Kodak ESP 2170 All-in-One Printer

• Print, Copy, Scan, Fax
• Wireless printing
• High-capacity paper tray
• Auto document feeder
• Intelligent paper sensor detects paper sizes and type

I''ve had my share of printers and right now I have three of them on my wifi and in use: Canon MP640 (very nice), HP Photosmart C7280(a pain), and an old R80 Inkjet (been on my desk in service for nearly 12 years a workhorse). The only one that compares to this new Kodak is the Canon.

The Kodak is a little bulkier, there are too many openings that do not completely close up to protect it from dust and the view screen is much too small (my only real negative) making the selection of pictures harder than it has to be. To the positive side, it only has two cartridges (black and colors) and only one paper feed for all paper types.

The Kodak setup is a piece of cake and went very smoothly. The wifi picked right up without any problems.

There isn''t much more to say. The printing quality of both the Canon and Kodak are marvelous. I was very impressed with the Kodak''s sharpness in the pictures I selected to print. I''d have to give it a 4.5 (small screen is just stupid). But I''m rounding up due to the ink system and paper feed.

****UPDATE*****09/02/2011:

It is imperative that you use the software from Kodak to install the printer. Initially, I did not and let Windows 7 find a Kodak driver for it. It worked for a while and then Windows 7 could not find the printer. I tried deleting the other printers and nothing worked. So I then installed the drivers from the CD that came with the printer. Not only did the printer install, it automatically updated the firmware of the printer from Kodak. Once everything was completed (all automatically), the printer was the default printer and everything was good with the world.

Buy Kodak ESP 2170 All-in-One Printer Now

I am a longtime user of HP printers. In fact, I still have one that I love because the ink lasts forever in itand I''m a frequent user. The cost is substantial to replace so I was pleased to find this Kodak printer that claimed the lowest cost in replacement ink.

Pros:

-It prints out crisp, clean images

-It prints out photos with good clarity

-The copier works fast and cleanly

-The feed is smooth and handles most paper weights/types easily

-The printer''s ink is among the cheapest for replacement

-The wifi connection was so easy to install with my MacBook Air laptop

-The cable connection to the iMac was easy to install as well

Cons:

-The ink gets used up very quickly. Ink may be cheaper, but you''ll be buying it more frequently.

-The "intelligent" paper size sensor works well for some sizes but not others. (See below for my explanation.)

-The wifi turns off after a period of no use and in order to use it again, you have to unplug the printer then plug it back in again.

I tried to print out my sister''s wedding invitations on the printer. It was a 5.75" by 5.75" size paper and I changed all the settings on my computer that I needed to in order to print that particular size. However, the "intelligent" paper sensor insisted that I had not put in the correct size paper. It refused to recognize that paper at all and never pulled it through the feeder. It was frustrating and there was no help available with Kodak support for that question. (My HP printer did recognize the paper and allowed me to print instead.)

The wifi turning off is also a little aggravating. I can understand if it would just go into "sleep" mode but it doesn''t sense when a print job is in queue. You should be able to press the on/off button to get it running again, however, not even that works. I find I have to disconnect the printer from the wall socket in order to resume the wifi use.

Overall, it is a great start for Kodak. The printer leaves a fairly small footprint on my desk and is quieter than many other printers. It is very easy to set up with Macs (which is always a plus for our family!)

*********UPDATE*****************

Since posting my review, I have discovered one other issue that (for us) is a deal breaker. Every time I turn on my computer to print, there is another Kodak update for the printer. When I click on it, it basically reinstalls the printer. I do not know what the "update" is. So we have decided to use this printer as a backup only and have gone back to using our HP printer.

In addition, we purchased color & black ink cartridges 3x before using up even one ream of paper. The claim of being a lower cost ink printer does not hold up. That is why I am lowering my star rating from 4 to 2.

Read Best Reviews of Kodak ESP 2170 All-in-One Printer Here

UPDATE October 22, 2012:

Well after owning this printer for one year, the initial joy has faded, only to be replaced by frustration and misery. I am therefore reducing my rating to one star. Why?

1) The printer stopped working entirely at about the 6-month mark and had to be replaced under warranty

2) The printer regularly drops the WiFi connection and will not reconnect without powering it off and on.

3) The software wants to install updates at an annoying frequency, which makes me question the quality of the software in the first place.

4) The printer seems to go though increasing amounts of ink with age. I swear they program something into these printers to make them nearly unusable after the warranty is up. The most recent cartridge lasted only 80 pages or so, less than ONE FIFTH of the rated life.

