Kodak ESP 5250 Review – Satisfactory yet Flawed

We loved:

Great photo quality, ease to set up and being inexpensive are the things that we liked the most in Kodak ESP 5250.

We hated:

Absence of auto-document feeder, inconsistent paper input tray and lack of USB port are some negatives about Kodak ESP 5250.

Introduction:

Kodak ESP 5250 is the latest upgrade to ESP 5 that was launched last year by Kodak, and it becomes pretty clear by looking at almost identical design of the two. Apart from its looks, there are significant improvements in every department of the printer. Some of the departments that impressed us were its print quality and output or print speed. Despite all the significant improvements, there are certain areas that lag upgrading and the periodic paper feed errors and absence of auto-document feeder are some of them.

The most concerning is the periodic paper feed error which is something you don’t expect from a $170 device. One major reason behind considering the Kodak printers has been their ink system. This is because with their pigmented four color inking arrangement and three grades of coded paper you can produce long lasting prints even when you are tight on budget. But what impressed us most about ESP 5250 was its huge 2.4-inch LCD and wireless connectivity, but if you are tight on budget and are looking for a printer then we would recommend you to take a look at Epson Stylus NX515 costing $150. It offers better performance and has a smoother design.

Build and Design:

Looking at all the Kodak printers give one unanimous feel and that’s that all the printers desperately must be given a makeover. The expectations were really high when the ESP 5250 was announced and was suppose to sport a brilliant hip design upgrade from ESP5, but sadly that didn’t happened, on the contrary this machine came out almost identical to the others. With all matte dark glossy and black along with a pierced scanner cover and orange accents the ESP 5250 was not at all different from the other Kodak printers we have seen till now. Its nice that Kodak is keeping their products streamlined measuring 16.6 by 11.8 by 6.9 inches (W x H x D), but the identical looks won’t be urging the ESP 5 consumers to look for an upgrade.

Most of the users wouldn’t have any problem in navigating the menu on the pop-up 2.4 inch LCD screen courtesy to the hard buttons layout located at the top of the printer and at right of scanner lid. It should be noted that the LCD screen of ESP 5250 is smaller than ESP 5 which has 3 inch LCD screen. The one thing that will catch your attention is the simpler controls of ESP 5250, and Kodak has simplified all that you need in the control strip, at the start of the control strip there is the power button, then there is the four-way directional pad, photo rotate shortcut, pair of zoom buttons and a cancel button right at the bottom with a bigger “Start” key bulging out from the cockpit. Except for this the entire printer is bare apart from a little media card reader under the control panel and hinged scanner bay. The card reader underneath the control panel supports SD, MMC and MemoryStick. Omitting the USB port is something that we think wasn’t a great move on Kodak’s part.

We aren’t sure why Kodak reduced the size of the LCD screen from ESP 5′s 3 to 2.4 inches, although there isn’t any change in its function and appearance. The functions are still the same and the vibrant colors can easily be read. The options here aren’t as sophisticated as of HP Photosmart C8180, but are satisfactory for an average photo enthusiast. It’s nice to see the shortcut to copy a photo or document, which generally we see after two to three clicks into the menu.

Specifications:

Weight: 14.1 lbs
Dimensions (W x D x H): 16.6 x 11.9 x 6.9 inches
Printing Technology: Ink-jet – Color – Photo printer
Ink Supported: 6 ink
Optical Resolution: 1200 dpi

Scan Element: CIS
Supported Flash Memory: Memory Stick, miniSD, SD Memory Card, Multimedia Card, SDHC Memory Card and Memory Stick Pro
Min Copy Size: 3.94 in x 5.9 in
Consumables Included: 1 x Cartridge (Color), 1 x Cartridge (Black)
Printer Type: All in one

PC Connectivity: Yes
PC Connection: IEEE 802.11b, Hi-Speed USB and IEEE 802.11g
Operating System: Windows XP Home Edition, Windows Vista, and Apple Mac OS X 10.4.8 or later
Microsoft Certifications: Compatible with Windows 7

Max Document Reduction: 20 %
Max Document Enlargement: 400 %
Maximum Copies: 100
Copier Type: Digital
Max Copying Speed: up to 29 pages/min (color)/ up to 30 pages/min (mono)
Office Machine Features: Print from memory card
Max Media Capacity: 100 sheets
Media and Document Handling Details: Input tray – 100 sheets size: 3.94 in x 5.9 in
Service & Support: 1 year warranty

Performance:

Contrasting the ESP 5, Kodak 5250 delivered considerably consistent performance for all the four output speeds. In comparison to several other all-in-one printers in the similar $200 range, the ESP5250 delivered the most consistent speed and was almost one page faster than the competition in most of the tests we performed. Though, the Epson Stylus NX515 delivered better performance than it with 13.81 pages per minute (text), whereas the Kodak ESP 5250 was only able to print 4.89 pages. But don’t consider it as the slowness of ESP 5250; its the fastness of Epson. So it will be safe to say that the quality along with pace can be obtained by ESP 5250 and if you are looking for a handy budget printer then considering this is a nice option.

Support and Service:

Kodak ESP 5250 comes with a complete one year warranty covering printer along with the print head. The coverage is provided for the Ink cartridges as well for 13 months until it needs to be replaced right from its date of manufacture, whichever cartridge comes first. The warranty offered includes an online live chat with Kodak technician from Saturday all the way through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT and a toll free telephonic support from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. PT every day. There also are software downloads, manuals, and interactive tutorials to support the troubleshooting process.

Expert Comments:

Kodak’s ESP 5250 might not be as flawed as its precursors, but still there is room for improvement in this multifunction printer before it can withstand the competition. But in present times, its acceptable output speed and pleasant photo quality don’t substantiate the $170 price tag.