Customer Reviews

Kodak EasyShare 5300 All-in-One Printer Print, Copy, and Scan (8804056)

5 star:		(58)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(26)
1 star:		(108)

 

 

Well it started off like this. I was looking for a replacement printer for my old my reliable Canon i850. I liked the output from the i850 but I was sick of paying for the ink cartridges over and over. I was finding I would get through replacement black and color every 2 months even though I was only printing 50-60 text pages a month!!!!!!! It was time for a change.

With this in mind I started seeing and reading reviews (the few that there are) for the new Kodak line of all in ones. I had been tempted for some time by the ability to have everything (scan, copy, print and fax)in one device but I was skeptical too. I have been in the IT industry professionally for 15+ years and so have always been wary of throwing all my eggs in one basket. The reviews sounded pretty favorable with regards to meeting Kodak's claims of great ink performance for the cheap price you were paying so I decided that I would take a gamble.

I originally ruled out going for the 5500 and 5300 (didn't need the fax after all and thought I'd leave the LCD screen) and first purchased a 5100. First thing I did when I got home was unpack everything, hook it up and then proceeded to use all the sample photo paper that came with it. This was on a Friday and by the Saturday when I tried scanning for the first time it would not scan to the PC without causing an error as it was looking (and couldn't find) the temporary BMP it created in it's temp file. So with this in mind I started looking into the install, pulled everything from registry and restored my machine, still no luck. It's worth pointing out that the scanner component uses proprietary TWAIN drivers that seemed to be causing the issue. I also want to point out that my PC has been stable and not rebuilt in 3 years so has collected a lot of c**p.

I finally admitted defeat after two days solid trying to get around the problem and called (doesn't happen very often for us in IT) Kodak tech support. I was again skeptical about the support and knowledge I would receive. I have to say that my support experience with Kodak was one of the best I have come across in my 15 years and no I do not work for them. My call was answered in under 7 minutes at 11am in the morning and I was expecting the usual Tier 1 type experience. Instead I spoke with a tech called Matt who was extremely knowledgeable and in total (get ready for this) spent 2.5 hours on the phone with me going through everything from simple reinstall to disassociation of USB registry entries, manual rekeys etc. Unfortunately this did not resolve the issue so the ticket was sent to their research department.

I was a little dissuaded but wanted the printer to work so badly that I decided to stay with it for a while longer. With that in mind and knowing this was probably software/os related I decided that with all the stuff I had loaded in the past 3 years I would rebuild my PC and also take the original printer back in case of other issues. After rebuilding the PC I took the printer back (purchased from a brick and mortar) and decided I would treat myself by now upgrading to the 5300. I came home and installed the printer for the first time on my new PC and voila!! worked perfectly with all my apps including photoshop. No scanning issues at all............but then I had a print head issue (one that I have read about). I was getting a little more frustrated at this point and called Kodak in the evening (6pm). Again I got straight through and spoke with another tech who took me through printhead re-installation as he stated these had been coming loose. Still no luck and before I could say anything else the tech offered to send me a new printhead free of charge (under warranty) and also gave me a brand new set of cartridges for my troubles.

Again I decided to take the printer back and switched it for another 5300 just to be safe. I brought the new one home and it worked like a dream, no printhead issues, no scanner issues. I have been using this printer constantly for black text printing for 3 weeks now and this evening I just tested Kodaks claims of photo prints. I completed (as I type) over 128 photo pictures on 4x6 and although the tank is saying its getting low, it is still going !!!!!!!!!!. All of this for 14.99 for a color cart. I am absolutely floored. The other thing that is important to point out is although the color cart is almost out, the black has only reduced by about a thumb scratch. Thats right, you 're not losing your black cartridge like you do with HP and Canon when you print photos.

In summary (I know I've gone on long enough) I wanted to state that I don't usually write reviews. In this case I felt compelled for two reasons

1) There aren't many reviews or info sources for this printer
2) This machine truly is amazing and lives up to the claims of the manufacturer which is nice to see.

