Let’s Make It Easy..And Cheaper!
At CES today, Kodak introduced a new addition to their printer line up, Kodak EasyShare ESP 3 All in One Printer, with some free software included.
OK, so why is that news? Well, the software is a simplified retouching tool that, based on Kodaks years of printing for the masses, incorporates their learnings into a global correctional tool.
What the heck does that mean?
If you have a photo where the faces may appear, well, too real including blemishes, the included software will fix it for you. In 3 modes – Low, Medium, and High.
Here is one example:
Before
[photopress:before1x.jpg,full,centered]
After:
[photopress:retouched1x.jpg,full,centered]
Now, the algorithm used, keeps the eyes sharp but does soften the rest of the face slightly. In addition, the whites of the yes are brighter as are the teeth. You can control these however. This sample is a little extreme, but you can adjust. Plus in a shot with multiple faces you can choose which one to adjust.
Perhaps the bigger news for the casual user is the cost per print. .10 per 4×6 a opposed to .28 for most other printers. Substantial. And face it, Kodak does have a history with delivering your families prints. At about $130 USD and a 2 cartridge/6 ink system costing about $25 for the set, they have delivered on their promise to get the costs down.
The all in one part of it is he scanner, general printer for your B&W docs, plus it reads most media cards. Only downside is that there is no monitor on the unit, so you will be viewing shot choices on your computer.
Look, we are always looking for, not only the tools for the prosumer, but good quality, simplified products for everyday use.
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This sounds great!
So, what is the software, and where can it be found?
If this is as well built as the 5100, it will be a great printer; I do all my quick proofs and business documents on the 5100 printer, cheap to print and very sturdy build. The only drawback to the 5100 is that there\’s no print driver control to override automatic settings, so controlling the color via Photoshop is difficult or impossible (unless I\’ve been missing something); also, the tech support at Kodak is great: intelligent Mac support, and they send you free paper, ink, print heads just for talking to them. The software that this new printer comes with appears to be a consumer version of two of their Photoshop plugins; considering that these plugins cost $100 each, this new printer looks to be a great value! Hopefully, the print driver has override settings so one can use Photoshop controls. More pros are using these printers than Kodak thinks ( I know several),; it\’s obvious Kodak doesn\’t get that since their marketing is so geared toward the home consumer user.