Kodak ESP 9250 review

What price Kodak's top-of-the-range printer? At least running costs might be cheaper than you think

This Kodak has a high price, but low running costs

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As a combined document and photo printer for the small or home office, the ESP 9250 has much more going for it than the slightly cheaper ESP 7250, thanks to its built-in fax and 30-sheet auto document feeder.

We liked

So long as you don't use a lot of one particular ink colour, the ESP 9250 really does enable low colour ink costs. Mono text printing is outstandingly cheap, providing you opt for the high-yield 10XL black cartridge, once the standard-yield cartridge supplied with the machine runs out.

We disliked

Print quality is merely acceptable for document output and is disappointing for photos, with a lack of contrast and slightly washed-out looking colour. It's also a very expensive printer to buy, considering that the Lexmark Interpret S405, which also features Wi-Fi, fax and an ADF, is widely available for less than half the price.

Verdict

The ESP 9250 is worth considering if you're going to be printing large quantities of documents, where the relatively cheap ink costs will pay dividends. For light use, however, its high purchase price is hard to swallow, especially as the quality of photo printing is no match for current Canon and Epson models.

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