In all my years I have not come across a printer that has given this type of performance along with absolutely gorgeous looking (photo processing quality) prints. There may be a few bugs and there has already been 2 firmware releases (make sure you get these as they improve performance and reduce errors) but I'm here to tell you to hang in there with this printer as it is well worth it. As stated, after picking up the new printer and installing the latest firmware I could not be more pleased.

I cannot recommend this any stronger. Buy this today, you will not regret it. It is a new product but don't be afraid to jump in with those of us that took the gamble. It is a lot more stable now than when first released (thanks to the firmware updates) and should you have a problem Kodak support has been fantastic.

Enjoy printing again and stop worry about ink costs. 21.99 got me black and color and as stated above already completed 136 (now) prints on color alone.

Also consider upgrading to this 5300 if like me you were originally thinking of the 5100, I'm really glad I did and love the memory slots and LCD.

Enjoy the printer !!!!!!!!!!

I won't slam it, because we've never had any major malfunctions or issues with the hardware like some of these other folks have. I wish though I had seen some of the software quirks before we bought it, but we got it as soon as it hit the stores.

It is easy to use, prints nice photos and is extremely affordable for an all in one WITH a flatbed scanner. Having acopier and flatbed at home is alifesaver. I have no complaints about any of that. The picture editing and sharing software is good too.

The device software however infuriates me. If your ink cartridge goes low, nothing works, not even the scanner which last I checked required no ink. I assume it is a software issue they will be fixing soon. Also, I am not entirely sure the ink cartridge status is accurate. WEe JUST replaced the ink a few weeks ago, and I do not print a ton of stuff. Well, without thinking I replaced both last time so I know they should both be good for a while.

All of a sudden tonight I went from printing a document perfectly with no signs of fading ink to "Replace ink catridges now!" And both of them are low, at the exact same time... Hmmm, wierd, normally you'll not run through them both at the same rate.

The ink is half the price but thus far we've had to replace them twice as often. I still like the printer, and have registered these complaints with customer care. Wer'll see if they do anything...

I've tried many printers before, and believe me Epson & HP can't hold a candle to this Kodak. I've had mine since it first came out and couldn't be happier - not only can I afford to print again, but this thing is the smoothest running quietest electronic in my home office now - none of the horrible noise and shaking of the other brand's cheaper (quality, not price) printers - this is first class all the way. I haven't had a single problem with it in the 6mos. I've owned it - and so far I've only spent $14 on color ink cartridge and that's with 2 kids printing constantly and plenty of photos printed out. It would've cost me well over $50 in ink for my Epson during the same time frame. Get it, you won't regret it!

I pre-ordered this printer because I have long loathed the high cost of ink and was very happy to be able to reward Kodak for doing something about it. Before this printer I would get cheap or free printers and throw them out when the ink ran out and I could get a new printer for less than refills. Not exactly environmentally sound.

Overall it's a decent multi-function. My needs are typical household needs, not a "power-user". In spite of gripes below I think it's worth considering this printer - maybe Kodak can improve their software to address some or all of my issues.

Here are my gripes

1) I can't seem to get the Kodak support site to allow me to send this list directly to Kodak. Their contact us page won't load (I use Firefox on a Mac).

2) When the print cartridges are empty (and you're waiting for online ink purchase to *finally* arrive) it won't scan or transfer photos. This really sucks - turns the printer into a $200 paperweight. I really hope Kodak can fix this in software, if not I'll probably never buy another printer from Kodak. It's bad enough not to be able to print but to be unable to scan something to e-mail in lieu of printing makes it much worse. I'm just not the kind of guy who will keep a spare cartridge around or order well in advance (or pay for express shipping).

3) The 'on/off' button doesn't really turn the printer off. The little green light is only a little annoying - but when the ink cartridges are empty the big red flashing light is very annoying, as is the LCD with the message about the empty ink - you have to unplug the printer to turn it off. I expect other error conditions are similar. Does Kodak fail to understand the meaning of "on" and "off"?

4) Photo transfer from the card slots is VERY SLOW. My little Radio Shack Dazzle card reader is so much faster that it's worth finding it and plugging it in to use it instead of using the printer card slots. This was a big disappointment - I was really hoping to reduce the clutter by using the printer instead of the little Dazzle. Is it too much to hope this is software that could be fixed too?