5) The black print head is clogged and will no longer print. This is despite always using 100% genuine Kodak cartridges.

In short, this printer turned out to be an even BIGGER disappointment than my last two ink jets. Good riddance Kodak, you deserve your bankruptcy.

==== Original review from August 2011 =====

No-fuss, low cost photos I''m impressed.

Our old cannon all-in one printer finally died and will no longer feed envelopes. Plus it guzzles ink like its going out of style. Time to buy a new printer. Yuck... Naturally this involves spending 2 hours at office max looking at all the overlapping variations of printers and getting useless help from store personnel:

Employee #1: I hear Lexmark is pretty good, you should buy this one (points at random $300 printer)

Employee #2, 30 minutes later: I really don''t recommend Lexmark, Epson is the way to go (gestures in the general direction of the Epson aisle).

So I resort to using my iPhone and trying to read multi-page printer reviews on the 3" screen. At it turns out, both the Lexmark and Epson I am looking at get stinky reviews, so I decide to go with a Brother for $59. If I can''t have good, might as well go for cheap.

I''m on my way to the register, cart loaded with ink, printer and paper, when I pass a display for Kodak printers. What catches my eye is the "lowest per-page ink cost in the industry" signage. Indeed, genuine cartridges are only $10, rather than $40 for the Brother. Suddenly it occurs to me that this Brother printer isn''t going to be very cheap in the long run.

Now I''m intrigued, so the iPhone comes out again. A 3rd employee hovers at a safe distance, probably trying to work up the courage to talk to this clearly frazzled customer.

Of course the Kodak is a new model, so all I can find out is that it has a patented pigment-based ink that is supposed to last 100 years and the reviewer thinks the printer prints "above average" photos (whatever that means). Now my daughter is starting to fuss and my feet are tired so I dump the Brother back on the shelf and grab the $150 Kodak. If nothing else, I can be confident my smudged and off-color home photo prints will be inexpensive to throw away.

So I take it and home and....

1) Turn on.

2) Install software.

3) Print photo.

I left all the settings on auto, used my old photo paper from Costco and just let it rip. I figure I might as well get a baseline and find out how much time and ink I am going to waste getting all the colors and settings dialed in.

When the photo came out I almost fell over. It looked beautiful, nearly identical to the exact same photo we had paid to have professionally developed a week earlier. And I didn''t have to adjust a dang thing. Revolutionary I tell you.

Now if you were to hold them up close in your hand you can definitely tell the inkjet because it has that faint grainy "inkjet" texture to the lighter tones, so it''s not perfect. But for a little $150 box that also sends faxes and scans things I was quite amazed.

Kudos to Kodak for making my life a little easier, and for leading the way in lowering the cost of printing.

Want Kodak ESP 2170 All-in-One Printer Discount?

Just got this printer as a replacement for my ESP 6150.

First off, I think the print quality is fantastic, and the low cost of color and black ink along with the availability of a color XL cartridge is great for photos and color printing.

The wireless was easily the easiest WIFI setup I''ve experienced. I did my WIFI setup using my Sprint 4G Wireless Hotspot no problem!

My favorite feature is the back loading paper tray. I''ve experienced problems with jams both from the Kodak ESP 6150 as well as HP and Brother printers because of the front loading paper tray which curls paper in a "C pattern". If you have a big print job or your paper is sticky, the chances of jams seem higher and I''ve experienced that. With this printer, the back loading paper tray doesn''t bend the paper, it just puts it through in a straight path from back to front, like a fax machine. That makes big print jobs hum for me, and I like the design a lot better.

Also like that it''s not a huge machine.

Overall, I primarily use my printer to print lots of black and photos...this printer does it very well and at a great cost.

Even though my 6150 has a few more bells and whistles...I''m giving it up because this is really reliable and the end of the day, that''s what I''m looking for.

Only small complaint is that it''s not as fast as some of the more pricey options from Epson and HP, but speed of printing is fine for me, and I honestly like the ink savings more than a few more pages per minute of output. I think the speed is fine for most users.

I''m a little amused, just because I did happen to do considerable research before ever getting the ESP 2170 through the Vine program, and apparently the professional review sites are under the impression that this printer is being marketed as an office printer.

Actually, I think this printer could do quite well in a small office/home office setting. That''s not my quibble. But as for marketing...well here''s two noteworthy items included in my box:

-Harry Potter Design Gallery CD

-2 pair of 3-D glasses for 3-D printing software photo viewing

So, forgive the skepticism, but how many small business owners do you expect to require those last two items in the course of their workday? "I''ve just listed a lovely condo downtown, Mr. Lee. It''s a steal, and just wait until you see it in ***3-D***! Now just put on these glasses...")

