Home users who need a basic, photo-centric printer and don’t want to spend a lot of money may want to take a look at one of the latest offerings from Kodak. The Hero 3.1 is a 3-in-1 (print, scan, copy) model with print speeds of up to 6.8 ISO ppm black and 4.1 ISO ppm color.
The printer comes with 2.4” LCD touchsreen display which allows users to preview photos before you print them. It is Wi-Fi and USB 2.0 enabled so you have freedom as to share it over a home network or use it connected to your PC or Mac. It also features the ability to print from your devices like tablets or smart phones (or computers) using Google Cloud Print. Additionally, Kodak has developed their own version of printing via email. Simply email the unique, assigned email address of your printer, and your output is sent through. Users can also print photos from iOS, Android, or Blackberry devices with Kodak’s Pic Flick app.
The paper tray on the Hero 3.1 is about average for a printer in this price range. It can hold up to 100 sheets of paper at once. Unfortunately, no duplex printing is an option.
The ink system is the same as all Kodak units. There is a single black cartridge which is available in either standard yield (335 pages) or high yield (670 pages). The color cartridge is a tri-color (cyan, magenta, and yellow) with a standard yield (275 pages) or (550 pages). If you look closely enough, you’ll notice that the yields and prices between standard and high are exactly double, so there really is no cost savings between the two. The only consideration is how often do you want to change the cartridge.
PC Magazine in their coverage, notes the output quality to be average for text, low for graphics, and somewhere in-between for photos. Overall, this is a decent, but not great printer for your money.
