Lexmark MB3442i Mono MFP laser printer is very fast (review)

19/01/2022
By Ray Shaw
In Featured Reviews

The Lexmark MB3442i Mono MFP laser printer zooms along at up to 40ppm. it has meagre per-page costs, auto double-sided print and scan, and fits into a compact desktop space. It is ideal for workgroups or those that don’t need colour.

In fact, the mono printer market is booming not just in business for invoices, labels, reports etc., but in homes, small businesses, education, library, government and anywhere bulk hard copy is needed. While inkjet is eroding laser market share, the fact is that only laser can achieve the best image results on plain paper.

In 2020 printer sales were about 100 million. COVID related component and supply chain issues saw about a 20% drop in 2021. Lexmark has a government/business/healthcare focus – that is why you won’t see it at most electronics retailers. According to enlyft in the US, it is #2 with 19% of the commercial market with #1 Epson (28%), #3 Konica Minolta (15%) and #4 HP (10%). In this field, mono accounts for 83% of the market. Regardless of the stats and sources, mono lasers with MFP functions are booming.

But if you want colour please see our Lexmark MC3426i Colour MFP laser printer – economy and speed (review) 9.2/10.

Lexmark MB3442i Mono MFP laser

Website	Small-to-Medium and SOHO range and Product page
Price	$499 with starter toner (plus delivery costs) There is also a B3442dw with the same print engine without the MFP
From	Lexmark approved computer specialist and Harvey Norman
Warranty	1-year Express exchange
Country of Origin	China
Company	Lexmark is a privately owned US company based in Lexington, Kentucky, formed in 1991 to buy out the IBM printer, typewriter and keyboard business.
More	CyberShack printer news and reviews

First impression – very well made

First, an apology to Lexmark. I have had two of its printers (this and a colour version) for a while now. My change in employment to CyberShack was in mid-November where thankfully, my new boss Charlie Brown was astute enough to snap up ‘Ray Shaw’s unique deep-dive reviews that buyers demand’. Add to that annual leave, Christmas, New year, CES 2022, and a mountain of reviews, and well, printers are just not as sexy as gadgets. Sorry, Lexmark.

In unpacking both printers, I expected to see a Lexmark Printer of old – you know, the beige ones in the doctors’ office that chug along year after year, decade after decade without a hiccup. Well, times change, and the new Lexmark is svelte, modern and appears just as reliable.

(L) Old and reliable (R) new, svelte and reliable

You can tell this is a business-class – solid build, oversized feed rollers, metal chassis, liberal use of high impact polycarbonate and 12.8kg (most lower-cost mono lasers are half that weight).

Brief Lexmark MB3442i Mono MFP laser specs

MFP	Print, scan, copy (no fax)
Control	7.2cm touch screen
Speed	40ppm A4 single-sided with the first page out in 5.9 seconds (Test: Pass) Test: 10 pages in 15 seconds – 1.5 pages per second
Duplex Print	Test: 10 pages (20 sides) in 33 seconds – 1.5 pages per second
Resolution	600 x 600 or 2400 x 600 in high-quality mode
ADF/copy	Duplex scan and flatbed up to 90/40 ppm mono/colour (A4 duplex is half that)
Paper	250 sheet tray 1, 100 sheet multi-purpose feeder, optional 550 sheet tray 2
Comms	USB-B 2.0, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB-A port for direct print
Noise	<55dBA
Size	339 (H) x 411 (W) x 336 (D) x 12.8kg
Compatible	Windows, macOS, Linux/Unix
Apps	Mopria, Apple AirPrint, Lexmark Mobile Print App, Cloud connect to Box, DropBox, Google Drive, Microsoft One Drive. Wi-Fi direct
Enterprise	Embedded security and works with most management systems. Lexmark Universal Print Driver for most Lexmark devices. PCL and Postscript support
Duty cycle	800-8000 pages per month

Setup

Download the drivers, connect to Wi-Fi/Ethernet/USB, and that is it. SysAdmins will appreciate the ease of integrating it into the printer fleet, and it finds all Lexmark printers and installs. You can adjust any setting via the touch screen.

Web server access via its IP address also has every imaginable setting available. You can import a config file, rename the printer, add asset tag/location, set up email logs and sanitise all information in its memory.

There is also a Lexmark Assistant for Android and iOS apps. It covers scanning and printing (text, photo, web) and discovers all network printers – not just Lexmark. Easy to use for mobile print.

Fax – cloud-only

This model does not have a PSTN phone line for fax, but you can subscribe to a cloud Fax service that enables send and receive of faxes.

Scan – my it is fast and double-sided!

Lexmark claims 90 pages scanning in mono (Text mode 300 DPI), which is very fast, and colour scanning is half that speed. You can select Text, Text/Photo, Photo and Graphics (increasing resolution and decreasing scan speed). It can scan to computer, network storage, email, FTP and more.

The scanner is well made with oversize rollers to handle a range of papers and weights. Its duplex scanning is one pass (two scan heads), which increases reliability.

Print quality – superb

Text is crisp and jet-black as only a laser can. Photos (greyscale) are even – no banding or blotching. We tested with a variety of paper stocks and envelopes. Tray one will handle up to 100gsm stock, and the manual feed is for heavier stock.

Print costs – negligible

There are three user-replaceable parts – the toner/drum unit, spent toner bottle and the imaging unit.

Toner comes in High Yield (6000 pages), and the imaging unit has a 40,000-page life. The advantage of a laser is that replacement units give you a near new unit.

Toner price varies, so we use Hottoner.com.au as a reference.

Single Extra High Yield 6000 pages $186 or 3.1 cents a page
Five pack Extra High yield 30,000 pages $874.20 or 2.9 cents a page
Image unit 40,000 pages $74 or .185 cents per page

Lexmark also operates a spent toner return program (LCCP) to reduce costs.

Power

Lasers consume more power than inkjets. Like inkjets, should be left on all the time. Typical energy use (as defined by Energy Star) is .54 kilowatt-hours a week. At around 25 cents per kWh, that’s about 12 cents a week.

CyberShack view – Lexmark MB3442i Mono MFP laser printer is very fast and low cost

It was a pleasure to review this. I have not seen a Lexmark laser for a long time, and the new design is welcome. Its build quality is evident, and its print speed and quality are superb. Double-sided print and scan are fantastic features at this price.

But the thing that really stands out is value. $499 to purchase a full-duplex print and scan that does not slow down for duplex print – that is terrific. And print costs are so low you won’t care.

If you want a mono, fast, reliable, small office or workgroup laser, this is hard to beat.