Though new to the world of desktop printing, Kodak still has an illustrious past with some excellent products. But its reputation could be going down the drain thanks to some recent claims the photo-centric company made. Over at Pop Photo, the boys put the Kodak EasyShare 5300 All-in-one to the test to see if could truly crank out 180 borderless color photos. It looks like Kodak got a little excited when making claims about the 5300, because the printer cranked out only 165 color photos.
Now Kodak is claiming you can make prints for 10-cents a pop with the EasyShare 5300. According to Pop Photo, it really breaks down to about 11.5-cents a print and even then Pop Photo complained of low color saturation and shoddy printing. These things are fairly new, so we’ll give it the old hands on when it hits our doorstep and let you know what’s going on here.
Kodak’s New Inkjet Printer — and Bold Claims — Put To The Test [Pop Photo via Engadget]
I don’t know what pop photography was shooting for but I have to disagree with their results. I’ve had a 5100 for three weeks now and I get more excellent quality photos per buck than I have with any of my canon printers i900 i9900 ip6700d. I print about half 8.5 X 11 and half 4 x 6. I use good quality paper that I get on sale, HP advanced glossy, kodak ultra glossy, Epson glossy etc. I don’t know exactly how many 4X6s i get per tank but it is very near what my canon ip6700d gets on a set of tanks costing $90.00 all for $15.00. The prints are waterfast and pigment based so they will last longer than my dye based canon prints. I’m not an accountant so I can’t tell you exactly the cost per print (it would vary depending upon my paper cost) but I do know when I’m getting excellent quality prints and saving money and I am with the Kodak. I’ve refilled cartriges bought compatibles and never got the quality prints the oem tanks provided. I can finally afford oem tanks for the amount of printing I do and I’m glad kodak entered the printer game with a marketing model that enables this.
Hello pookaloopa,
I have a Kodak 5500. It worked nicely for about 100 prints. Now it has many missfeeds were it has roller marks on the photo paper but you have to pull out the tray and realign the phot opaper in the tray. Sometimes you get another two or three prints before you have to do it all over again. On the first set of ink with the three star paper I got 163 4×6 prints not a 180 printswhen the machine told me to change ink.
i have since then use other types of paper. 5 star HP Prem, and Canon Glossy. Which are at least 35 cents or more a print.
None of the print come out as rich in colors that Canons MP 610 and HPs 7180 produce. Kodak prints are flat in tone but do have greater details in blacks because the Kodaks print blacks as grays. Please go to a store and print a few prints on these machines. They come much closer to a lab quality print you would get from Costco let say. The Kodak produces a less contras print as Walmart labs would. I let the kids use the Kodak for all of their prints But The Canon does the best for me.
Any way many people see color different If you can remember the RCA XL or Colortrac 2000 tvs. Some people loved the warm whites of XL and some people prefer the cool whites of colortrac 2000.
which is why you love the Kodak (XL) print and I prefer the (2000) Canon and Hps print. Take care.
Update,
Consumer Report also shows it a low quality print. Rates the Canons the best. Recent issue. Check it out at the library.
I’m a Kodak employee who has worked on this inkjet program since its inception. Popular Photography was kind enough to share with us some of their methodologies and we’d like to share with you our perspective on this review. We hope you get a chance to try our printers for yourselves.
The Kodak EasyShare All-in-One Printer was recently tested by Popular Photography Magazine, a well respected publication that provides excellent information for advanced amateur photographers who print large quantities of color photographs and enlargements at home. The audience for Kodak’s new All-in-One inkjet printer is primarily households that print large quantities of black and white and color documents in addition to color photos. These consumers are frustrated by the high cost of ink and are looking for an easier way to print documents and lab-quality photos at home.
The photo-quality test of the Kodak EasyShare 5300 was done using Kodak’s 3-star Photo paper. When using this basic Photo paper, the printer produces a good print at the low price of 10 cents per print. For bold colored, lab-quality prints, Kodak recommends its 5-star Ultra Premium or 4-star Premium Photo paper.
The print-yield test was done using four photos typical of advanced amateur shots, with higher color saturation and more ink coverage. Kodak’s internal testing was done with dozens of photos more representative of typical consumer shots. Results were an average of 180 photos per color ink cartridge using Kodak 3-star Photo paper, and an average of 135 photos per color ink cartridge when using Kodak 4-star Premium Photo Paper.
The Kodak EasyShare All-in-One Printers enable consumers to affordably print crisp, sharp documents and Kodak lab-quality photos at home that will save consumers up to 50 percent on everything they print. The new printers provide ultimate levels of print quality and ease-of-use, while offering low total cost of ownership compared to other leading consumer inkjet printers on the market.
Steve Billow
Writing System Team Leader
Eastman Kodak Company
I was interested in buying a printer, and there was a full page add in Parade with the Sunday Oregonian last week. This was for one week, $50 off of the printer and listed Best Buy as one of the retailers. When I went to purchase at Best Buy, the refused to honor the add. They said it was for the Kodak web site only. It doesn’t say that any where in the add. What gives?
Hi Steve,
since you are a Kodak employee, you are my only hope I’ve got left:
I bougth a Kodak 5300 – but I can not find a driver for Windows 2000!
Can you help me out?
Ben
Hi Ben,
Did you ever find a driver for windows ME, I just bought a 5100 and didn’t know if you found a driver if it might work for mine as well. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Dawn
Hi Ben,
Did you ever find a 5300 driver for Windows 2000?
Thanks,
Phil Palmer
Ben,
I am stunned that Kodak does not provide a printer driver for this 5300 AIO. Win2000 is still widely in use and the fact that Kodak cannot provide backwards compatability to Win2000 is incredibly shortsighted and just plain stupid. I’ts not like I’m asking for a driver for Windows 3.1 or even Windows 98SE. I have done an extensive search for a driver compatable with Win2000 since I purchased this boat anchor. What seems to be the problem with Kodak providing these drivers? I simply am going to have to return this printer and purchase one of the hundreds of AIO printers who do provide the appropriate driver. I cannot even give you an honest assesment as to the advantage disadvanteges of owning one of these dubious printers
Larry, read the specss. Win2000 wasn’t listed you boob!!
