Canon Puts Efficiency On Press
Once you've chosen the photos to print, the software offers the opportunity to edit each individual picture with a variety of one-touch enhancements, including color sharpening, red eye reduction, color restoration, and Kodak's "Perfect Touch" technology that combines all three in one button. You can also alter the severity of each adjustment under the settings menu. The software also lets you perform a custom facial retouch that analyzes portraits and fixes skin blemishes and discoloration accordingly. The result doesn't always work as well as a custom Photoshop edit, but the learning curve is much shorter and meant for the average user wanting to clean up their images with little to no hassle.
The ESP 5250 forgoes Bluetooth connectivity and offers 802.11 b/g wireless connectivity out of the box. While many vendors require complicated menus and empty fields to connect, Kodak's set up is centralized on the device itself with the built-in Wi-Fi wizard. This handy program guides you through the SSID connection process and pairs your printer with any computer hooked up through a router. We were able to start printing wirelessly in less than 10 minutes, a testament to the 5250's easy-to-use graphical interface.
Performance
Unlike the ESP 5, the Kodak 5250 registered consistently quick performance in all four of our output speed benchmarks. We compared it to several other all-in-ones in a similar sub-$200 price range, and it printed almost a page faster than the competition in a majority of the tests. Unfortunately, it still falls short next to the cheaper Epson Stylus NX515 that printed 13.81 pages of text per minute compared with the Kodak's 4.89 pages per minute. Don't get us wrong, the ESP 5250 isn't slow, the Epson is just blindingly fast for budget all-in-ones. It's worth noting that the rest of the sample scores aren't very widespread, and we doubt you'll notice a significant difference in speed over a long period of time. It's safe to say that the Kodak finishes prints at a respectable pace.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Presentation speed (PPM) | |
Photo speed (1 sheet) | |
Color graphics speed (PPM) | |
Text speed (PPM) |
We have to give credit to Kodak for continuing to improve on overall image quality with each ESP. The ESP 5 produced much more pleasing images than the ESP 3, and the 5250 also does it a bit better than the ESP 3. Color text documents at the "normal" default setting are just about flawless with laser-quality precision. The full color snapshot photos we printed directly from our media card retain the subtle details captured by our camera, including sharp lines and smooth shadows and color blends. The skin tones in our portrait shots are well-produced as well with even separation and a rich color palette. Families and home users who want to breathe life into their digital images will be impressed with the output quality of Kodak's ESP 5250.
Service and support
Kodak protects the ESP 5 with a comprehensive one-year warranty that covers the printer as well as the print head. Ink cartridges are also covered for 13 months from the date of manufacture or until it needs to be replaced, whichever comes first. The warranty includes toll-free phone support from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. PT every day and an online chat system that lets you speak with a Kodak technician from Saturday through Thursday, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. PT. Kodak's site also has manuals, software downloads, and interactive tutorials to help with the troubleshooting process.
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