The Lexmark S605 high-gloss control panel features just a single button, for you to switch the entire system on. The rest will be operated from the touchscreen display screen or else one of some set, illuminated touch buttons arranged about it. The main section of the touchscreen display screen has rather an iPhone feel to it, roughly the same size along with a collection of icons you can flick between and tap to trigger.
The touchscreen happens to be capacitive, and thus does respond well to touches, although the slope of the display can sometimes mean you press the button higher than the one you're after, until you get accustomed to it. The touch controls cover exactly the same kind of functionality as real types, this means you have screens specializing in scanning, printing as well as printing via memory cards, and others.
In addition to the touchscreen display, facilities on the S605 are fairly comparable to those in models further down the collection. This is not one of the Pro variety of machines, therefore there's no Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) on the lid of the scanner, even though it does come with a business-like textured top, as opposed to an annoying high-gloss finish. A single memory card slot will take SD, Memory Stick and xD cards plus there exists a USB port that handles both PictBridge and USB drives.
Lexmark's new Vizix print system is in evidence on the Interact S605, with its four, individual ink cartridges and semi-permanent head. This is all pretty easy to set up, though cartridge fitting might benefit from a more impressive click when each one is put in to place.
Lexmark has made good use of the S605's touchscreen display to bring in what it refers to as SmartSolutions. These are generally printing-based applets that can be downloaded and saved in the printer itself and supply extra features, aside from everything that is presently installed on the equipment.
Lexmark promises 18ppm for black print along with 11ppm for colour in standard print mode, using ISO testing methodologies. Our print test results, including the processing time aren't quite as positive. The five-page black text print concluded in 52 seconds, which is equivalent to 5.77ppm, however this increased to 6.90ppm on the 20-page test.
Duplex print, provided as the norm in the Interact S605, is acceptable, since pages do not pause for as long when it comes to ink drying in between sides as on, particularly, canon machines. Our twenty-side document, just like the 20-page simplex test, although printed on the two sides of the paper, delivered a speed of 3.68 sides per minute.
Colour print got a speed of 3.33ppm, so we are getting back to the amount of speed exaggeration that had been common a couple of years ago. Although that is not to say that the Interact S605 is not quick; actually, the machine provides a fairly reasonable rate of speed compared to other inkjet all-in-ones within the same price range.
15 x 10cm photograph prints varied from 43 seconds to 1:07, depending on source and, utilizing lexmark's most recent perfectfinish paper, made pictures which were very nicely balanced, with excellent true colours and also high amounts of fine detail in diverse lighting levels. Output is significantly closer to the high quality attained by Canon and HP than was the case with Lexmark's old printing method.
The Interact has the same CIS scanner as the Interpret and Prevail Pro models, and generates much the same plain paper copies. Colours are actually impressively near to the originals and, everywhere else, text print quality is excellent, although still not as clean as from the finest presented by most of its competitors.
The Lexmark S605 printer ink cartridges are, as with the rest of the range, available in a number of formats, the most economical being the 100XL cartridges in return program mode|.
This is a very good, very well featured all-in-one printer, whose touchscreen display control has plenty of potential. When the SmartSolutions selection develops, it might grow to be a valuable expansion to the features offered on this and many other Lexmark printers supporting it. This provides the S605 tangible benefits, whether or not the rest of the unit provides much the same capabilities and overall performance with other all-in-one's inside the range.
Lexmark S605 printer cartridges are to be found here.
