Kodak HERO 5.1 All-in-One Printer

The Kodak HERO 5.1 is a step up from the Kodak HERO 3:1 ($99.99 direct), the base model in Kodak?s new multifunction printer (MFP) line. For the extra $30 you pay for it, the HERO 5:1 adds several features that the HERO 3:1 lacks, chiefly a port for a USB thumb drive and an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. Otherwise they were nearly identical in speed and output quality; the HERO 5.1 is a worthy choice for an MFP geared mostly to home use.

The HERO 5.1 prints, scans, and copies. It measures 7.2 by 16.6 by 15.7 inches and weighs 13.8 pounds. It?s boxier than the HERO 3.1 but very similar in layout. To the right of the lid that conceals the scanner platen, a tilt-up 2.4-inch color LCD lies behind a 4-way controller and some basic control buttons: On, Cancel, Home, Back, Zoom in/Zoom Out, and Start. Along with its port for a USB thumb drive, the HERO 5.1 has a media-card reader that can read cards in the SD, Memory Stick, and MultiMedia Card families.

The HERO 5.1 has a 100-sheet paper tray, enough capacity that you could use it for light-duty home-office use, though it?s mostly geared towards home use. It includes support for Google Cloud Print and Kodak Email Print, which is essentially an extension to Google Cloud Print. You assign the printer an email address through Kodak Email Print, and then you can print to it from any computer, smartphone, or other device that can send email. You simply create a message, attach the document you want printed, and send it.? Because the printer has its own email address, you don't even need to turn on your computer, although the printer has to be connected to your network and your network connected to the Internet.

The HERO 5.1 can connect to a LAN via WiFi or to a computer via USB cable, though it lacks USB connectivity. I tested it over a USB connection with the drivers installed on a PC running Windows Vista.

Print Speed

I timed the Kodak HERO 5.1 on the latest version of our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software, www.qualitylogic.com) at 3.1 effective pages per minute (ppm), which matched the score of the HERO 3:1 and beat out the Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 All In One Printer ($99 direct, 4 stars) 2.7 ppm. The Brother MFC-J430W ($100 street, 4 stars) was faster, testing at 4.3 effective ppm.

Output Quality

Overall, the HERO 5:1?s output was similar to the HERO 3:1, with average text output, sub-par graphics, and average photos. The HERO 5.1?s text quality was typical of an inkjet MFP, suitable for schoolwork and general business use but not for desktop publishing, marketing materials, or other output that you seek to impress an important client with.

Graphics quality for the HERO 5.1 was slightly sub-par for an inkjet. Banding (a regular pattern of faint lines of discoloration) was visible in many illustrations, particularly ones with solid backgrounds. Posterization, abrupt shifts in color where they should be gradual, was evident in a couple of graphics. Also, thin colored lines did not print well, barely showing up against a black background.

Photo quality was about average for an inkjet, with most prints being about what you?d expect from drugstore prints. Overall, colors were rich and well saturated. A monochrome image showed an obvious tint (which may not be an issue if you don?t shoot in black-and-white). Detail was lost in the bright areas of several prints.

Other Issues

The HERO 5.1 includes a utility that will create an anaglyphic 3D color image, the kind that needs glasses with one red lens and one blue lens to see the 3D effect. To print a 3D image, you need two photos of the same scene, and you?ll need to move the camera about three inches horizontally between snapping the two pictures. The utility overlays the images and prints them. To let you see the 3D effect, Kodak provides two pairs of glasses with the printer.

Kodak claims very low running costs for the HERO 5.1 of 3.9 cents per monochrome page and 10.7 cents per color page, comparable to other Kodak MFPs and the same as the HERO 3:1.

The Kodak HERO 5.1 builds on the HERO 3.1, adding a port for a USB thumb drive and an automatic duplexer for a little more money. If those features are important to you, the 5.1?s the better choice. Otherwise, their print speeds were identical and output very similar. The Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 provides slightly better photo quality, and the Editors? Choice Brother MFC-J430w has a more business-oriented feature set.

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