I have purchased two of the Kodak 5300 all in one printers. My husbands scans and copies fine. Mine does not work, it come up with cannot complete scan ettor and aborts. I can’t get a good answer from KODAK they all tell me to uninstall and reinstall software, I have done this about 30 times and it still will not scan or copy for me. I need help on this issue. Thank you
I too am experiencing the same messages and have tried two AIO5100 printers. I can only assume that my system is not powerful enough. My system is only 800mHz and not the recommended 1.2Ghz. Also (probably more importantly) my USB is only version 1.1. I need to update my hub I think? Can you advise if you have solved the issue? Thanks and good luck!
Steve,
Thanks for your comments, you sold me! I am tired of payimg $60 or more for ink cartridges. I have an Epson R260 and I can actually watch the ink go down on the software that pops up showing each ink cartridge levels. I haven’t printed but one 4 x 6 photo along with about 60-70 pages of text black and white, after which I had to go to Costco and pick-up another round of ink which hasn’t printed more than 50 pages of documents and is ALREADY empty on three of the five cartridges!!! I can almost BUY a new printer for the cost ink. Most of my friends have been doing that lately instead of replacing ink…how green is that!
Let your team know alot of people I know are looking at your printer due to the cost of ink. Keep the cost of your ink low and I will start buying ONLY Kodak paper with my new 5300.
Thanks Kodak, I will be heading out right now to purchase the 5300 since my old standby SLOW HP officejet T45 just took a dump too!
Chris
Steve,
Do you know where I can get a Windows ME printer driver for the Kodak 5300 all-in-one printer, since Kodak does not offer one?
Thanks.
just bought the 5500 all-in-one. when I print only the logo on the right top corner prints. Same with test page only the flag prints. You can call me at 516.376.9434 or email
I have a Kodak 5300 All In One printer and I am having trouble getting it to print from Photoshop CS3. Where can I get the printer profiles and printer drivers for this printer?
I would like to love my printer but at this point I am hating it because I can’t print from Photoshop.
Any tips?
I purchased this printer about 2 months ago. It worked fine through the first set of ink cartridges, During the second set it started to become unreliable as to printing. Since I use this printer for all the computers in my house I find it completely furstrating to send something to the printer just to have it print out blank sheets, then sit down and run the nozzle clean and then return to the original computer and send a print again. As my son said, expect to waste 10 minutes for each printing job just getting it to print. If it sits unused for more than 15 minutes I can expect to have to clean the nozzles again. I love the scanner and card reader on it but the printer has been horrible. Colors will just drop out even with a new cartridge. I bought an HP today and my wife, who is more of a penny pincher than me, said, “thank God!”
Did I just get a bad one?
I had the same problem the first time I needed to replace the ink cartridges. After calling Kodak they sent me a replacement printhead. Now I have the same problem and it is no longer in warranty. I like the printer but I wish they sold printheads with every set of cartridges that way I would keep my good color.
@Bob Moore – sounds like your printer had a problem that can be fixed with a replacement part. If you’re interested – contact me at connect@kodak.com and I can get you help.
I have exactly the same issue. Sent a mail to connect@kodak.com, waiting to hear back.
I am sorry but the very erroneous that PopPhoto did for a review needs to stop. First of all Steve, Kudos. This is a great printer and for reference I am not the average consumer. I am an advance amateur soon going semi pro photographer, who has owned 5 Canon inkjets printers including the i950, the Pixma IP 5000 and now the Pixma 4300 I just bought along with my first Macintosh evern in an Apple promotion.
I have to say that I am sorry, but I must point out that PopPhoto basically hurt their credibility immensely with their review. No wonder since it’s the same guy sthat run American Photographer and Popular Photographer- the last one in particular that I detected on my own a very special form of writting that smelled like paid advertisement. It was not suprise that 3 months later my own professional fine arts photography teacher told me to NEVER EVER buy that magazine for exactly the same reasons. Respected in my eyes, it isn’t.
I don’t know how long the printer/printer head will last, but in my book Kodak was successfull in setting themselves what they did out to accomplish: Photo quality lab prints and a very reasonable price. So reasonable that now I find it a real option to printing at Costco (USA chain)- which is the alternative many photographers are looking at because its 17-18 cents per print is the lowest cost at a great quality I have seen- except now Kodak has finally given a true option.
I completely take objection to PopPhoto’s claims that the 10cent paper package is “draft quality” of other printers. Having my Canons I can say it’s on par with the level of CAnon’s Photo Plus Glossy- which is their “2nd best” printing option. That PopPhoto said this to me means they are a JOKE of reviewers. There’s no room for interpreatation here- these are facts. I am willing to show *anyone* what I am saying but better yet- go to a store and see it up for yourself.
I am very very angry that people like PopPhoto are spreading the kind of misinformation of what seems a very real and promising alternative for not only average consumer printing- but also more on a higher end pro level too.
Steve Billow, I have downloaded sample pro photos from the Canon EOS 12-16 megapixel cameras, have printed my own Olympus e-300/e-330 photos and I can vouch that the quality is there. ON the Mac the color accuracy to what I see on the screen (important for professional work) matches the Mac better than what I see out of my Pixma 4300 (I am sure the pixma can be calibrated to do better, but the thing is Kodak is doing the better job out of the box).
The black and whites are also FAR MORE black and white than the green tinted sepia output of my pixma 4300 (though it’s not bad). The only thing bad on it is that it has slightly more metamerism towards red/magenta under fluorescent light than the Canon – which also shows metamerism but more controlled.
Steve- tell your coworkers they should feel proud of their accomplishment and I wish Kodak well in this venture. Let me know if you want printed photos of my work.
raist3d@gmail.com
- Raist
PS: I find a bit irresonsible on this website to say “don’t believe the hype” when you guys haven’t even seen the printer yet
Jalon is known in the business as a “SINGER”. Most likely this person works with Kodak to counter the negative reviews and complaints associated with the 5300. It’s the oldest scam in the business world. I’m not sure when this type of hype started. Probably with those late night “no money down” Real estate courses and other dubious money making scams. His is the first ga ga review I have read about this printer. Does your 5300 mow your lawn and take out the trash also? Sounds like you may have had to change your undergarments after writing your review.
Larry, you’re such a Douchebag!!
Hello Raist3,
I do believe you feel the Kodak machine is better. I was wondering after reading your opinion. Did you Calibrate the Kodak using 3, 4, 0r 5 Star paper?
