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Kodak ESP 3 All-in-One
by topsyturvy
In my office at work, we have bought another printer just to do some quick scanning to help out with copying invoices and receipts. We decided on this Kodak ESP-3 as Kodak are a great imaging brand and this seemed to have a lot of different useful features for an office. Like all good machines nowadays, it has printing, copying and ... scanning and comes with Bluetooth wireless technology which is a great feature but we don't tend to use this. The printer is good for printing off photographs as well so it is very adaptable for house or office use.
APPEARANCE
The printer is fully black and it weighs 5.9kg which is quite heavy but I never really need to lift it as it is sat on top of a desk. The top is flat and to the right of the scanner lid are all of the function buttons for quick copy and quantity and colour or black & white. It looks very modern and on the front of the printer is the Kodak logo and the power button is also on the right. The printer has dimensions of 16.6" (W) x 11.8" (D) x 6.9" (H) which is quite big but it needs to be this size to run all of the sections of the printer and it looks modern and sleek.
KODAK ESP 3
Now, the printer is very easy to set up, it is a case of plugging in the USB and it will automatically install the drivers and then should be ready to go. I am running this on Windows 7 at work and haven't had any problems with it, it is compatible with XP, Vista and Windows 7 so most computers should be covered. It does also work on MacOS 10.4.8 or above, it does have the option to connect via Bluetooth wirelessly which is handy if you have a lot of devices wanting to connect but for our office we have it wired in via USB to one main computer and it is fine.
This printer runs on two ink cartridges, it has a black ink cartridge and a colour cartridge so it is cheaper to replace if one runs out rather than some that separate the colour cartridge into four inks. The cartridges for me last quite a good amount of time it is said that Kodak printers cost a bit more but they have the lowest ink cartridge replacement cost in the UK meaning they are cheaper to run. I have had this printer a while so far and printing out your average usage haven't had to replace anymore than one time which is good after 6 or so months.
This printer can be used to print out photographs as it has a memory card slot which makes it a lot easier and it does accept photo paper aswell being a little bit thicker. It takes up to 30 seconds to print an average 6"x4" print but this is not bad at all and having printed some photos myself, I do think the quality is good, I will still get them printed professionally overall as printing photos on any printer takes up a lot of ink but it is good to know if I want to print the odd few photos off that this printer can handle it very well.
The paper tray on this model holds 100 sheets of paper at any time, I usually keep it full so that it doesn't run out of paper but sometimes I'll forget. I rarely get paper jams on this printer which is good as I make sure when I place the paper into the feeder tray that it is perfectly straight. This printer accepts all types of paper and for a black and white printed page, it will print 30 pages per minute but if you are printing colour it will print roughly 29 pages per minute which is still good when you think of the black and white only being 1 more page a minute.
This printer has a copy feature which is good if you want a quick copy of a document and don't want to scan it, just push down the copy button and it will print out whatever you set it to do. The feature I use the most is the scanner, it is handy at work and really good to use, there is software to be used with the scanner to make it easy and it doesn't take too long to scan a page at all. The maximum scan size is 21.6 x 29.7cm and you can change what dpi you want it to scan to for higher quality finishes.
When scanning on the highest dpi, the print is so clear that on maximum zoom it is still sharp quality but if you do want a small file, scan on the lowest dpi and it scans a lot quicker. This is great and you can choose what file type to output as, I usually go for jpeg, just make sure you know the folder it is saving the files into. With this printer, you get the Easyshare software which I don't really think much of, it just helps with the software and using it for slight editing but it isn't amazing.
PERSONAL OPINION
In terms of a lot of all in one printers that I have used, this Kodak model is very good, in terms of the print quality it does a great job but I still don't know if Kodak are the sharpest of printers compared to other brands but it does do well in saving ink. It scans very well and copies just as good also and it is easy to use this, the ink cartridges are very easy to replace as you just lift up the lid and put the cartridges in and then you can check it has installed correctly, you can also check the ink levels too.
This printer isn't the quietest but it is alright for an ink jet printer, the scanner is quite quiet, only at the end does it make a noise when the laser is going back. For the price paid, it does a great job and was so easy to set up, it is easy to follow instructions with this and it doesn't take up too much room in the office. Kodak are a reliable brand and even in your house this would be great as it prints high quality photos and the settings are all easy enough to change. I recommend this to any office or home in need of an all in one printer.
COST
This printer can be purchased for £72.99 on eBay which is a bargain for a printer like this, it is reliable and multi function and it has postage on top but it is still a good deal.
The official Kodak website is http://www.kodak.co.uk/.
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Kodak ESP 3 All-in-One
by kathboo
My trusty old printer had finally conked out after about 12 years when a friend offered me their hardly used Kodak ESP 3 all-in-one printer so needless to say I was delighted .It cost about £75 brand new several years ago which seems rather expensive now. However, at the time it was a relatively new concept to be able to print, scan and ... photocopy so the price reflecte this. Nowadays, a similar device can be picked up for half the price, however this machine was still impressive...
**Appearance**
This is a smart-looking device which will compliment any office or living space. It's a mediumsized, rectangular shaped, glossy black device with fold-away compartments which means it can be store neatly and still look attractive whilst not in use. One thing I found particularly useful was the fact that it has a small 'arm' which holds the lid of the printer up whilst changing ink cartridges or peering inside for any reason. Small buttons to operate the features blend in easily so do not distract from the smart appearance.