5) Occasional lock-up when using the printer software on my Mac Pro. I have downloaded latest as of recently and also updated firmware. Lots of reviews comment on software bugs - hopefully Kodak will keep at it and address the issues - with cheap ink I'd really like to keep using this printer for years to come but if s/w doesn't get improved I'll eventually get fed up and buy something else.

6) I'm not sure the ink lasted as long as advertised. Black was probably close, but color seemed to go pretty fast. We don't print a lot of color and that cartridge went about as fast as the black. I'll pay more attention with the replacement cartridges.

Most of my gripes are pretty minor in the big picture and I'll be really happy if Kodak can address them in software/firmware I can download. Overall this is a pretty good product and well worth considering.

I bought the Kodak EasyShare 5300 AiO less than six months ago. I, like others here, believed the lie, that the ink was cheaper and I'd save money in the long run. I also own a Kodak EasyShare camera which I really like, so I figured the printer would be an equally useful investment. Boy, was I wrong.

The first pictures out of it were fair. Not great, and certainly not as good as the Canon i860 printer I thought I was retiring. However, while the pictures looked a little faded, I thought I could live with it. Sadly, the pictures didn't stay that way. I haven't gotten this printer to print a picture in five months. It will print half of a picture, then some uncrecognizable blur of pink. It's gotten to the point that anything I print--ANYTHING--looks like crap. Repeated attempts to resolve the problem with Kodak's customer service have only run me out of ink as they tell me to clean then deep clean the print heads over and over. The Kodak front line customer service folks gave me a reference number to their high-end customer service to work my problem. Unfortunately they're only available from 8-5 Mon through Fri, so unless I take off work to troubleshoot this printer, it won't get fixed. And...I truly doubt it can be fixed. I think my experience, like so many others referenced here, is simply a product of poor design, or poor manufacturing.

Well, I figured I could at least use the scanner even if the printer was no good. Nope. I'm out of color ink, so it won't let me do anything with the printer until I replace it. I have to spend $25 more for the worst consumer product I have ever owned just to get marginal utility from it.

Kodak is not a reputable company. This printer is not worth your money. This is a class action suit waiting to happen.

----Update, June 8th, 2008: I was contacted by Mr. Ron Baird of Kodak whose enthusiasm for this product and his company is noteworthy (See comments). He suggested I may have a print head defect and recommended I replace the print head which he provided at no charge. I did so and the printer has printed reliably until today. However, the other defects I identified: very slow print speed, average print quality, and an inability to scan if you're out of ink remain problems. Despite my gratitude to Mr. Baird, I still think this printer is absolutely not worth your money. Today I needed to use the scanner. Of course I'm out of blank ink so I can't scan. I wondered if perhaps Kodak had updated the firmware and whether that might enable the scanner to function even when the ink is out. Of course you can't update the firmware when the printer is out of ink. For some reason now the printer won't even turn on. I guess the bright side is that I'll have to replace it with another printer and I won't have this chronic source of frustration any longer.

I've never done a review for anything before, but I am just so amazed at this printer, and there are so few reviews on it so far, that I thought I should. It was due to the only other review on here that I decided to give this printer a shot. I was going to go for the cheaper of the the three kodak EasyShare all-in-one printers but after reading his review I went with this one. I am so glad I did. It was a very easy set-up (took maybe 5 minutes total) and I started printing pictures right away. First I used my memory card and then I printed a picture from my computer picture program. Both turned out stunning and are a great quality. I was skeptical because the ink prices are so cheap for this printer, but being a photographer, I can honestly say that the quality is wonderful. I generallly use a professional online printing source, but need to print off proofs for my clients. My old photo printer was going through ink like crazy so when I saw the add for the kodak all in one's I thought I should give it a shot. Honestly, if you're in the market for a photo printer - this is a really good choice. Not only does it print awesome pictures and the ink is cheap, but you get a scanner and copier included too.

