The Kodak ESP5 printer has the same simple black design as the ESP3, its cheaper cousin that lacks the LCD screen. The perforated scanner cover adds an elegant touch to the printer. This ink jet printer measures 6.9 inches tall by 16.6 inches wide by 11.8 inches deep. The majority of the printer is made of a light plastic that gives the device a flimsy and delicate feel. A thin plastic arm pops up and braces the cover, similar to the hood of a car. The printer industry has slowly started to steer more toward photo printers with five individual color ink cartridges for less waste, but the ESP5 still retains the standard-size ink cartridge bay: one for black and one for five different colors. The Kodak website reports 10 cents per color photo, a relatively decent price for the average inkjet printer.
The most obvious advancement over previous models is the cheap ESP5′s 3-inch LCD screen that helps in performing light photo-editing features right on the printer. The home screen of this average ink jet printer has a shortcut to copy or scan a document–we usually see this option at least two or three clicks into the menu. The screen itself moves on a hinge so you can see it from a variety of angles and also folds down flush into the printer when it’s not in use. Just below the buttons, printer contains a multimedia card reader for Memory Sticks, XD, SD, and Compact Flash cards. There’s also a USB port at the bottom for printing directly from a USB key or a PictBridge-compatible digital camera.
As compared to an average ink jet printers the text print quality of this printer is excellent.