Kodak ESP-3 review

All-in-one devices don't always have to look like drab old printers - the new Kodak ESP-3 is a glossy black beauty, with sharp edges replaced by softer curves. It's more than a match for the A-Listed Canon Pixma MP610 on the catwalk, but its dearer rival has high standards for Kodak to live up to.

The ESP-3 is swift when printing 6 x 4in photographs - 45 seconds puts it up with the best we've seen. But when it comes to documents it's not exactly speedy: our mono ISO document hit the tray at 11ppm in draft mode and just 5.5ppm at normal quality. The rest of our tests also showed the Kodak to be slower than the Canon.

Photographs do their best to match up to the Pixma's high standards, with vibrant colours and blurred edges only visible close-up. In documents, though, text suffers from a slight lack of clarity, particularly when compared to printers that use separate pigment-based black inks.

Our scanning tests yielded similarly disparate results: good enough quality, but poor speed. Times worsened as we increased resolution: a 6 x 4in photograph at 600dpi took 81 seconds - longer than the Canon - and more than three minutes at 1,200dpi. The quality of the scanner and printer combine to produce sharp copies, but two and a half minutes to churn out five isn't exactly hasty.

The Kodak is initially reasonably priced as all-in-ones go, but the combining of all three colours into one closed colour cartridge adds costs. Kodak claims this makes it a simpler and more economical system, with mono printing at a reasonable 1.6p per page, and colour at 4.7p. Its quoted 7p per 6 x 4in photo also sounds great, but if you use the proper 5-star photo paper it's actually more like 40p - for all but the most basic prints it's not as cheap as it seems.

Kodak's included Home Centre software is particularly useful for customising the machine's operation, as there's hardly any control on the ESP-3 itself - one of the compromises made to keep costs lower than better-equipped devices like the Canon.

That said, a card reader accepts CF, MS, xD and SD formats, and a USB socket caters for flash drives, as well as Bluetooth adapters which are available separately for around £30.

Quality-wise the Kodak made a good fist of our tests, and the decent software and lovely design set it apart from many all-in-ones. It's also quite affordable, but its slower operating speed and combined ink tanks put it down the pecking order from the superb MP610.

Author: Mike Jennings