I was pretty nervous about purchasing this product due to some of the bad reviews on Amazon, Best Buy and others. However, after being very careful about reading the instructions before trying to install the printer (something I almost never do), and by taking some advice from unhappy buyers, I got my printer to install correctly and I love the printer! The photo quality is excellent, and I love that I'm not going to pay as much for ink as I did for my printer.

If you do buy this printer, do the following:

1 - Do NOT use the CD that comes with the printer. Instead, get onto Kodak's website and download the latest device driver's, Easyshare software, and have the latest version of the firmware installed. There are lots of people who've had problems trying to use the CD, which has outdated drivers.

2 - READ THE INSTRUCTIONS BEFORE TRYING TO GET THE PRINTER INSTALLED. You have to get all the hardware into the printer, and get the device drivers installed on your computer before you should think about plugging the printer into the computer. The software will tell you when you should plug into the computer.

KEEP IN MIND THIS IS NOT A PLUG AND PLAY DEVICE, and you MUST have some patience and time to get it to work. Once you get it working right, it's great!

After working just fine from the day I purchased it, on the very first attempt to replace the ink cartridges with new ones the printer keeps insisting that they still have to be replaced. And this problem persists after the latest (as of Oct.11,07) firmware upgrade and the online-recommended cleaning procedure. (As an electronics engineer, I fail to see the how such a superficial cleaning could help what is essentially a sensor/firmware problem.) The 1st email I got from Kodak help was essentially a duplicate of the online help (with alcohol subsituted for water as the cleaning fluid). The second email I got recommended a printhead cleaning procedure that actually is impossible to perform(!) if the printer is in an error state, as it is when the cartridges supposedly need to be replaced. And this error state essentially locks out even the non-printing functions such as scanning, making the machine completely worthless if you run out of ink or the printhead fails. In the 5300's case all-in-one apparently means one fault will shut down all printer functions!

Update Feb08: Kodak for free replaced the ink cartridges and the printhead (even though there was no error msg stating the latter was defective) and the printer worked fine until this week when the cartridges ran out and I tried to replace them. Now the ink from the black cartridge isn't coming out and yet I get no error messages. And even though the cartridges are genuine and BRAND NEW, according to the printer's status monitor they are now half empty -- without a single correct printout to show for it. Apparently the system counts attempts to put ink droplets on the page as it adds up ink usage, whether or not those droplets actually make it to paper -- a poorly thought-out "open-loop" monitoring system. I'm now half out of ink while all I've done is several printhead cleanings and attempts to print out the built in "demo sheet," none of which have been successful. Kodak is now sending me new ink cartridges having deduced over the phone that the black cartridge is defective. If that doesn't work they say they will replace the printer. None of these problems should occur with a properly designed and quality-controlled product.

Summary: every time I've tried to replace an ink cartridge the system has become inoperable. The down time so far is not worth the supposed "savings" on ink cost, although I guess I am actually saving on ink because Kodak is supplying nearly all of it for free! STAY AWAY FROM THIS AND THE OTHER KODAK 5000-series designs.

Do yourself a favor do not buy this printer. I only had problems with it. There is a design issue with this printing system that causes an error "Printhead missing, not installed correctly or it has come loose". There are tons of reports on the net with people that had the same issue. Mine worked for a few hours and then it stopped working with the error above, I did a search on the net and found many reports of people experiencing the same error message. Remember when you read that this printer will save you in ink costs, that there is no such a thing as a free lunch, Kodak saved on design and saved on manufacturing (ie used cheap stuff), so do yourself a favor and buy another brand, or risk ending up with a very expensive paper weight on your desk.

STAY AWAY!! I WAS EXCITED TO GET AN ALL IN ONE AND SAVE ON INK, BUT AFTER 2 DOA'S I GIVE UP. KODAK REALLY MESSED UP ON THIS ONE. "FATAL ERROR" IS NOT THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD SEE AFTER AN EASY INSTALLATION. YOU SHOULD NOT NEED TECH SUPPORT ON A BRAND NEW MACHINE. PLEASE KODAK: REDESIGN THE PRINT HEADS AND RELAUNCH THIS PRINTER!!!
I'M NOT A TECH DUMMY, THIS PRINTER IS POORLY MADE