If you do a full install when setting up the printer, you'll get both the Kodak EasyShare software and the Kodak AiO Home Center. The AiO Home Center is a central location from which you can initiate scan, copy, and print tasks from your PC. You can also configure printer settings and order supplies. The EasyShare software itemizes all the photos on your PC and lets you view your collection. You can initiate photo prints, order prints online, and share photos (via e-mail or the Kodak Gallery). There's also a tab for creating projects, but oddly, you have to select the photos before selecting your project. The program then uploads them to the Kodak Gallery (online), where you create your project and place your order with Kodak. While this feature can be useful, we find it odd that it pushes you back to online printing instead of helping you create and print calendars, cards, and collages at home...on your Kodak printer.
The Canon Pixma iP1800 that we recently reviewed includes bundled software you can use to create projects on your PC and then print them on your home printer. Granted, products printed and bound by Kodak are likely to be of higher quality, but we think the software should at least give you the option of choosing between printing at home or ordering from Kodak. The EasyShare software lets you edit photos, however, and one nice touch we found was that some of the effects (such as color balance) were only applied to half the photo first, so you can see the before and after side-by-side before committing.
Overall, the Kodak EasyShare 5300 offers an oddly unbalanced feature set. The basics are there, but a lot of the features that make printing photos at home compelling are absent. It may be a fine product for those with the most basic photo-printing needs, but anyone who desires more advanced features will be disappointed.
Performance
When compared to comparably priced photo all-in-ones from other vendors, the Kodak EasyShare 5300's task speeds were all over the map. It was the slowest of four printers at text prints, producing 4.34 pages per minute. The Dell Photo 966, the HP Photosmart C5180, and the Canon Pixma MP600 were all faster, the Canon by a huge margin. With color graphics prints, however, the Kodak beat the pack, just edging out the HP printer. It was also fairly quick with 4x6 photo prints: when printing a single photo, it was nearly twice as fast as the print speeds of the Dell and the HP, though it's twice as slow as the Canon. Its photo print speed did improve to an average of 1.55 ppm when we did a 10-print job. The Kodak was fastest with scans, scoring 6.36ppm for grayscale and 6.3ppm for color.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Color scan | |
Grayscale scan | |
4x6 photo | |
Graphics | |
Text |
The black text print showed mostly well-formed characters, though we saw some blips and fuzzy edges. The color graphics prints displayed smooth color gradients and detailed photo elements. Curved lines revealed some minor jagginess and though color blocks show nice saturation, they were also slightly grainy. The 4x6 color photo quality shows it to be serviceable enough for casual snapshots. Details were sharp and colors looked true, though they didn't pop. Close inspection showed some minor graininess in flesh tones, though.
The grayscale scan was a bit soft, and it had problems distinguishing some patterns. There was also some compression in the dark end of the grayscale, resulting in lost details in shadow areas. The color scan was better, displaying bright colors and sharp detail.
Overall, the speed and quality of the Kodak EasyShare 5300 peg it as a printer for casual users. For the same $200, you can get a better printer in the Canon Pixma MP600, though we did like the Kodak's scans better.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Color scan | |
Grayscale scan | |
Photo | |
Graphics | |
Text |
Service and support
Kodak backs the EasyShare 5300 All-in-One with a one-year warranty. Toll-free phone support is available every day from 9 a.m. to midnight, ET. Online chat with tech support is available Saturday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., ET. You can also fill out an online form for e-mail support (the site says you will get a response within 24 hours). Kodak's site also has manuals, software downloads, an interactive troubleshooter and interactive tutorials, and FAQs.
What You'll Pay
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