Kodak EasyShare All-in-one printer reviews?

[purpleflowers]

We love the way our Epson printer prints but we're sick and tired of the cost of ink. We're considering getting one of those Kodak all-in-one's where the print head is separate from the ink cartridges.

Do you own any of these models: 5300, 5500, ESP 3, ESP 5, ESP 7

What do you like/dislike about it?

[BetzW]

I own the 5300 series. What I like about it is cheap ink ( but it does seem to run out quicker than our Epson did), easy to change ink out, colors are bold and vivid, good quality prints. When I copy photos on photo paper I can't tell the difference between it and the actual photo. Scans wonderfully. can scan a color picture and print in blk/whte, color or sepia. Super fast shipping by Kodak to get you ink. I think the most I have had to wait for a online order to get to me is 3 days, usually here in 2. Plus Kodaks web site runs some fantastic sales on pictures and supplies. AWSOME customer service.

A few months back I was having printer problems so I got on their online trouble shooting site. It asked a series of questions and gives me directions step by step of things to try. When none of it works it states that the printer head must be bad. They sent me a brand spanking new printer head at no charge (was online sunday nite and had new printer head on Tues) and I am not computer savy at all but I had the old one out and new one installed with in 5 minutes.

Dislikes- The 5300 series doesn't print larger than normal paper size ( I would like to be able to print 12x12), our printer has this space that you can put photo sized paper in and print out 4x5's, I have never been able to get it to work correctly, Like I said above I do like that the ink is cheap but it does seem to run out quickly, and maybe I am printing more now that I have this printer who knows.

I hope this helps. I really do like mine and when/if it ever dies I will get another Kodak printer I will probably just upgrade at that time. Let us know if you have any more questions. I really think you wouldn't be disappointed if you bought one.

[Anna741]

Craft Critique did a review of the 5300 a while ago...
http://www.craftcritique.com/2007/11...meras-and

[CR8tive K8]

We have the ESP-3 and I have to say it is one of my least liked updated purchase so far.

I thought the cheap ink was good, but it seems to run out really fast - I even print most things on B&W so as to not use up the color inks. I also have found that the printer won't work a all if one of the inks is low or out - read as, if you are printing in B&W and the color ink is out, it won;t do anything and the same for the reverse.

My hubby thought it would be good since we have the Kodak camera( actually 2) and love them - BUT I can't get the softwares to recognize each other and therefore can't have the pics downloading ont he same computer as the printer is loaded on. It is all WAY TOO complicated for me and I complain to my hubby's deaf ear - I guess I'll have to save up enough to get a new one on my own. For now, i am using 1 computer for pics and e-mail and the other is for printing - BIG BUMMER.

[sandi1152]

I bought a an ESP 5 for myself and am ESP 3 for my daughter at college. I had an Epson and a Cannon before. I have got to say that I have spent so much money on ink this last year that it is ridiculous. Beside the cost of the ink, I have had lots of trouble getting my printer to have any blues in my color copies. Everything is red. Both printers are going in the trash as soon as I run out of black ink and my daughter will have a new printer when she goes back to college next school year. Don't waste your monies on the Kodac printers.

[indyemmert]

I have the ESP-3 and love love love it. The ink is way cheaper than my old HP, and my ink actually lasts a nice long time. The photo quality is great!

[darkladymajesta]

Another downside to Kodak is that you can't get their ink everywhere (I know Officemax doesn't sell anything kodak except a few photo film cartridges)

You may want to look into an HP. I have a photosmart and while there have been a few issues with the software (I have vista) it has been worth it for the price of ink. I also get 3$ per cartridge back when I turn them in to recycle (either officemax or officedepot will do this, just turn in the cart for store credit) and since my printer has 6 carts, that is 18$ back. I can buy a photo value pack which has all 6 carts (black and 5 colors) for just over 40$ it also has 150 sheets of photo paper. Which the printer will print more than that photo paper on.

So simply said I pay around 42$ for 6 carts and 150 sheets of 4X6 glossy photo paper, I get 18$ back. and if you look out for sales sometimes you can get even more back. so that comes down to around 26$ before tax for all of my ink and photo paper, is Kodak still that cheap?

I used to have a smaller HP that ate ink, I switched to this newer system and I have only had to replace the set once (just the colors, black is still going strong) and still have some photo paper from the value pack. (I also used some of my 8.5 x 11 photo paper and printed a bunch of stuff on cardstock and stuff for school)

Sorry for the really long post, but I have had my new printer since January and don't know how I lived without it I still make large orders from costco when I need a whole lot of prints. But for the everyday scrapbooking and need a photo to put in this cute frame right now, it is totally worth it XD

ETA: sometimes places will give you bonuses for spending so much there over a period of time. I have gotten 10$ back from buying HP photo paper at officemax already.

[MSBetsyZ]

darkladymajesta, what is the exact model number of your HP Photosmart?

[BlueberryHill]

I had the 5300 and like others here had problems with it. Mine also has stopped printing blue tones and needs a new printer head. I might go through the trouble to replace that, but my scanner has also stopped working. The piece under the glass that moves back and forth gets stuck often and is scratching the glass. So, this is going in the trash.

I actually loved this printer at first, and even recommended it to my grandmother. She bought one and has had the same problem with the printer head on a different model.

I really can't recommend Kodak printers to anyone. I expect a product to work for more than a year or so.

[purpleflowers]

Thanks for all the responses! It's great to know that they have good customer service. I know there is a risk that the print head will need to be replaced since it isn't being replaced every time the ink cartridges are changed. I am more concerned about the reliability and quality so I really appreciate the details everyone has given me to consider. We order our ink from the internet now so I'm not as worried about not being able to get it locally. We also have an HP (not sure what model) and it eats ink too and has most of the same issues with generic ink as the Epson. It's just plain frustrating.

[kathyfl57]

You might want to look at inkproducts.com . I've seen their booth at the scrapbook conventions and spoke to the guys there. Their stuff is very high quality and prints beautifully. For that reason, I bought an Epson that they now have refillable ink cartridges for. They do extensive testing on the products before releasing.
Kathy