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We clicked with:
Excellent printing.
PC-free operation.
Cheap ink.
Shots in the dark:
Scanner output disappointing.
Single colour cartridge may be costly.
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Weight for weight, inkjet printer ink is more valuable than plutonium. Well, almost. However, that may change soon; a major feature of the new Kodak EasyShare 5300 printer is a massive reduction in cartridge costs.
Specifications
It's not just a photo printer. This is an all-in-one (AIO) device, also incorporating a scanner and photocopier, and offers stand-alone operation or integration with a PC. The printer section accepts A4 and a separate simultaneous tray of 6x4-photo paper.
Card readers on the front allow direct printing of JPEG images - there are slots for CompactFlash, SD, xD and Memory Stick. There are also two USB ports, allowing USB drives and PictBridge compatible cameras to be connected for printing.
The printer's top has a control panel that controls all the functions. A 3-inch LCD panel allows previewing pictures before printing.
Kodak's EasyShare 5300 is heavy and bulky, but has a footprint not much larger than a normal A4 printer. It also feels solid and robust. Given how capable it is, it's very acceptable.
First Impressions
Unpacking is straightforward, and a setup guide takes you through the installation process painlessly. As with most printers, there's no USB cable in the box, but otherwise there's everything required to start work, including A4 and 6x4 photo paper.
The printer is based on a two-cartridge system; one black cartridge for text printing, while the other module has the usual cyan, magenta and yellow inks, as well as an additional black and a clear ink to give an even finish to the Kodak EasyShare 5300's photographs. As low running costs are a major claim of this design, having to throw out the cartridge when one colour runs out seems wasteful.
It comes with a CD of drivers and the Kodak EasyShare software (also shipped with the cameras in the range). The range of drivers is very 'now', with support for Windows XP, Vista and MacOS 10.4.8, but nothing for older operating systems.
The printer software itself is slow and clunky, but comprehensive. It provides functions for printing photos, scanning and copying, as well as the usual standard printer drivers for use in other applications. It's not as easy to use as some Kodak software, but it's also more comprehensive in the control it offers the user.
Print performance
The Kodak EasyShare 5300 is impressive. A full A4 page on best quality takes about 70 seconds, and a 6x4 print about 43 seconds. Printing at normal quality and using the Kodak software (rather than using the printer driver from other applications) will shave off a few seconds.
On good paper, the print quality is very smooth, with only occasional banding visible on best quality prints in areas of solid colour. Normal and draft quality photos are also very good, albeit with extra banding visible on the draft output. At normal viewing distances though, the pictures are high quality with realistic, vibrant colours. There's a slight yellow cast, but on most pictures it isn't noticeable.
Kodak is keen for everyone to print out 6x4s of their photos like the days of film, and it doesn't get any easier than with the Kodak EasyShare 5300. The ability to load 6x4-photo paper alongside A4 paper is handy for quickly switching between documents or photos, and the printer will render borderless photos on either. With the 6x4 paper, it's not quite as good as a lab-printed photograph, but the result is very close.
Copies and scans
The copier functionality is also good. Copies of 6x4 prints are very close to the original; there is also a very slight enlargement option to produce a borderless print, which is not as sharp. That said, the colours on the copy are actually slightly richer and often more pleasing than the original.
The scans produced by the Kodak EasyShare 5300 have good colour, but do show noise in shadows and could be sharper. Scanned images also show banding in the direction of the scan head motion. The Perfect Touch option enhances the scan, but can boost noise to unacceptable levels.
Scanning is available up to 1200dpi, though to use that you'll need to switch to advanced mode instead of basic mode. If you do make a lot of copies or scans, it's worth using the Kodak software rather than the printer control panel - as well as offering more options, it can also detect multiple photographs on the scanner and print or save each one separately.
Direct Control
Even without the Kodak software, the on-board control panel makes it easy to use most features of the printer. The buttons are a good size and have a good feel, while the menu system is generally well thought out. You cannot directly print images larger than 8MB or 12MP, however.
The control panel generally works well, though we had trouble with scanning from the control panel to a PC. Scanning to a memory card or scanning from the PC end worked fine though. The LCD screen is large, bright and clear, though it takes a few seconds for images to load fully from a memory card, which can make print selection slow.
Conclusion
Overall, the Kodak EasyShare 5300 all-in-one makes a good impression. The print quality and speed is impressive, and the copying features work well enough for a combined device. The scanner is a little disappointing, though it can deliver reasonable images. It's easy to imagine life with just a camera and the 5300, and that's high praise indeed.
