Unlike the EasyShare 5300, which we reviewed in October last year, Kodak's latest 'All-in-One' (AiO) printer, the ESP-5, doesn't have messages proclaiming you can 'Save up to 50%' on ink costs plastered on its top panel, although the box it's supplied in is plastered with 'Print More Pay Less' messages. The ESP-5 is clearly targeted at price-driven snapshooters who want a multi-function printer that is cheap, easy to use and reasonably versatile.
A much more sober-looking unit than the creamy-white EasyShare 5300, the ESP-5 has a textured black plastic body. Build quality seems 'cheaper' than the 5300, which remains in Kodak's catalogue and can be purchased for the same price.
The new model also lacks a few of the 5300's features, such as separate buttons for printing index proof sheets and starting Print, Scan and Copy tasks. There are also separate feed trays for snapshot and A4 paper in the older machine. Auto paper type detection is supported for Kodak photo papers.
You can't duplex automatically with the ESP-5; nor can you send faxes. And, if you'd like to print images from your Bluetooth-equipped phone or PDA on the ESP-5 you'll need the optional Bluetooth adapter, which will cost another $74.95.
On the plus side, Kodak's latest AiO printers use pigment-based inks that claim print permanence ratings of more than 100 years based on Wilhelm Imaging Research tests of prints on various Kodak papers. The ESP-5's ink set comes in two cartridges, one containing Document Black and the other with Photo Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow plus a Clear Protective coating. Effectively, for photo printing, this is a four-ink printer.
Like the 5300 model, the scanner occupies the top 'level' of the ESP-5. However, despite its clean lines and smart appearance, the lid to the scanner is much flimsier than on the 5300. The ESP-5's platen can accommodate up to A4 sized documents but there's no facility for raising the lid to fit thick documents and anyone who wants to scan pages from books will have trouble keeping the lid down to ensure a clean scan.
As in the 5300, the ESP-5's printer sits below the scanner and has a fold-down-and-pull-out paper tray. The paper is fed face downwards into this chute and there's a slider to adjust the feed-in width between 20 cm, 13 cm and 10 cm width, depending on whether you load A4, 5 x 7-inch or 6 x 4-inch paper. Prints are delivered on top of the paper stack on the paper tray.
Recessed into the top of the front panel are two card slots that between them accept all popular memory cards. A PictBridge socket is provided on the lower front panel for direct printing from digital cameras.
On the right side of the top panel is the control centre with a 3-inch lift-up LCD. In front of it is the on/off button, followed by a four-way arrow pad with a central OK button. Further forward are dual zoom buttons (in and out), a menu button, and a cancel button with a start button right at the front.
The rear panel has a socket for the external mains power adaptor plus a USB socket for connecting a computer. Separate software disks are supplied for Windows and Macintosh users but both contain Kodak Inkjet Printer Software Version 2.2.
Setting Up
Once you've unpacked the printer and removed all the packaging tape and plastic, the first task is to fit the print head and ink cartridges. To do this you must lift the entire scanner section and prop it up with a plastic rod that flips down from the underside. This rod appears inelegant and insubstantial and you have to fold it back in place before lowering the scanner section.
The print head is sealed in a plastic bag and its connection plate is protected by a piece of moulded orange plastic, which must be pulled off before the head is installed. It clicked into place relatively easily and out 7-year-old tester had no difficulties working out from the supplied instructions how and where to fit it.
Once the head is in place, the ink cartridges can be fitted. These, too, are supplied in sealed plastic bags with their contact points protected by snap-off plastic. Again, the instructions were straightforward enough for our 7-year-old to follow. She snapped the Document Black cartridge into place easily but found the Colour cartridge more difficult to install as it did not lock in place with a positive click.
It was only when we ran the calibration routine and discovered nothing was printed on the test sheet that we realised the cartridges weren't installed properly. (No warnings were displayed on the LCD screen!) Having rectified the cartridge problem we were able to print out a test sheet with the Calibration routine, which took about 2.5 minutes. With print heads, cartridges and paper loaded, you can then embark on direct printing.
Direct Printing
Using the ESP-5 for direct printing is straightforward; you simply plug the card into the relevant slot or connect the camera via a USB cable. Although it can output scanned images as Bitmap or TIFF files, the ESP 5 can only recognise and print JPEGs. Images on the card are displayed on the LCD screen and selectable via the arrow pad.
Images on a memory card are displayed at full screen size on the ESP 5's LCD screen.
The ESP-5 is run through a simple menu system, which devotes one page to copying (and scanning) and two pages to direct printing. You can adjust the copy size between 20% and 500% in 1% increments or opt for same-size or fit-to-page copying. Three quality settings are provided: draft, normal and best, along with two colour settings (colour or B&W) and brightness adjustments through +/- 3 steps.
The Copy menu.
The printing menu is only displayed when you insert a memory card containing images or connect a digital camera. Only JPEG files can be printed and there's no index display option so you must toggle through shots to select the ones you wish to print or print all shots in memory.
Page 1 of the direct printign menu.
The few controls provided include the same quality and colour settings as the ESP 5 offers for copying plus a range of size settings that correspond with popular photo and document sizes. You can rotate images via the menu but resizing is done with the buttons on the control panel. You can also switch the Scene Balance function on and off and add a date imprint to prints.
