Is the X6170 worth it?

When I purchased my Lexmark X6170, I was really only shopping for a new fax machine. But when I saw this all-in-one, which included a printer, copier, scanner and fax machine, I thought, why not? So I happily invested in this Lexmark X6170, deciding that it was a smart move on my part. How smart was it? Let's take a look.
Copier:
Prior to owning this product, I did not have a copy machine at home. I am a Real Estate Agent, and I work primarily at home. I make a lot of copies. Whether I am copying contracts, listing information, directions, or sales information for clients, I previously had to pay for all of my copies at the Real Estate office. The copies that I now make on my X6170 are good, clean copies, which I am very satisfied with. I can reduce size, enlarge size, etc. Speed is not really important to me, just so long as my copies are decent. The X6170 has a speed of 16 ppm, and that has been fine for me. Therefore, the copier was definitely a good move on my part.

Printer:
I had a good Lexmark printer (P707), which I still use on another computer. (I have 2 desktops). But this X6170 printer has met my needs. Whether printing in color or black, the printed pages are all good quality. It even prints good photos. Again, speed is not a factor for me, so the speed of 19 ppm for mono, and 15 ppm for color satisfies me. However, I do have a couple of problems with the printer, (which also affects the copier and fax as well).
Problem #1: Periodically I receive a hardware error, which interrupts the printing process. (It is hardware error #0502.) When I get this error, I have to turn off the printer to clear the error before I can resume printing. I have not had the printer serviced, and the warranty is expired. So, since this does not happen often, I am living with it. But it is quite aggravating, and of course, NEVER happens at a good time.

Problem #2: The paper tray holds 99 sheets. But the paper must be loaded just right, or it jams easily. I usually do not load very much paper at a time hoping that will help. Jamming causes me a great amount of frustration, because it never happens at a good time either.
Scanner:
The scanner is nice to have. The optical resolution is 1200 x 4800 dpi. I do not use the scanner very often, but I have had no problems with it at all. It is easy to do, even for a completely non-technical person, such as myself. I did not have a scanner prior to purchasing my X6170, and I think this addition also made the move to an all-in-one a smart one.

Fax:
Now, to the main reason for my purchase. My previous fax machine was an antique. When I sent a fax, I had to hand feed every single page, or it would pull mutiple pages through at one time. Keep in mind that I fax complicated contracts, which sometimes run 20 to 30 pages long. Hand feeding each page was completely out of the question!
The X6170 has been a godsend in this regard. No matter how many pages I fax, I have NEVER had any pages stick together. Each page pulls through the document feeder perfectly. I can count on it every time. Therefore, sending faxes on the fax machine has been great, and was exactly what I hoped it would be!

However, receiving faxes is a different story for a couple of reasons.
Problem #1: Since the paper tray tends to jam easily, it causes me to lose faxes. When the paper tray jams, the machine does not hold the incoming fax in memory. So, if it jams, the fax is lost. I have to call the sender and request the fax again.

Problem #2: My phone and my fax machine do not get along. They are having a power struggle over incoming calls. When a fax is coming, if the phone is answered, or if the answering machine picks up first, I lose the fax. I have never figured out how to switch it back to fax mode if the phone is picked up first. (This may be operator error, and have nothing to do with the X6170. I don't know). On the same token, if someone calls me, and the fax machine picks up before I can answer the phone, I lose the incoming call. The caller CAN hold until I turn off the fax machine, but since they don't know that, they always hang up. I thought setting the ringer to a certain number of rings would fix this problem, but it has not. Basically this won't work because I do not know which one to set to answer first! So, it is still hit or miss for incoming calls and faxes. I just had to keep the fax machine turned off until I was expecting a fax. When I knew a fax was coming in, I would turn off the answering machine. And when the phone rang, I yelled out "Don't answer the phone!". This being too much hassle for me, I now use my E-fax number instead for incoming faxes.
So let me sum this up. I have some type of hardware problem on the printer, and the paper jams easily. Not so good. However, the fax machine is a dream for sending faxes, but a hassle for incoming faxes. 50/50 on that. So, was this a smart purchase? I'm on the fence. On the one hand, I do not have to pay for costly copies anymore, and I can send faxes to my hearts desire. That is exactly what I wanted from this machine in the first place. BUT, since some of the features are not really up to par, I would not feel comfortable recommending the X6170 to another consumer. It may just be my particular machine (paired with some operator dumbness), but I would definitely say that a consumer should research more on this model before buying it.

Previously published on Ciao, August, 2008 under username
Fancyface.