Kodak HERO 3.1 All-in-One Printer

The Kodak HERO 3.1 All-in-One Printer ($99.99 direct) is the junior member of Kodak?s HERO line of inkjet multifunction printers (MFPs). It provides a low-priced option with solid home credentials, respectable speed and output quality for its price.

The HERO 3.1, which prints, scans, and copies, is a black machine with silver and red trim, which measures 6.8 by 16.5 by 12.3 inches and weighs 11.9 pounds, closely resembling the Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 All In One Printer ($99.99 direct, 4 stars).? To the right of the lid 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. The HERO 3.1 has a media-card reader that can read cards in the SD, Memory Stick, and MultiMedia Card families, though it lacks a port for a USB thumb drive, one of the features that the Kodak HERO 5.1 ($129.99, 4 stars) adds to the mix.

This MFP has a 100-sheet paper capacity, but lacks an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. It also lacks fax capabilities and an automatic document feeder (ADF), clearly making it an MFP focused on home use and setting it apart from the Editors? Choice Brother MFC-J430W ($100 street, 4 stars), a business-oriented budget MFP.

The HERO 3:1 includes built-in support for Google Cloud Print and Kodak Email Print, which is essentially an extension to Google Cloud Print. Once you assign the printer an email address through Kodak Email Print, 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. You don't even need to turn on your computer, thanks to the printer having its own email address, although the printer has to be connected to your network, with your network connected to the Internet.

The HERO 3.1 can connect to a LAN via WiFi or to a computer via USB cable. I tested it over a USB connection with the drivers installed on a PC running Windows Vista.

Printing Speed

The printer's speed on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), was tied with the HERO 5.1, at 3.1 pages per minute (ppm), faster than the Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310?s 2.7 ppm. (Surprisingly, both the HERO 3.1 and HERO 5.1 tested somewhat faster than the higher-end models in the HERO line.) The HP Photosmart 5510 e-All-in-One ($100 street, 3.5 stars) tested at 3.7 ppm, while the Brother MFC-J430w left them all in the dust by testing at 4.3 ppm.

Output Quality

Overall, the HERO 3:1?s output quality was very similar to the HERO 5:1, with average text, sub-par graphics, and photos of average (if inconsistent) quality.

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

Graphics quality for the HERO 3.1 was sub-par for an inkjet. Banding (a regular pattern of faint lines of discoloration) was prevalent in some illustrations, particularly ones with solid backgrounds. A couple of illustrations showed blotchiness, with slightly faded areas. Another issue was posterization, abrupt shifts in color where they should have been gradual. Also, thin colored lines did not show up at all, defaulting to gray (which made them barely visible against a black background.

Photo quality was inconsistent, with some prints looking better than what you?d expect from a drugstore and others worse. Overall, colors were rich and well saturated. A monochrome image showed a tint, and in several images detail was lost in bright areas.

Other Issues

The HERO 3:1 lets you create and print 3D images. It 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 ?running costs for the HERO 3:1 of 3.9 cents per monochrome page and 10.7 cents per color page; the cost per color page is particularly low.

The Kodak HERO 3.1 offers decent speed for a $99 printer, and its output quality is average for an inkjet at its price. It?s slightly faster than the Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 but it adds little feature-wise, and the C310 edged it in photo quality. The HERO 3.1 is a good choice for a budget inkjet MFP, providing low price and low running costs, but you should also consider the C310, the extra features of the HERO 5:1, or?if you want an MFP for home-office as well as home use?the Brother MFC-J430w.

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