I used Kodak High Gloss 5 Star paper to calibrate the machine. Because I do agree with the Pop-photo article. And no way it comes close to a Costco lab print.
I wonder if the machine would have been calibrated using 3 star paper, would the prints be better when using 5 star paper. Can any one reply please. bigedusa@juno.com
I’m not an employee of Kodak, just an average user and camera user. I just purchased a 5100 and a 5300 for the house and couldn’t be happier with the results. In addition to my own photos, I downloaded and printed a variety of Canon demo photos. They were amazing! I took them to the office and the other camera buffs there first had trouble telling they were printed at home and then couldn’t believe it was from a $150 printer! Photo printing speed is good and the dark colors are indeed nice and dark.
I take issue with the bad reviews out there which claim that this printer doesn’t beat other photo printers in the same class/price range. I think that people might be expecting too much from a printer clearly in the “average consumer” market segment.
While this might not be a perfect lab-quality printer, its perfect for someone like my wife to print out snapshots to mail to relatives, make copies and act as a general printer/scanner. Its great for my wife to not have to worry about paper types, settings, etc. She just prints. Its perfect for me to print out proofs before ordering larger size or bulk prints from the lab.
The Mac OS X drivers are good for this printer, but the EasyShare software is death. Please, give users an option to install only the drivers. Some of us don’t need the hand-holding. I removed EasyShare immediately and downloaded the driver-only package from the Kodak website.
jalon
“I take issue with the bad reviews out there which claim that this printer doesn’t beat other photo printers in the same class/price range. I think that people might be expecting too much from a printer clearly in the “average consumer” market segment.”
Jalon, the thing that truly bugs me is that the printer is on par in quality pretty much with the competition and in some ways exceeds them. The Black and White is clearly better than the Canon. The photographic quality on the 10 cent paper is *hardly* draft like PopPhoto states, and in fact competes very well wiht the Canon Photo Glossy and semi gloss paper printing in their best quality. This is the thing that really bugs me- why these reviews are making statements such as these (there’s only 1 review so far pretty much- PopPhoto- which everyone seems to repeat).
Look at the very title of this blog- “Don’t believe the hype.” Don’t believe what, when they even haven’t tested the printers themselves!
Amazing.
Money must be changing hands, at least somewhere.
- Raist
As the author of the test report, it was my goal to determine if Kodak’s claims were true, and also to find out which of the four AIO printers I tested were the best value for photo enthusiasts. Comparisons were not made against any other (or older) printers than those in the test, and the comments above pointing to older Canon, Epson, and HP units that might produce equavalent prints to the ones we determined to be “draft” quality on the Kodak are outside the scope of our test. Our determination that Kodak’s 11.5-cent prints were Draft quality was a unanimous decision from the entire staff based on the image quality standards that we have set and stand by. We concluded that for $199, the Kodak 5300 is not the best value in the AIO class unless you can accept the print quality of its 3 Star paper. On the other hand, its 4 star and 5 star papers produce extremely high quality prints–but at a higher price per print.
Steve Billow from Kodak mentions the difference between the photos we chose for our test and those that Kodak uses. Despite that difference, our yeild on the 3 star paper was rather close to Kodak’s claim (165 vs claimed 180) and 11.5 cents per print is very close to 10 cents. We are more concerned with the claim that you should be able to get 135 4×6 prints from the 4 star Premium Paper Pack (when it ships!) since our yield came to only 80 prints–a much greater variation despite using the same images.
Since the article was posted, additional comments have been added pointing to software bugs that contributed to poor scanning results (notably a topic not mentioned by any current users despite Kodak admitting the problem), and 3 star paper that is still being sold in stores without the proper watermark to identify it to the Kodak printer (another contributing factor to our test results).
Dear Michael McNamara:
I definitively took objection to the review and I definitively still take objection to some of the points stated above –
” and the comments above pointing to older Canon, Epson, and HP units that might produce equavalent prints to the ones we determined to be “draft” quality on the Kodak are outside the scope of our test. ”
Except that I have seen the prints from the other printers too. For the Canon, the technology of the printer in the review is exactly the same as the Pixma 4300 – chroma life, 1 picolitter, 9600×2400. They are also of the “same generation” not like one older/newer kind of implication here. I have also seen its prints.
The only thing I am not sure is if with that if Canon with the MP810 solved the issue the pixma 5000 and 4300 have that when you print in high resolution, the last two lines or so of the print (particularly in borderless) have their Y resolution reduced by half. I wouldn’t be surprised if it even still has that problem, but then I haven’t seen it printing a photo watching it in detail to the end.
And on to that end a couple of things that amaze me:
* I still completely disagree that this is “draft quality” of the other printers. Ill make the point by checking the Epson- the one I am missing, on the 3 star Korak Paper.
* The fact you talk about 11.5 cents when quite frankly, 10 cents to 11.5 cents is really not a big deal considering how far and away more expensive the competition is… it’s good to note, but doesn’t seem like a huge deal to me witht this difference, honestly, and that doesnt’ seem to be pointed out as much as “boy, Kodak was off!”
* There was no mention whatsoever that Kodak will be selling a 135 premium 4 star paper pack with a color ink for $20 aprox. The excuse is that this is not out yet as Kodak slated it for April- that’s fine and dandy but it’s more than customary on near all reviews I have read to cite immediate improvements coming in the near future. This is one of them. At 15 (let’s say even 18 cents) per page with that paper, the Kodak is still far and away much cheaper to print on.
The issue here is, there was no mention of this in the review at all – that this pack is coming and that “we are waiting for that to come out to re-evaluate/etc.”
* I find very amusing you point out the user’s inability to mention scanning software issues as if that made any other inaccuracy right. The users are not paid to do reviews, so if they point out certain errors, it’s all free quality assurance for the reviewer. However, It’s perhaps possible this bug hasn’t been observed, because in my case I have my Kodak printer connected to a Mac, and not a PC, where the bug occurs?
Perhaps the fact that there’s a discrepancy between the users experience and the reviewer’s, should point out to some misccomunication/misinterpretation or something else that leads to an innacurate review and should make the reviewer ask what’s going on?
Given that the review used 3 star paper that cannot posibliy print correctly as designed, the least PopPhoto could do is issue the warning that the results and conclusions are invalid, pending the new watermarked paper. Yet, even knowing this, conclusions were drawn and are still being drawn on what this printer can really do.