**Ease of use/features**
As with any new technology, I was a little concerned how easy it would be to both set up and use. I needn't have worried though as by simply inserting a disc into the computer and following instructions, the set up is done automatically. Printing is straightforward, and the document comes out at a good speed and surprisingly quietly - I was previously used to a lot of clunking every time something was printed. The copying facility is so handy. There is an led screen on the printer displaying the number of copies required which can be increased/decreased at the touch of a button. There is also a button to choose between a colour copy or black and white copy. This facility really couldn't be simpler to use, even for a bit of a technophobe! I have to be honest and say that I haven't actually used the scanner but knowing that the faciulity is there is good. The downloadable disc supplied with the printer also dowmnloads full, clear and concise instructions as to how to use all facilities too, so this is a good beginners guide or good t use to check you're doing it right!
The only slight downfall I can think of is the length of the lead used to connect the printer to the computer. Luckily for me my printer is right next to a plug socket and my laptop can obviously go anywhere, but if the printer was located any distance from a socket an extension would need to be used.
**Quality**
One of the most important factors is the quality of the printouts, both text documents and photographs. I like to print out photos of the kids and dog to frame, so it's important to me that these come out at a high standard, and they did. I was impressed at how clear and crisp the images were and the colours looked bright and strong. Similarly, text documents looked so crisp and photocopies looked just as clear as the original - I really couldn't fault the quality.
I'd never had a Kodak printer before but the brand is well-known for having a good reputation so I was pleased that this was lived up to.
**Ink Cartridges**
Ink cartridges are notoriously expensive. Having been given the printer it was the only thing I needed to pat for. I was however half expecting it to be cheaper to just buy a new printer that came with the inks included! Another pleasant surprise came here. The device takes 2 ink cartridges - a colour cartridge and a black cartridge. The cartridges cost me £10 each for the original Kodak inks. Cheaper cartridges are available which claim to be compatible with this machine but I wanted to be sure ity would work 100% correctly. £10 each in comparison to what I used to pay is a good deal.
The one major drawback is the fact that the colour cartridge uses all the colours other than black, and needs replacing if just one of the colours runs out. For example, if you print documents out that use mainly yellow and no other colours, the whole cartridge will need to be replaced even if it's only the yellow ink that has run out and all the others are full! This isn't optional either as the printer won't work at all unless both cartridges have sufficient ink in them, regardless of what colour the document being printed is.
**After sales care**-
Unfortunately, I don't use this printer anymore as the laser head needed replacing which would have cost £35. At this point I did actually buy a new printer. I must say though that the staff at Kodak were fantastically helpful despite the fact that the printer was no longer under warranty. They talked me through the printer in order to try and diagnose the problem and then even offere me 40% off a new Kodak printer as mine was expensive to fix. I didn't take them up on the offer as I fancied trying a different brand, but I was very impressed that the offer had been made.
Well done Kodak
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Epson Stylus SX425W
by sonic70
We bought this printer a few months ago when my Lexmark finally died. The reviews I read were pretty good and I paid around £50 (on offer) for it in Argos.
I mostly wanted to be able to photocopy things and for the kids to be able to print off their homework. The most important thing to us though was the fact it is wireless so ... now the kids can print from whichever computer they are using in the house rather than either having to use my laptop or email everything to me for printing. It can is hardwired via usb but we are all just using the wireless now.
I was very easy to install and only took a few minutes to load the software on each of our computers and setup the WiFi. My husband even managed to print from his smartphone - I haven't tried this yet.
To start with I was a bit dubious about using separate ink cartridges, as I had only ever had printers which had colour and black in them, so the thought of 4 cartridges concerned my a little. However, after a short time I completely saw the point in this and replacing one colour at a time makes more sense as some get used more than others. A full set of all four colours is around £22 on Amazon but if you are happy to have them supplied without excess packaging or using compatible cartridges (which I do), they can be found much cheaper with a quick search online. The ink certainly seems to last longer than it did in my Lexmark printer and so far I haven't had to do any maintenance other than adding paper or replacing ink.
As a lot of things are nowadays, it is mostly made from black plastic but, rather than looking cheap, I think it looks like a smart, professional machine. The quality of print so far has been great but I would suggest getting the proper paper if you want to print photos. I like the fact I can photocopy or view and print photos from an SD card without having to turn on my laptop. Scanning pages to then save on a computer is really easy and most things can be done via the buttons and view screen on the actual printer.
During the months my family has used this printer it has never given us any trouble, shows no signs of wear and tear and acts and feels like a quality, trustworthy product. My running costs, due to being able to find bargain ink which the printer doesn't go through too quickly, have been very good too.
The technical bits:
Printing Resolution 5,760 x 1,440 dpi
Paper Formats A4
Product dimensions 450 x 342 x 182 mm (Width x Depth x Height)
Product weight 7.5 kg
Compatible Operating Systems Windows 2000, Windows Vista, Windows XP - I use Windows 7 and it works fine
Interfaces USB, WiFi
I would definitely recommend this printer to anyone who wants quality for everyday use without wanting to pay through the nose for it
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