Fess up, Kodak. I won''t think less of you if you admit that the ESP 2170 is being squarely aimed at the family-and-maybe-but-not-necessarily-also-home-office market.

This printer would do very nicely in a dorm setting at well. Note to my eldest: as soon as you can pry it out of my cold, dead, fingers, that is.)

THE BRASS TACKS: I''ve gone through countless printers over the past 2 decades, most meeting with ignominious deaths, some of which might or might not be attributable to the wanton use of cheap, third party knockoff or refilled cartridges. With printers so cheap, and manufacturer-branded inks so expensive, what is a girl to do? Still, I bear my share of guilt for my contributions to the landfill in the pursuit of cheap printing. And maybe, finally, that''s going to change.

I''ve had printers that deliver photorealistic prints nearly as good as the lab, but never really so nice with the "affordable" off-brand inks. Kodak claims that with this printer and their ink, I can print a 4X6 high quality photo for about nineteen cents. Wait one second! Even figuring in the schmancy paper, that beats the price of going down to the SuperCenter.

The bottom line here is that if I can print at home and at my convenience/whim at a price anywhere in the ballpark of what store labs charge, I''ll also probably print more selectively. And that makes buying the Ultra-whatsit paper seem like less of an extravagance.

The ESP 2170 prints beautiful, photo lab quality pics, absolutely. I even tried an 8X11 on Kodak''s sample "everyday" paper, and while falling short of "glossy print" quality, it was still pretty breathtaking. Not so much when I tried the same on thin, cheap 92 brightness multipurpose paper, but then, seriously.)

The included photo software, perhaps a little slow, is nonetheless very intuitive, as was the setup of this printer. I''m a computer klutz and didn''t need to call on my household''s resident tech head even once during installation. There are more bells and whistles than I''ll use right away, but everything I''ve tried accessing from the software or from the printer''s control panel copying, scanning from the flatbed and scanning from the feeder, has involved no learning curve at all, really. Your six year old can show you how to use this printer.

"Presentation" (vs. photo) printing in color on this printer is not quite best of class in terms of color "pop", or at least not vs. my previous HP Photosmart, but plenty of depth and gradations of shade almost makes up for that marginal shortcoming.

And no, I haven''t tried the 3-D photo software yet. But I just know that the kids will assemble and go "OOOOh", and "Ahhh!" and then we''ll put away the glasses and not think much about that feature again.

But it''s still neat to HAVE, y''know?

***UPDATE: 10/15/2011***

The print quality started to deteriorate during my first weeks of use, and I also had a discrepancy between the inkjet status monitor''s reading of ink levels and the actual ink level. I contacted Kodak support via online chat, and they sent me a new printhead by next day air, which appears to have corrected both issues. Net down time less than a day. And only perfect prints since so kudos to Kodak!

Since originally posting, I''ve also had the opportunity to play with the Epson Artisan 730 Color Inkjet Wireless All-in-One (C11CB18201), the newest model of Epson''s flagship consumer line. You can find my review also of the Epson on Amazon, and I downloaded images that compare the outputs of both printers. The Epson is excellent, yet if anything, I''m coming away even more impressed with Kodak for the comparison. For what is effectively a minor tradeoff in terms of print quality (excepting huge enlargements or other special situations), I''m getting the seriously superior "fuel economy" of the Kodak ink, if easy, intuitive usability isn''t enough.

***2nd UPDATE 12/29/2012***

My ESP 2170 has started to drop off the WiFi with increasingly frequency, requiring a "reboot" in order to get back on the network. I''m wondering if this might have something to do with the ink depletion or *apparent* depletion issue many users have reported. It also seems to me that my 2170 has gotten increasingly thirsty since I got it, requiring more frequent cartridge replacements even as my usage of this printer for both B&W and color has decreased. I was definitely a huge fan at the outset, as you can see, and still very appreciative of the printing speed and quality of this unit vs. other printers I''ve seen. For example: Recently I had the chance to review an Epson WorkForce WF-2530 Wireless All-in-One Color Inkjet Printer, Copier, Scanner, ADF, Fax. Prints from Tablet/Smartphone. AirPrint Compatible (C11CC37201) -the Epson WorkForce is in the same price range, and was very slow compared to the Kodak. Also, the variations/depth of color as well as detail in printed photos on premium gloss Epson paper were a bit behind the Kodak in terms of quality. But for me, ink usage and reliability are what matters in an everyday printer, and the Kodak has significantly declined, over just 16 months of use. Downgraded from five stars, to three.