In the end, I have a very technical background myself, and I see a Pixma with the same technology/inks/generation of the reviewed Canon Printer *and prints of the reviewed printer* which supposedly will produce in draft mode what the Kodak produces in 3 star paper – a factually false statement in my eyes. It’s in the end PopPhoto’s reputation that suffers as more owners come forward with their real world experience, if PopPhoto decides to cling to this. I am more than self confident in my technical ability to draw my own conclusions.
Fortunately, I see PopPhoto admitted some mis-communications and I can only hope they do update their conclusions as they receive water marked paper, and note that the Premium 4 star package is supposed to come out in the near future (i.e. this very month of April, 2007).
- Raist
Well, it may do the trick as a photo printer (haven’t used it for photos yet) but as an all-in-one printer, it does not measure up in ink cartridge cost savings. I used to replace my HP black cartridge for $30 once every 4 months. This $10 cartridge is only lasting 3 weeks. At this rate, I will spend $50 instead of $30. To make matters worse, Kodak does not recyle the cartridges. I really hate throwing these things into the landfill.
Do you know for a fact they don’t recycle them? I haven’t printed much black and white only text yet so I don’t know how it holds. However, if HP behaves as I know, it should still be cheaper than HP, but I respect your experience. Sorry if I ask the obvious but I am assuming you are printing the same paper type, same paper quality setting? If they are different and the HP is going on the draft side, try forcing the driver to use DRAFT settings on regular paper.
- Raist
Kodak claims a 50% savings on ink. Compared to what? Kodak’s reported cost per page in black is 2.7 cents. Comparing that to HP’s reported cost per page on the 02 black for the PS5180, 2.9 cents per page, hardly a 50% savings. And now for the color- HP (and Epson and Canon for that matter) use individual cartridges to save the customer money when they run out of ONE color. If you run out of one color on the Kodak, you must throw the entire color cartridge away wasting ink/money.
Kodak’s photos using the 3star paper is like draft quality. I’ve seen the Kodak reps demo photos. FADED looking.
If you’re happy with the printer, that’s what matters, but all I want is total honesty in printer reviews. I want the reviewer to compare apples to apples. Many don’t. This was pretty much a fair review except the HP printer used should have been the nearest competitor, PS 6180 or PS 5180. Just know that for that $200-$300 Kodak printer, you’re getting Lexmark or below Lexmark quality prints.
Hi, My name is Matthew! I am fom Kentucky. I got a Kodak EasyShare 5300 All In one Printer two years ago for christmas, now they did however, I BELIEVE discontinue that model. But i still use this printer for photos buisness use, school work, you name it we use it for that, cheat codes, i have a thirteen year old brother that likes PS3, and a 2 year old neice that likes Dora so we are printing things all the time… And my mom is a Mary Kay Cosmetics Consultant! Anyway, I am 20 years old and I have never had any problems out of my printer, it is the best printer i have EVER had, and i have had a computer since i was 5 years old. I would gladly be a walking billboard for Kodak! I love their products! Sorry if i am coming on a bit strong but I am just seeing all these bashings of the Kodak printers and I get very upset over things like that! E-mail me ppl: thatdude1989@gmail.com
Thanks,
Matt
I want honesty too and no, the 3 start kodak paper does not look like draft quality of the others. As for cost per ink, the Canon Color even with the individual tanks is very expensive. Yes, you have to throw away the entire Kodak color tank, but by then you have printed quite a bit while on something like Canon you are at a point where you have to buy several color ink tanks.
Each ink tank is $14.95
If you are using the Pixma 4300/5000 – that’s 4 colors. If you are using one of the 6-color ink tanks, good luck. If you are using the 8 color one, ouch- though the red and greens are not used as much (photo cyand and photo magenta go *fast*).
Take a look at the HP packages of paper + ink and you see that Kodak claims are not far fetched at all.
As for the quality of prints I am getting, don’t be ridiculous. Having had no less than 3 Canon Photo printers I know darn well what I am getting. I also know what the HP can do as a friend has it. The prints are great even on 3 star paper. The only color that I notice a bit faded and this usually is actually is a non issue is red.
Of course, I can always get the Premium Paper package as soon as it comes out- 15 cents per print. Still way cheaper than the competition and with good quality.
- Raist
And btw, if you are so interested in review accuracy and comparing apples to apples- the reviewers admitted that the 3-star paper they used does not have the markings required so the printer can pickup the right profile for the paper. While this is a Kodak goof-up, the least they can do is say their conclusions are invalid pending re-testing with the right paper. That’s right: their conclusions are COMPLETELY INVALID because they tested with paper that picks the wrong profile.
- Raist
The only tests performed on the non-watermarked 3 star paper were for color accuracy and color gamut size. Our conclusion that 3 star paper produced draft quality prints was based on observation of 4×6 prints from the watermarked economy print and ink pack.
In our charts, we list the color accuracy and image quality of the 4 star paper prints as Extremely High based on watermarked paper.
So…..the Popular Photography review of the Epson 5300 needs to be redone.
Again.
Until Pop Photo figures out what they are doing..feast your pixels on this:
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1003&message=22801943
Just found from dpreview someone who posted a link to the first other reviews starting to come out. Surprise! They also disagreed with PopPhoto. Double surprise to the “HP has cheap inks with tanks now”- HP is trying to bundle paper and inks *now that Kodak* did this, not before, and is still more expensive- as they include even less inks in the newer models!
- Raist
——-8X Cut here —————
“Reviews for the new kodak printers are beginning to appear. Everyone has read the PopPhoto review and knows that it is garbage. Here are a few more balanced reviews:
Wall Street Journal
http://online.wsj.com/... …582612-UCyaMUnYqfctbcqMKp2nDM7SVT0_20080424.html
PC Magazine
http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,2121644,00.asp
Yahoo Tech
http://tech.yahoo.com/blogs/raskin/10519
FastSilicon
http://www.fastsilicon.com/... …ent&task=view&id=196&pop=1&page=5&Itemid=27
I’ve had the 5100 for about 3 weeks now. Overall, I really like it. The best thing about it is that I actually use it! With my previous HP 8250 the ink was so expensive and ran out so quickly that I rarely printed anything.”
- david593
“The only tests performed on the non-watermarked 3 star paper were for color accuracy and color gamut size. Our conclusion that 3 star paper produced draft quality prints was based on observation of 4×6 prints from the watermarked economy print and ink pack.”
