Computing: Kodak ESP5 Multifuction Printer – Review – 77

The grim days of boring off-white printers are long gone. Thank goodness. Stylish gloss-black devices with bright LCD displays are now the norm and, for a very reasonable fee, you can pick up a looker that handles high-speed printing, scanning and copying, and even copes with high-resolution photo prints.

The swish-looking Kodak ESP5 is an example of the low-cost all-in-one breed and it does a fine all-round job, especially at the price. The installation of ink tanks and the setup of software were easy, even if the software was a bit slow to make its way from the CD to my laptop.

It has a variety of connectivity options including USB from a computer or portable drive, memory cards and even Bluetooth. The built-in 3-inch LCD allows the user to control the ESP5 without a computer, and print directly from cards and so on.

The ESP5 uses a six-colour ink system comprising a single black cartridge plus a big five-colour cartridge; photo print quality using Kodak’s own premium photo paper was impressive. The Kodak AiO software is user friendly and produces good results but you’ll get better prints if you’re set up to print from something like Photoshop, which give you more control.

Kodak makes a big thing of the ESP5′s cost effectiveness when printing photos and it certainly seems to be easy on the ink. Scanning and copying were simple as could be, and general black and white or colour prints were entirely satisfactory.

BRETT GIDEON

Tech Specs

ESP5
Multifunction Printer
$249

Print Speed: up to 30ppm (black), 29ppm colour
Photo speed: 30 sec/print 
(10  15cm)
Borderless sizes: 
Up to and including A4
Max scan size: 21.6  29.7cm
Paper capacity: 100 sheets plain/30 sheets photo
Ink handling: Two-cartridge, six-ink system
Connectivity: USB 2.0, Bluetooth, memory cards 
(SD, SDHC, MMC, MS, 
MS PRO, xD, CF)
Dimensions: 
17.7 x 42.2  29.8cm (H/W/D)
Weight: 5.4kg

VERDICT

• A simple, easy to use multifunction with some real photo printing ability

Contact

www.kodak.co.nz

This Review is from Tone Issue #77.