to set up, connected immediately to wifi. I connected it manually via the touchscreen, worked just fine but a bit tedious entering in the wifi password as it requires running through entire numbers and alphabet. It does allow for scrolling through so it didnt take too long - just a different process via the touch screen. Very fast printing. Id say the printing speed is the best feature. Two-sided ejects the paper then draws it back in for the second side printing. Theres a little stop-paper shield to keep the paper from flying off the top of the printer but we havent needed to use that yet as all the print jobs have been small. Theres an additional paper tray for larger paper. The main letter sized paper tray is in front, easy to fill, and fits flush with the printer. This printer is a big heavier than most probably due to the large ink cartridge. Its a bit noisier than I expected. Comes with picture only instructions sheet and a DVD. Works well for a home or small business. Theres Apps that can be downloaded either Apple or Android phones. I downloaded the Apps but was able to just print from my phone email. However, on one of our laptops we kept getting an error code. Not sure what thats all about. Also on my phone I had trouble printing from Gmail but my other email printed just fine. So, some little bugs to work out. Havent had to replace the ink yet - when we do Ill update as needed if theres issues.

No manuals or written directions, only drawings of the steps. I had to download the 2 apps and tried to get it running but nothing. This is not an all in one and still too complicated. After 2 hrs I put back in the box it came in. This product really needs a setup manual and operating manual in the box.

So, initial unboxing and setup was a breeze, even from the little screen with only arrows and an ok button. Connected to my WiFi no issues. Its from here when the issues begin. It drops off my network constantly - even with turning off all power saving features. I have Windows PCs, Android devices and Chromebooks that all have difficulty sending this print jobs. Even after adding the appropriate drivers, plugins and apps this printer goes missing/unavailable, print jobs stall or error out - in general just a royal PITA. Probably best as a direct connect printer thats shared out from a desktop. Not a feasable network printer IMO. Going to giver this away to a family thjat needs a printer for distance learning.

This printer is is excellent if you want something to print fast and seamless. The set up was easy...it connected automatically to my wireless and the app worked well. Now I can print from anywhere-my phone, laptop, or tablet. The printing is crisp and smudgeless. I was pleasantly surprised that the machine is lighter than expected and that the ink is less expensive that other laser printers. This printer would be great for home use or in an office since it was print high quantities very fast. Would recommend! I received a special deal on this product for providing my feedback.

*********EDITED MAY 2020: It didnt make it through the tiny starter toner. It connects to the network, it just refuses to print with no indication why. Im a retired network engineer and have dealt with the nastiest of printer problems on networks and repaired printers in the field with paperclips, soldering iron and sheer anger. This one stopped working rather early on and can only print its own configuration- no other print jobs will work and nothing more of an error than it just cant print the job. My last Lexmark was an utter failure, too... and this one will now join it as I have to PAY to recycle them both. As of today, replacement toner is not available anywhere- even from Lexmark unless I mail in the empty one first to refill. Im done with Lexmark after decades of buying dozens and dozens of their enterprise printers at a time.************** This is a no-frills, monochrome printer without all the fancy touch-screen nonsense. What it does, it does perfectly- spit out paper quickly. I print a LOT while Im working on some business plans, consulting and getting my MBA just for giggles despite being retired. My color laser eats toner as if it is free and it most certainly isnt. Having a monochrome, fast, two-sided printer as a default is the best idea ever... save that color printing for when its actually necessary. Its surprising how often one does NOT need color, and the cost savings of not wasting printing in color is significant. I set this up without looking at directions, as I always do. Initially, it didnt detect ANY WiFi networks in my house when there are actually five of them. This was odd, but after several tries it started to see them. I had to go through typing the password through the simple buttons and simple display three times, but it finally connected and all is well. There is an app for this as well as computer software, but I chose to do everything without adding yet another app or yet another bit of software on my computer. Its likely far easier to do it with the apps etc- so unless youre just a glutton for punishment like me, just use their app. When it came time to print, this is when I became a big fan... it spits paper like crazy! I set it to print a large document, four pages per side, double sided... and wow, it was racing through it so much faster than any other printer Ive had. SUPER fast at getting prints done. The print quality is fantastic, too. Double-sided printing saves SO much paper and space, too. Lexmark has always been one of my favorite printer suppliers, mostly known for their commercial machines. My last Lexmark was a color laser which was a complete disaster and never worked well at all. It ended up being recycled without ever having a successful print. Lexmark has redeemed themselves with this one- its a business class machine that will absolutely STUN you with how fast it can put out pages. The ads say 42 pages per minute... which is faster than what I got, but plausible. Bravo, Lexmark. There are cheaper printers out there, but this one delivers performance that is worth every penny.

Came used and not compatible