So, are those tests that were done incorrectly going to be re-appraised with watermarked paper? Not that it matters much considering I completely disagree with PopPhoto’s assesment of saying this is the draft quality of competitors.
- Raist
Hello Raist,
I would have to agree with Popphoto on this. Consumer Reports also backs up that the Kodak AIO’s prints a low quality print. They rated the Canons the best.
Kodak really goffed up on these printers. It what you get for moving production to china I guess.
But on cameras, the Kodak Z885 point and shoot is a great little camera. They are clearing those out at officemax nox.
I bought the 5100 from best buy in April 07′ when they first came out and started having problems with software upgrades just barely a month later. Due to that fact ,I could not take this back to the store, but my husband went round and round with Kodak support who finally got it through their heads that that printer had issues, and sent us another one; refurbished!
I did not pay for a re-furbished printer and did not appreciate getting one in return, but hey, it was working. Was that is, up until yesterday when it started printing 1/2 or blurred images with new ink tanks. When it works it is great, and pics are beautiful, but I am really getting frustrated with the whole thing! It has been more trouble than the low price is worth.
Igave my kodak 5300 series back could not down load the software
Anthony, you’re not a Moran, but a Moron!
Why is he a moron? The software does not include any printer drivers or print profiles for any reputable printing software. I have had this printer for a year and I am still trying to find the drivers for it because it is not usable with CS3. I hate this printer for that reason… It has never worked properly.
I just received the Kodak 5100 as a gift. So far, photo prints have been very good, scanning OK, however as an all purpose printer it isn’t so great.
No printer tray so printed pages are spit out on the floor, the printer takes twice as long to activate than my old HP Deskjet 882C, (perhaps a software problem) and printing is less sharp than the HP. I’m still debating if I should reinstall my HP for printing service and use the Kodak exclussively for photos and scanning.
Hello
I have a AiO5300 that I purchased about 6-8 weeks ago. I have had nothing but problems with it and KODAK tech-support have been completely useless. Basically telling me “tough sh*t deal with it”.
I use mine (well , I bought it for this purpose!) for documents and photos. Mostly it’s documents. I even called KODAK before purchasing the AiO5300 to make certain it would suit my needs. I was assured it would so I bought it. Here’s the deal:
When I scan docs to create a PDF file 1 of 3 things happens:
1. After scanning/during processing I get an error message and lose everthing I just spent 20 minutes scanning.
2. IF on the rare occasion it doesn’t give me an error code the file ends up too big to email, even after I compress it.
3. In order to scan the docs and keep them small enough to email I have to scan them at 150 dpi which renders the docs useless b/c they actually have to be readable/printable.
My old HP did this with NO PROBLEM AT ALL. Why is this so difficult to resolve and what the hell is KODAK’s problem in not offering any real assistance to resolve this issue? They told me to go buy third party software? Don’t they have people that can tell me how to resolve this without me having to go spend more money for their product deficiencies?I can copy the corrospondence we’ve had, it’s basically “sorry, but you’re screwed” and “thanks for your money!”
KODAK’s response has been crappy to say the least. Basically, I feel like I was lied to from the start and I am mad as hell about it. I tried updating the “firmware” and checked for updates to the software…nothing is working. Any advice is welcome.
I agree with you 100%. I had the same problem with this printer. Try to scan them as a Photo in your photo software as a PDF. This will solve your problem with size. It is best if you have good Adobe software….otherwise it is useless as a scanner.
I own the 5300 and the print head died. I feel this printer by far blows the others out of the water especially on photo quality. It is a shame Kodak has dropped the ball on this printer with faulty print heads. I had bought an HP C7280while the print head was on order and it flat out sucked. HP photos suck and the software is HUGEMUNGUS. Kodak has HP by a mile if they fix the print head issue
And the missing driver file issue and the missing print profile issue and the scan time out issue and the whole 5300 AIO issue.
HP has lost my trust in their marketing attitude . I have used a cheap
1350 all in one for 5 years and am ok with the fair quality of the prints .
But when a black cartridge goes from $ 14.955 to $12.95 , you think you are getting a deal . Read the small print : the old cart has 19ml of ink ,
the next generation of cart has 4ml (FOUR ML ).
I am watching the Kodak debate closly. When my Epson photo printer sits idle for a few weeks , that expensive ink pack/ paper deal becomes useless.
What better deal could you ask for , than a good printer , that can also do archive quality photos with the same ink !
HP shame on you ! I hope Kodak does well with this product
Been using the EasyShare 5100 for about three months now, and find the scan function has entirely malfunctioned. It’s useless. This is on a Mac G5….
And for printing, the ink is cheaper for sure, but the color saturation looks consistently faded. I have to manually increase saturation on each photo to get prints that look like the screen image or like prints from the HP printer I have as a standby.
It’s big, noisy, the software is clumsy. It’s going in the trash as soon as I use up my supplies.
Kodak? Never again.
Been using the EasyShare 5100 for about three months now, and find the scan function has entirely malfunctioned. It’s useless. This is on a Mac G5….
And for printing, the ink is cheaper for sure, but the color saturation looks consistently faded. I have to manually increase saturation on each photo to get prints that look like the screen image or like prints from the HP printer I have as a standby.
It won’t print borderless 4×6. It’s big, noisy, the software is clumsy. It’s going in the trash as soon as I use up my supplies.
Kodak? Never again.
Hi did you figure out why your printer wouldn’t scan? I am having the same problem with mine and kodak can’t figure it out. Thanks
I’ve had my Kodak EasyShare 5300 printer for about three months. It was working fine until just recently, when it stopped printing black. I have a service call in to Kodak but haven’t heard ‘boo’ from the. I’ve tried everything, including downloading the most recently soft and firmware, installing a brand new black cartridge, deep cleaning the printer head, recalibrating, etc. Nothing works. I still have my HP all-in-one, which I put upstairs with the junker Dell desktop because I was fed up with paying so much for ink cartridges. I may bring it back down and ‘junk’ the Kodak. NOT a happy consumer at this point.
I purchased my Kodak EasyShare 5300 AiO printer about a week ago. Since I finally, after many attempts, got the software installed, I have had an error message that says my printhead is not installed correctly or has come loose. I’ve tried reinstalling the print head numerous times, have changed both ink cartridges, have cleaned the printhead, all to no avail.
