Kodak EasyShare 5500 All-in-One Printer Print, Copy, Scan, and Fax (1600105)

List Price: $299.95 Discount Price: Too low to display

Features:

• Print, copy, scan, and fax
• High-resolution 2.4 in. (6.1 cm) color display for easy photo cropping
• Easy, one-click photo printing from most memory cards
• 35-page automatic document feeder makes copying, scanning, and faxing simple
• Efficient and easy two-sided printing

Customer Reviews:

Buy at you're own risk [Posted on 2008-04-11]
I had to try 3 before I got one to work properly, Kodak kept replacing them until I got one to work, just aggravating waiting for one to arrive and calling and tellin g them it wo't work. I don't know how long this one will work. But is very easy to use, and prints great looking pictures faster than any I have had. Guess they will get all the kinks out soon.

very unstable software! [Posted on 2008-04-14]
This machine seems to work fine if you don't connect it to the computer. I can print my photos from the memory card, fax, and copy. Once you connect it to the computer, awful things happens..

- the printer driver is very unstable and the firmware is buggy. The installation hung on me once, and crashed another time.
- although I can scan fine, attempting to print always results in "the printer not responding" -- this always happens immediately or halfway through the printing process.
- there is NO hard power switch. The power switch is a soft-switch which means if the printer software crashes, you can't turn the printer off unless you pull the power cord from the back. I had this happen 2-3 times.
- When the printer firmware becomes unstable, the clean way of resetting is to 1) unplug the usb cable 2) pull the power cord from the printer 3) reboot the computer 3) insert the power cord back 4) wait until the printer fully boots 5) reinsert the usb cable.
- The printer driver software is a whopping 200MB and installs NET 2.0 framework on the PC. This would've been fine if the software wasn't so riddled with problems.
- sometimes the photo tray light remains on even when the tray is pulled back. When this happens, it means the printer is messed up and you need to pull the power cord and reinsert.
- when you choose "copy," it scans from the flatbed scanner, not from the document feeder (as when you're sending fax), which means you can only copy one paper at a time.

While I never had any intention of printing documents with this printer (I have a separate laser printer for that), the fact that I can't print photos larger than 4x6 (since the printing feature is broken) is disappointing.

If you think of this as a big scanner, paper copier, fax machine, and 4x6 photo printer-- it works OK. If you're trying to use this as a stable dual-sided computer printer, you'll be sorely disappointed !

I haven't had problems with the "print head" (yet) as with other reviewers.

A very practical printer choice! [Posted on 2008-04-14]
I've had the printer for three months now, and use every feature - copy, scan, print & fax - almost every day.

Set-up was quick and easy. The only issue I had was with the Kodak EasyShare software. After several attempts to uninstall the version on our computer and reinstall the version that came with the printer, I just selected the custom installation option and installed everything else but the Easyshare program. That's not the preferred photo editing software at our house, anyway!

Ever since I powered it on, it has been a real workhorse! It is a little slow, a little loud, and shakes a bit when printing, but it gets the job done every single time without me having to even think about it. It isn't glamorous, but it is RELIABLE!

Draft prints are lightning fast, but a little washed out. Everything printed on "normal" mode is execellent, though the printer takes its time. If you have large print jobs, it is best to get them started, go do something else, and come back later to pick them up!

In three months of heavy use, it has never jammed or had a single problem, and we're just now getting to the end of the first black ink cartridge. I love that the ink is so affordable and readily available locally. I was also pleasantly surprised by the photo printing quality. I bought the printer as an office machine, not planning to use it for photos. I printed a photo out of curiosity and was amazed. It was lab quality, crisp and beautiful. I think it out performed our expensive photo printer!

This is a great all-around machine. You can spend a lot more money and get something with more speed and less noise, but this is a good, solid printer and a winner for the price!

The all in one I was searching for [Posted on 2008-04-24]
I bought this printer, but from a different vendor, after researching all-in-ones to death! A bit of a struggle to setup, due to the fact that I already had Easyshare software on my computer, for my camera and printer dock. Also I had 4 previous print/scan peripherals installed on this computer. After attempting to work with Kodak support (which I suggest only as a last resort), I watched what was happening on my computer, and had no choice but to uninstall Easyshare as well as the other print/scan peripherals. Having done that, all I can say is WOW about this machine. I does everything I ask well, and of course the pcitures have the expected Kodak quality. Documents are near laser quality. The cartridges seem to be lasting as long as I would expect. And I'm real enthusiatic that it won't cost a fortune to replace them.
The only down side I can see is the setup, which is a challenge for IT professionals like myself, and maybe a deal breaker for others. But be patient with it, 'cause the end result is definitely worth it.

A disappointment [Posted on 2008-04-26]
Kodak had an opportunity to start making a comeback in the market for home printing, copying, and imaging (photo) device, but they blew it. I bought this unit on Kodak's sales pitch that I would save money on a print-per-page basis vs. ink cartridge cost, but I never got it to work right. Initially, I had to call customer service (not available on Sundays) just to set up the unit. My first disappointment was the machine's inability to make an exact color copy of its very test color-printed page. The copy I obtained was 2 shades lighter than Kodak's own original print-test, and this, even after having the machine calibrate itself a couple of times. The last straw that broke the camel's back; two days after setting up he unit, and for the very first time, I proceeded to print through the PC; then the machine displayed an error message regarding the printhead. Kodak's customer support staff was not able to solve the problem over the phone, even after following their instructions which consisted of removing and re-inserting the printhead 5 times (spooky). In the end, Kodak's customer service wanted to ship me a new printhead, but I said "no thanks." I returned the merchandise.

Click here for more details and discount information...