Kodak ESP C310 review

Regular readers might notice more than a passing resemblance between Kodak’s ESP C310 inkjet multifunction peripheral (MFP) and the cumbersomely titled Advent AWP10 Wireless Multifunction Inkjet Printer we reviewed a few months back. At the time of our earlier review we noted that while the Advent printer used Kodak technology there was no equivalent model in Kodak’s own range. The ESP C310 fills that gap.

Like the Advent AWP10, the C310 is a compact MFP with a single sloped paper tray at the rear and a flat output tray at the front. There’s a USB port and support for 802.11b/g/n wireless networks, but no wired Ethernet connection. Both devices share maximum print and scan resolutions and claimed print speeds, but there are some minor differences, chief among which is the Kodak’s smaller 3.8cm colour screen.

The Kodak’s huge advantage, however, is that while Advent users must make do with Advent-branded ink cartridges and very high running costs, buyers of the ESP C310 can use Kodak’s own number 30 supplies. The resulting running costs of 1.4p per mono page part and 2.8p per colour page part are among the lowest available on any consumer inkjet, making the C310 exceptionally good value for anyone who plans to print in high volumes.

The ESP C310 shares many of the AWP10’s quirks, including a tendency for the top sheet to ride up in the input tray and black text that can appear ‘torn’ horizontally at times. Unlike the AWP10, however, it didn’t suffer from memory errors during our 1,200dpi scan test. It’s quite a slow printer, delivering our 25-page mono letter test at 3.9ppm, and our 24-page mixed colour document at just 2.6ppm. In addition to imperfect text, colour prints on plain paper aren’t as vibrant as those from some other inkjets, but the quality is adequate for most uses.

The ESP C310’s other results were mixed, too. Photocopies were particularly well exposed, preserving a wide range of detail, but colour copies were far more drab than our originals. Scans were acceptably sharp and colour accuracy in captured photos was good, but we noticed bands of noise in dark regions when we scanned a document and a professional colour target. The latter also illustrated the scanner’s inability to preserve differences between shades at the lightest and darkest ends of the spectrum. Photo prints were fairly good for a four-ink device, but the driver seemed unable to persuade the printer to drop the border from 6×4″ photos, reducing the appeal of the results.

There’s little to choose between the ESP C310 and the AWP10 in terms of speed and quality, and the Canon PIXMA MG5150 comfortably beats both if you can live without a wireless connection. If not, laudably low running costs give the ESP C310 a clear edge over the Advent AWP10 now that the regular selling price of the latter has returned to £70.