I emailed Kodak Support. I have yet to hear from them! Any advice?
Jane, like you, at this point I am not a happy consumer either. I will probally get my Epson back out.
Hi Diane, did you ever get this problem sorted. I have the same problem and can’t get it to go away
Just as a follow-up, I talked to a Geek Squad rep at Best Buy (where I purchased my Kodak EasyShare 5300 printer) and they will send it back to Kodak for repair. (I didn’t purchase the extended warranty but the printer DOES have a 1 year warranty. Now I just need to find my receipt.)
I’m planning to bring my HP printer back down and use that while the Kodak printer is off for repair. At this point, once the Kodak printer returns and I’m certain it’s in working order, the printer may find itself listed on eBay. By the way, Best Buy is now selling this printer for $99. Paying extra for ink cartridges is a small price for a working printer.
Diane–I wish you luck. Since you’ve only had the printer for a week, would it be possible for you to return it? Anyway, best regards.
Jane,
You actually asked a “Geek Squad” rep at Best Buy a technical question. Sweet Mother of God, I wouldn’t trust one of these dolts to put air in my tires, much less ask them anything more complicated than “what time is it?” These folks are woefully under-trained and most are not even A+ Certified. Now you want to talk hype. Best Buy promotes these Jr. techs as if they actually knew what they were talking about. I asked one of these guys if the 5300 came with a USB cable, and he looked at me like I was from Mars. I also asked about compatability with Win98se and Win2000 Pro and they assured me that I could get these drivers on the Kodak website. Best thing for all is due dilligence, do your own research before buying something that sounds to good to be true. Like this sleek boat anchor. Sorry to sound so sour, but I was mislead throughout the buying process by the salesman and the incompetent “Geek Squad”.
Larry’s name says it all…. he’s just a Dick man.
I had the exact same issue. This is a real flaw in the printer. I believe it is a software firmware issue. I have also been unable to contact Kodak. I will try and return the printer.
Jane,
I’ve had my 5300 since last September and just recently it stopped printing black. I emailed Kodak from the AIO Home Center and the reply came the next day. Unfortunately everything I did was to no avail, but I’m waiting to see if they replace the printer head as promised. Other than this recent problem, I love the printer.
Lee
I have the same problem with my printer not printing black at all. I am fed up myself. I was missing the driver files and print profile files and no word from Kodak at all. No customer service to speak of and not one reply on what could possibly be wrong. Basically, go buy and Epson that has a customer service department and printer that ACTUALLY PRINTS.
Let me add a big DITTO to Jane’s comments. Not a happy camper. Going to the Labor sale at Best Buys for an HP :( Boo to Kodak, looks like we got hosed.
I’m sorry to hear that, Alan. I ended up junking my Kodak printer at my neighborhood recycling event this past spring. Unfortunately I could not find my original receipt to take it back.
My brother is in the market for a new multifunction printer/scanner and you better believe I steered him away from the Kodak printers. They own a Kodak digital camera and have been extremely happy with it so I knew they’d consider Kodak for a printer. The Kodak brand used to stand for quality. It’s too bad they apparently did not strive to build a quality printer. Major FAIL.
100% agreement, the black is not working, have followed all the advice given my Kodak – still not working – am very frustrated with this printer, not worth the $ being saved on ink
kodak 5300 suck. even thou i don’t use my printer, My ink gets low. worst Printer I’ve ever bought.
I have a kodak easyshare 5100 that I got in January. I ran out of black ink and put in a new cartridge…guess what…wont print black on printer paper anymore. It will print black on photo paper, and also on cardstock paper but not on regular printer paper. After over an hour on the phone with kidak tech support they concluded that i have a bad print head(since it still prints color) and will print on other types of paper. they are also “throwing in” 2 new cartridges and will send an additional 2 more cartridges when I send them my old print head and ink cartridges. I hope this fixes the problems. I really liked this printer until today.
Christine…who did you speak to at Kodak. Just received my 4th replacement printer and print head and when I was speaking to someone in “Corporate” and mentioned I would like ink replaced as I have purchased ink and used it all up while on the phone with Kodak trying to fix my photo printing problems, I was told they DO NOT replace ink. Guess you got lucky. I am setting up my “new” replaced printed tomorrow and hoping 4th time is a charm.
I have had the 5100 for a month now and all of a sudden it won’t scan. Does anyone know why? I have contacted kodak and they can’t figure it out and I’m still waiting on them. Thanks
well if it does not work, u can get another one to replace it. 1 yr warr.
The Kodak ESP 3 is CURRENTLY the photo printer to own if you don’t want to get scammed on the price of Ink. $25 for both the Color & Black Ink including tax!
This new Kodak is smaller and nicer looking with the same Pigment based Inks (VS dye) !
Well put me in the stack of people that thinks this printer sucks. I purchased it from Best Buy a month ago. Everything worked fine, although I did get an Error Code 3607 pop up on the screen when first power it up but that went away.
I printed wonderful photos (loved them) and then I loaded the software from the DVD and I think they loaded the whole DVD on my drive. Then all of a sudden the printer won’t print black anymore and I am missing all my blues. I did the calibrations, head cleans, everything still nothing works. I even bought and put two new ink cartridges in it.
I would highly advice people to stay way away from this printer, I got sucked in by the price. I won’t bother replacing it, I don’t want to replace junk with more junk. I will just never purchase from Kodak again and be sure to tell others of what happened to me.
Don
I am furious with my Kodak 5100 printer. After sitting a few months, it’s totally clogged.
To try to clean the printheads, the Kodak site says to use the software (I only used it as a copier).
OK, hit the Kodak website for the software and driver (hopefully just the driver and a simple utility). Nope a 250MB Download!
OK, get out the CD and install. Oh no! it’s one of the programs with a skin that does not like large fonts. Install anyway. Uncheck a big list of bloatware. Asked to update. Starts to download the 250MB file again!
Bottom line, this printer stinks. Even when it worked, it cluncked and ground for a long time before being ready to print. The software is a bloated joke, and the print wuality is marginal.
Is there anyone in Kodak that I can write a polite letter to?
Thanks for letting me rant. This (like many inkjets) printer is junk.
Eric.
