Kodak Expands Inkjet Portfolio and Retail Availability with the New ESP 5 All-in-One Printer
Kodak Printers Receive Top Scores in Cost-of-Printing and Print Permanence
ROCHESTER, N.Y., Apr. 24 — Eastman Kodak Company (NYSE: EK) continues to change the way the world prints at home with its new KODAK ESP 5 All-in-One (AiO) Printer. The newest device in Kodak’s consumer inkjet printer portfolio offers the latest in design and performance, providing a high-quality, easy-to-use printing system at a significant value. It leverages Kodak’s premium, low-cost ink that allow consumers to print more photos and documents for their money.
“Kodak is delivering on its promise to end ink profiteering and to bring people affordable, premium ink with the introduction of the new KODAK ESP 5 All-in-One printer,” said Randy Brody, worldwide marketing director, Inkjet Systems at Kodak. “We are focusing on delivering easy-to-use products that provide superb-quality and save up to 50 percent on everything they print compared to similar consumer inkjet printers*.”
The KODAK ESP 5 AiO Printer ($169.99 U.S. MSRP) features a small, sleek design with print, scan and copy capabilities. It has a large 3” color LCD display along with memory card and USB slots to allow consumers to view, edit and print with or without a computer. The KODAK ESP 5 uses Kodak’s high-quality pigmented inks that come in a simple two-cartridge setup – a full black cartridge ($9.99 U.S. MSRP) and a five-ink color cartridge ($14.99 U.S. MSRP).
Growing Channel Presence
Kodak continues to expand its global reach. With its revolutionary inkjet business model and groundbreaking consumer value proposition, Kodak has added additional premier retail accounts to its international distribution channel including consumer electronics, office superstore, warehouse and mass merchandising outlets. New retail partnerships in existing markets include Target Retail Department Stores in the U.S., as well as London Drugs and Canadian Tire in Canada. Beginning in the second half of 2008, Kodak will broaden its current distribution network of more than 8,000 retail stores by expanding into Latin American countries.
Top Scores in Cost-of-Printing and Print Permanence
A leading industry research firm, QualityLogic, Inc., recently conducted tests of ink yield of Kodak AiO printers and other leading consumer inkjet printers. The results confirm that one year after launch, KODAK AiO Printers continue to offer consumers the best ink value compared to competitors’ similar consumer inkjet printers. Kodak estimates that consumers who use KODAK AiO Printers can print up to twice as many pages for every dollar spent on ink compared to the industry average.
Recently the printers were tested extensively by a leading independent permanence testing laboratory, Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR). According to the results of the industry’s first five-factor print permanence test, spearheaded by WIR, the KODAK AiO Printers and premium pigment-based ink achieved the highest level of overall print permanence of any current consumer desktop printer system tested by WIR. The KODAK AiO Printers, ink, and media achieved WIR Display Permanence Ratings and Album/Dark Storage Ratings of greater than 125 years.
More information about the results of Wilhelm Imaging Research and QualityLogic findings regarding KODAK EASYSHARE Inkjet Printers and Kodak’s advanced pigmented inks and papers can be found at www.kodak.com/go/inkdata.
* Savings based on ink costs only for home printing of documents and photos, compared to the average ink costs of comparable consumer inkjet printers. Actual results may vary. For more information visit www.kodak.com/go/inkdata for details.
About Kodak
As the world’s foremost imaging innovator, Kodak helps consumers, businesses, and creative professionals unleash the power of pictures and printing to enrich their lives.
To learn more, visit http://www.kodak.com, and our blogs: 1000words.kodak.com, and 1000nerds.kodak.com.
Editor’s Note: Kodak corporate news releases are now offered via RSS feeds. To subscribe, visit www.kodak.com/go/RSS and look for the RSS symbol. In addition, Kodak podcasts are viewable at www.kodak.com/go/podcasts. Our podcasts may be downloaded for viewing on iTunes, Quicktime, or other PC-based media players. Users may also subscribe to Kodak podcasts via the iTunes application if already installed on your computer. From the iTunes store, type “Kodak podcast” in the search field to view all of our podcast offerings.
EPS5 – don’t buy- got a lemon – called customer support 6 times in less than year. No help, only low paid robots in the Phillipines who follow prompts on the ir computer screen and can’t understand English from a North American.
This printer is a noisy worthless heap of junk. Switching it on is like starting a cement mixer, as it churns and grinds its way through some kind of start up routine.
My experience to date, has been nothing but frustration and multiple problems. From the first day of delivery, I have never been able to use it, and consider it totally useless, a complete waste of time and money.
Installing the software was a nightmare, with multiple error messages and bad connections. In use, the printer alternated between jamming repeatedly, or sucking in up to 5 sheets of paper and wrapping them tightly around the roller. Eventually, technical support determined that the printer was at fault and I was informed a new one would be sent to me. This second printer is just as bad as the first. It too jams repeatedly, and refuses to print anything. A sheet of paper fortunate enough to pass through the mechanism without jamming, comes out as it went in – blank. New ink cartridges, and a new printhead have failed to solve the problem. What is the point of cheaper ink, if the printer is a lemon?
A pile of crap. This printer gives low ink warnings and refuses to print even when there is clearly ink in the cartridges. Scanning is hit and miss, as Tony Petrini remarked all the scanner wants to do is scan pictures and it takes a bit of fiddling with the scan software to scan a page of text and pictures. Installing the driver software also installed some crappy photo management software and now when I plug in my web cam (not Kodak) the scan software automatically starts. Avoid this printer like the plague. Zero Stars.
This is the 2nd time of late that this ESP 5 Aio printer has failed to work! I’ve had 4-5 printers and this one is the WORST! We are unable to purchase another this soon…SO maybe you can send updates to the system so I can once again print. The paper is picked up, cycled through, but NO copy. The ink is OK. I will look forward to your reply. Thanks
As a 17yr former Kodak employee in the market for a new printer I elected to try the EPS 5. First I was disappointed with the quality of the printer color. Hey this is KODAK!. Second, the noise produced by the start up mechanism took me back 10 – 15 years in printers. Last, after 6 months and 3 changes of the ink cartridges it no longer prints! Multiple attempts going through the maintenance software did not help. A fair image was better than no image at all! KODAK, I’m so disappointed.
A total piece of junk. Poor quality, returning to Wal-Mart to get a real printer.