Selecting an image and pressing the Start button engages printing, which starts with about 20 seconds of fairly noisy spooling. This if followed by a pause and then the actual printing begins. The paper is pulled in and around a roller inside the unit and then fed out at the top of the paper chute when printing is complete.
Printing from a Computer
Before printing from a computer, you must remove any Kodak software previously installed (the required EasyShare AiO Clear software can be downloaded from Kodak's website). The next step is to install the supplied software, using a wizard-based interface which begins with the screen shown below.
It is completed when the screen below is displayed on your computer monitor.
This took approximately nine minutes, thanks to intermittent pauses when nothing appeared to be happening. While loading was in progress, the screen displayed an invitation to participate in a Kodak Statistics Collection, which will automatically transfers the printer's data to Kodak to 'help' Kodak 'develop better products'. We checked No on this screen.
Starting the software called up a screen indicating the printer wanted to download and install an update. Once again, we refused the offer, having already spent enough time loading the software.
Finally, we were ready to print. All operations are driven through the ESP 5's 'Kodak Home Center' menu, which lets you access the printing, scanning and copying functions and make minor modifications to certain default configurations. Novice users will find this interface easy to understand and use.
The illustrations below show sample pages from the Kodak Home Center, providing some indication of the controls on offer - which are pretty limited (but adequate for the printer's target market).
The Copy GUI.
The Scan GUI.
The Configure GUI.
The My Resource Center and Order supplies pages are essentially marketing tools, the former providing simple tips plus links to special offers from Kodak.
The My Resource Center GUI.
Performance
In use, the ESP 5 we reviewed created a rather 'agricultural' impression while printing, emitting a mixture of whirring, clunking and screeching noises while printing. As well as being very noisy, the printer stood rocked jerkily from side to side as the paper was fed through.
The review printer had problems loading single sheets of paper in both snapshot and A4 sizes and both document and Kodak's Ultra Premium Photo Paper. However, loading a stack of 10 or more sheets appeared to eliminate them.
Despite reloading the paper several times, we were unable to make a snapshot-sized print without a narrow wedge of white on its leading edge, either through direct printing from a memory card or by printing through a computer. When printing without a computer, it took between 1 minute 38.47 seconds and 1 minute 45.8 seconds to produce a snapshot print when spooling is included or about a minute if spooling is discounted.
Printing photos through a computer was slightly faster. It took seven minutes and 26 seconds to produce a batch of eight snapshot-sized prints, which averages just under 56 seconds per print. Both times were significantly slower than the 30-second time claimed by Kodak for this printer. Borderless A4 prints took two minutes and 32 seconds to produce, on average.
When swapping to document printing we recorded average printing times of 35.7 seconds per A4 sheet. An A4 document was copied in one minute and 38.4 seconds, while a borderless A4-sized colour photo print was scanned and copied in two minutes and 49.6 seconds.
We weren't able to calculate printing costs as Kodak didn't provide enough paper for us to use up all the inks. However, we suspect they would be similar to the EasyShare 5300 as both printers use the same consumables. Kodak produces a Premium Photo Value Pack containing a colour cartridge and 135 sheets of snapshot-sized paper, which retails for $49. This works out at just over 36 cents per 15 x 10 cm print - provided all sheets are used to produce acceptable prints.
Of the adjustment tools provided in the software, the red-eye correction function was often unsuccessful, largely because you couldn't give it a target area to work on. The Facial Retouch function worked a little better, as did Kodak's Perfect Touch function, which uses a similar dynamic range optimisation function to Kodak's latest digicams. However, both made fairly subtle changes that many users would fail to recognise.
Our tests showed print quality could best be classed as adequate for documents. With photo prints quality was below average for a four-ink printer. Occasional picture-takers may be happy with prints from the ESP 5 but this printer will not suit serious photographers.
While printing through a PC produced slightly better-looking results, for both direct and computer-based printing, all prints looked flat and the intensity of blues and greens was relatively low. Regardless of the printing method used, it took roughly an hour for colours to stabilise, although prints were dry to the touch straight away.
Scan and copy quality was also sub-optimal, even for documents. Despite having a resolution of 1200 dpi, all copies made with the test unit were slightly soft. Colour photo copies had a noticeable magenta cast - even though they were made on Kodak's Ultra Premium Photo Paper. B&W photos were also soft and even flatter looking. Some bronzing was observed on the surface of many prints, particularly in darker areas.
We tried to improve our A4 prints by setting the sharpness to maximum. But this simply added sharpening artefacts without adding any more detail.
Printer type: Inkjet printer/copier/scanner
Print resolution: Not stated
Scan resolution: Max. 1200 pixels/inch
Max. paper size: A4
Max. paper weight: 280 g/sm
Ink cartridges: 1x black cartridge plus 1x colour cartridge with four inks and gloss enhancer
Interfaces: Card readers for SD, MS, CF, xD; USB 2.0 (Mass Storage & FTP), USB EKPTP, Bluetooth Technology enabled imaging devices
Power consumption: Not stated
Acoustic noise: Not stated
Dimensions (wxhxd): 422 x 177 x 298 mm
Weight: 5.4 kg