The printer worked great for two weeks and since then is totally unreliable with lousy quality. Will not print black despite repeated re-calibrations, new printheads, ink cartridges, contact with technical staff, etc, etc.
A lousy, lous product.
I have the 5300 and i hate it i go thou ink so fast i used it once and its out of ink i only use it for a resume or something i have a epson picutre mate for my 4 by 6s and it works great and the ink wont kill you..but i have had to buy 3 ink cart for the kodak 5300 and the ink runs out even if i dont use it…i will never buy again..
I didn’t read the PopPhoto review of the EASYSHARE 5300, so have not comment about the review itself. However, I do have issue with Kodak and the EASYSHARE 5300 itself. As a couple of people have indicated, this product is both OS dependent and OS limited. This is the first time I have every purchased a printer that cared if I was using Win9x, ME, 2000, etc.
Before someone else comments again about the system requirements for XP/Vista for Windows use being clearly listed, allow me to make it clear that I purchased this directly through the informercial they were promoting in December 2007. At NO POINT, during that entire 30-minute advertisement, was there any mention whatsoever that this product required Windoze XP or Vista, in order to function on a Windows PC. Nor was there any information indicating that a Pentium III 800Mhz might be insufficient to the processing needs of this “all-n-1″ unit. I did not even visit the Kodak website until today (July 9, 2008) when I finally got around to setting up the EASYSHARE 5300 and encountered the limited OS support/lack of driver problems.
So, I had this unit for 6 months before I discovered that Eastman Kodak has the bald audacity to sell a peripheral product with no backwards compatibility whatsoever, which is bad enough. What REALLY pisses me off is their arrogance in telling me what WEB BROWSER I have to use with their POS product. So, this might be the absolute best printer/scanner/copier in it’s class. I have no way of knowing because I am not installing Windoze XP any of my systems. Kodak’s product needs to support what I’M using…not the other way around. They can keep their arrogance, and their products. I’m going back to using Canon equipment. Ink costs more but I’ve never had to change my system to use one of their products!
Well said!
We also were victims of the Kodak 5300 infomercial. While the photo printer sounded great, I had no idea the printer would NOT play with our computer’s WindowsME O/S. When I asked Kodak about this they said the earlier O/S drivers were left out because: ” Before designing a product, Kodak looks at what is going on in the market place. It was a business decision not to support earlier operating software. ”
So I can’t print documents from my PC to the Kodak 5300 unless I: (A) Upgrade my O/S $ 100 (B) Buy a newer computer $ 300 + (C) Buy a different printer $ ??
—–Original Message—–
I received my 5300 eazyshare 2 weeks ago and i LOVE IT. Set up was very easy and the photo are great! and its not using much ink at all! for the money u cant beat it!
greg
I have had only one main problem with my Koday Easyshare 5300. But, it is a repeated problem – when I put in new cartridges – it does not recognize them. I have had to replace the part the cartridges go into – I am very frustrated with this unresolved issue and will ditch my Kodak Easyshare for a more reliable printer.
When the printer works, after chnaging the piece that contains the cartridges, it works great. But, it will be 1-2 weeks until this is solved. In the meantime, no printer —(life without a printer – how much worse could it be?- said jokingly)
i have a 5100 and a 5300 they were good when we first got them but after replacing the ink they stink on the 5100 they say i need a new print head which used to come with other printers ink cartridges. everytime we try to update on kodak you get an error and than you are screwed we are on the phone right now with kodak and the are saying the printer heads are no good . so now i have 2 printers and i cant print
i now have to send back my printhead and ink to them when they send me new ones so that they can see what the problem is so they can try to fix the problems with other printheads
i think kodak was to fast getting these out on the market
Just set up my new 5300. What a frustrating experience!!!! MULTIPLE false paper jam messages. When it does finally decide to print, multiple banding on photos, text….everything. I set it up exactly per the guide. Have run multiple test prints, alignments…you name it. Now it won’t do anything but flash “error code 3813″. I have owned numerous printers and this is my first and LAST time to buy any Kodak product.
Well, time of an update to my previous post. I installed the Kodak Easyshare 5300 on PC running the minimum requirements (XP, 1.2Ghz CPU, etc). Prints documents from the PC just fine. But, lo and behold, the scanner will not scan to the PC using Kodak’s software. It gives an error “blah, blah…condition code 5.” Then, it gives another error when you quit (1 -2036). Attempted 3 clean installs (yes, I reformated the HDD 3 times) of Kodaks lame software. Updated the unit’s firmware. Tried every trick I know as a computer tech but finally had to call Kodak Technical Support, who had me run a utility to remove their software to do a clean install. Would have been nice to know about that before 3 reformats.
Reinstalled the software and did everything I was told…which was everything I’d already tried. After almost an hour on the phone and discovering that the “Scan Wizard” in WinXP would result in a scan to the PC, I asked what the problem was with the Kodak software. The woman that I was speaking to began trying to blame the failure on my plugging the unit into a USB 2.0 Hub PCI card. When I explained that it was currently plugged into the motherboard’s USB 1.1 port, she blamed it on my using a USB 2.0 cable with a USB 1.1 port. When I told her that I was an Electronics Engineer and had been a Computer Systems Specialist since before there WERE personal computers, I knew the difference between USB types and that it wasn’t the problem. After all, I scanned to the PC with the utility in WinXP, so communication between the two wasn’t the problem. She said she’s be back and left me hanging on hold for 25 minutes just so I’d hang up. So, don’t expect help from these people! I emailed a complaint to Kodak about this and demanded an immediate RMA to return this junk for a refund. Have yet to receive a response after a week.
I’ve also discovered another issue, which “might” actually be the root cause of my difficulties. Seems that there is a problem with the memory card reader port. I plug in a blank SD memory card into the reader and it attempts for about 7-10 minutes to read the blank, formated memory card. None of the controls work until I remove the memory card. Connected a multi-card reader to the USB port and it immediately told me there was nothing on on the SD card. Can’t wait to find out how Kodak is going to blame this failure on me, too.
To anyone trying to decide on buying the Easyshare 5300, spend a bit more and get yourself a Canon Pixma MP600 instead.
I’ve had a 5300 for about a year and a half. I’ve been generally happy with the print quality, but I only rarely print photos, mostly just documents. I’ve also been happy with the scanning. I’ve never had any of the malfunctions reported above.
