Update: When this review was originally posted, CNET.com.au incorrectly stated that no USB cable was provided with this printer. There is, in fact, a cable included in the box, so the review below has been amended accordingly. Ed
Design
Like a lot of printer manufacturers, Kodak's picked a basic body design for its current crop of MFDs, and just tweaked around the edges for each distinct product. As such, the ESP 5 looks almost identical to the ESP 3 we reviewed a while ago. Both are deep black printers, which certainly makes them stand out in a market that's largely obsessed with silver and white printer bodies. The ESP 5 offers a lot more onboard control options running down its right hand side, including a 3-inch LCD display which is used both for camera connection and running the ESP 5's onboard functions.
Features
Kodak has one primary message that it wants to present with its MFD devices, and it's one you'd have a hard time missing. Specifically, it sells its MFD line on the promise of cheap printing, and cheap photo printing in particular. This is splashed not only all over the box for the unit, but also Kodak's Web site for the ESP 5. Their claim is that the ESP 5 can be up to twice as economical to run. It uses two primary cartridge types; the black retails for AU$14.99, while the colour cartridge will set you back AU$24.99. Kodak claims this brings the cost of a 4x6 photo down to just AU$0.20/print, which is comparable to what you can pay for an in-store photo on special. What then, of the ESP 5's actual specifications?
On the print side, Kodak claims a print speed of up to 30ppm in black and white, and up to 29ppm in colour — they're the same basic claimed print speeds as the ESP 3, in fact. Those who want a SOHO style printer would be better served looking elsewhere, as the ESP 5 doesn't support ADF, faxing or duplexing. The ESP 5's scanner utilises a CIS (Contact Image Sensor) array for scanning duties, although Kodak omits the exact capabilities of the scanner head. Typically, CIS scanners don't run to the same resolutions as traditional CCDs, although in a AU$199 unit you're not going to get high resolution scans anyway. Connectivity is via a USB slot on the rear (out to Windows XP/Vista or Mac OS X 10.4.8 or better), and a multi-card and USB reader slots on the front.
On the software side, the ESP 5 excels, with the very simple to use Kodak AiO Home Centre. It's an all-in one printing, photo optimising and sorting solution that should appeal highly to novices.
Unlike a lot of printers, the ESP 5 includes a USB cable in the box, so you can use it straight away without having to scrounge around or worse, pay for, another printer cable.
Performance
Installation of the ESP 5 was quite simple on our test machine. As is the norm with most printers, you get a foldout poster that details everything that needs doing for setup, along with a driver CD; Kodak also hosts these files on its local web site.
The very first thing we noted about the ESP 5 was that when it's printing, it has a tendency to be rather noisy. This is somewhat a function of its speed; once it's processed whatever data you're sending to it, the print head flies into furious speeds, and paper spits through at a very accelerated rate.
Printing with a regular text page, we managed to eject our first regular coverage page inside 25 seconds, and only an average 4 pages per minute in full coverage mode. Checking draft printing produced some interesting results. The ESP 5 was well on its way to over 12ppm with our test document (and showing no signs of slowing down) when its greed for paper got the better of it, and it jammed paper inside itself, primarily due to the swift speed it was trying to push it through at. As with the ESP 3, text print quality, especially in draft, left a lot to be desired.
On the photo side, the ESP 5 managed better results, both in that it didn't manage to jam up the paper, but also in the quality stakes. Its 4x6 prints were acceptable without being really great — we found some shots came out a little dull for our tastes. The ESP 5 managed to be a touch swifter than the ESP 3 in our tests, with an average print speed of 50 seconds per 4x6" print.
Ultimately, while the ESP 5 might boast of very cheap printing costs, it's not the cheapest MFD on the market in terms of outright purchase price, and its less than stellar printing results leave a lot to be desired as well.