What I haven’t been happy with is the reliability of the printer. Several months ago, I had to have the printheads replaced, and just now the printer itself died. In both cases, they sent me replacements free of charge, but I’m now without a printer for a week.
The printer I had before this was an HP LaserJet 5p that just chugged along, cranking out page after page. I think the next printer I get is also going to be a laser printer. For documents, they just look better, and I find that I don’t do that much color printing anyway. And there are color laser printers on the market that are reasonably priced now.
Oh well, live and learn.
Dan
Got this printer as a Christmas gift in Dec 07. Set it up and all went well. Printed exactly two color photos (4×6) and 8 months later the ink monitor tells me I’m out of color ink. Replace the color ink cartridge a month ago and have not printed anything yet the ink monitor tells me one quarter of the color ink is gone. Tried using Kodak support but all they could think of was upgrading the firmware. Of course that was up to date so I was then told that the printer performs a head cleaning upon every start up so that’s why the ink level is going down. JUNK–I’m putting the printer back in it’s box and tossing it in the dumpster.
Well,hubby bought me the Kodak 5300 less than a year ago and the printhead is shot in it! I’m so ticked right now. The Printer was GREAT, until I replaced the second set of cartridges, now the printhead is gone in it. Can this be replaced or not? If not, this was quite an expensive lesson for us, and we cannot afford to keep buying printers. Good thing I have an HP backup…..and it still works just fine after several years of ownership!
thanks for any comments or help ASAP.
this kodak printer is the biggest waste of time and money, a very big mistake. The first printer I bought from Office Depot didn’t work at all so I returned it and they gave me another one. It worked good for a little while until the ink cartrige was used up. I bought another cartridge and it still din’t work. After calling El Salvador for hours they sent me a new cartrige and printer head, which didn’t last anytime because of the dated memory chip they put in there printer head. The first time they tried to ship it to me it went to the wrong state. I resently bought a new ink cartrige and it doesn’t print. I will defently just though it in the trash were it belongs.
I work for a computer retailer and we stopped selling these. When they work they are quite a good printer, print quality is ok and the printer’s functions are quite good. But the drama is “when they work”.
We initially got 50 units and a demonstrator in and sold them in the space of a few days. We thought that was a fantastic result. But over the next few days they started coming back. By the end of the first week we had about 30 of them returned Dead on Arrival. The rep assured us that the 60% failure rate was abnormal, and assured us that if we got more in they wouldn’t have the problems. So we tried again, this time a little more cautiously with 20 units. This lot were better – I think from memory about 5 of them got returned Dead on Arrival, so still about 25%. Compared to the other major brands where return rates are about 1%, this was disgusting. The Kodak rep left with his tail between his legs and we have refused to touch them since. That was a few months ago, and since then, of the ones that didn’t get returned in the DOA period, we have had numerous come back faulty. We have had numerous cases of Kodak replacing them and the replacement also being faulty etc.
There are a wide range of faults – varying from no power at all, smoking, scanner not working, jamming in the print and/or scan assembly, not recognising cartridges or heads, saying brand new ink tanks are empty, no communication with the computer etc, garbled colours, scan out of alignment, etc.
The concept behind them is sound, but they have been let down by very poor quality control.
Just read all the comments!
what made me buy a 5100? my printer, like others I have read about,won’t print black since I changed the cartridges. It is less than a year old so I hope I can take it back and replace it for a printer scanner that will work on my new i-mac. Now the mac is a machine. I need to be surgically removed from it , I spend so much time up here on it my wife has forgotten what I look like.
Hello Everybody,
Well after many months have gone by. I can now update you on my 5500.
I printed about 300 photos with all the misfeeds in the last one hundred I went back to my Canon 600. The prints from the Kodak were average. I moved two months ago and finally got the Kodak back up and running. I made 20 or so b&w copies which came out fine. The next time I used the machine. The black ink stop working. but it continue to print the other colors. So I put in a new cartriage and its barely printing in all colors. So I said well try another one. Maybe that first new one is bad. The second new one no ink came out at all. Turned the machine off, reinstalled the cartrige and still nothing.
After reading all the post the past year I know what to do. This weeks garbage pick up is Thursday.
I won’t be wasting valuable time talking to Kodak.
I’ve had my Kodak 5300 for eight months now with no major problems. I don’t print photos, only documents. Two weeks ago it stopped printing black. I did everything I knew (new cartridges, reinstall the driver, talked to a local tech, etc. Then I went to Kodak printer support and asked for a consultation with a tech. I got Tebogo M. and wrote my woes. He answered that he was “reviewing my problem”, made me wait an hour and a half, then typed that it had been too long and he was signing off.
I’m grinding my teeth. I came to this site hoping for an answer, and it looks like I got it: Quit hoping for help from Kodak and trash it.
I had a Kodak Easyshare 5100 printer for just over a year. It printed nicely at first but then the printouts gradually appeared washed out. I had some trouble with the black ink over the past two months and bought a Samsung CLP310 colour laser printer that was on sale that printed better quality prints. My Kodak printer unexpectedly caught fire January 4, 2009 and had to toss it out of the window of my apartment into the snow below. I suspected a short circuit in the printer as the breaker in the surge bar tripped a couple of times before Christmas when I used the scanner. I guess I’ll avoid Kodak printers if the one I had nearly burned my apartment down.
Hi
Thought Id join in basically bought a second hand 5300 didn’t work a major appointment but the guys at Kodak were fantastic replaced it free of charge with inks, so then to start I am a real novice at computers so please feel like a space shuttle astronaut.
…Calibration needs to be done with high quality photo gloss paper i cut a piece of A4 size to fit, then push the photo paper tray all the way back on calibration the paper needs to be slightly away from the scanner edges.
…This dreadful software Kodak psychology a way round Ive used perfect uninstaller to un install the components I do not want and am left with Scanner driver and printer driver apparently installing with non of the custom boxes ticked does this, also try Freekapture ( scanning software simpler and faster than the Aio portal)
and similarly for the printer , way to go a usable machine.
Good calibration is vital..And my images are superb very good quality machine..Well done Kodak
Any other tips ?
I just found a way to use the scanner even though it has empty ink cartridges. If you remove and reinstall the cartridges and the printhead then it wants to do a calibration before printing anything. You can ignore the calibration request and scan documents. As long as you continue to ignore the calibration request you can scan to your hearts content.
Mike L.