Is This Truthful Advertising?
The television commercials last year were fascinating. You may have seen them – for an all-in-one printer. This sounded like the greatest printer ever made. And the supplies for the printer were advertised as priced lower than any other printer ink. The ad said: “Say goodbye to overpriced ink for good.” I was doubtful but curious and interested. I wondered: Was this truthful advertising? It sounded too good to be true. Because I have been involved in sales – in the imaging supplies industry – since 1980, this advertising was intensely interesting to me.
Last week my next-door neighbor bought one of these supposedly wonderful printers and he loves it. I mean, he really, really likes it and says the printer – and the scanning and copying – lives up to all the hype. He had a little trouble setting it up to be wireless but was able to get help from the 800 number.
The Description on Amazon.com:
“Save on average $110 a year on ink, based on as few as 4 pages a day with the KODAK ESP 5250 All-in-One Printer. You can print vivid color documents and lab-quality photos at home for much less than what you’re paying now thanks to our low-cost, high-quality pigment-based ink cartridges. And with the convenience of Wi-Fi built-in, we’ve made printing as easy as it is affordable. Say goodbye to overpriced ink for good. Print, copy, scan, and save every day with Kodak.”
Reviews
Interesting that the Kodak printer does not show up in the top ten printers on PC World reviews of multifunction printers. HP, Canon and Lexmark are on the list, but not Kodak.
If you have had good or great experiences with a specific printer, please post your comments on this page. Have you used the Kodak printer or do you have a different favorite all-in-one printer?
More info on Amazon:
“The KODAK ESP 5250 All-in-One Printer comes with a convenient 2-cartridge, 6-ink system. It also has a 2.4 in. LCD and memory card slot that make it easy to print with or without a computer. And it has paper-saving software features like manual two-sided printing and multiple pages per sheet printing.”
WOW!
And the ad reads “You can print from an iPhone or iPod Touch.” Double Wow!
“The KODAK ESP 5250 All-in-One Printer lets you wirelessly print pictures from your iPhone or iPod touch device(s) at the touch of a button.”
I’m wondering: What are the downsides of this wonderful printer? There must be some negatives, right? Or maybe I am being too skeptical. Please let me know your thoughts and experiences, because I am thinking of buying a new printer.
More:
“In as little as 29 seconds you can print KODAK Lab Quality 4 x 6 in. borderless photos that last a lifetime. And you can print crisp, sharp documents fast—up to 30 pages per minute in black and 29 pages per minute in color. You’ll also be able to make one-touch color copies without a computer, scan documents and photos up to 8.5 x 11.7 in., scan and edit your documents with optical character recognition, and scan multiple pictures simultaneously—the software creates separate image files automatically. The software also helps you reduce appearance of blemishes and enhance facial features.”
And
“The KODAK ESP 5250 All-in-One Printer is ENERGY STAR® certified and features a Low Power Stand By mode that conserves energy by allowing you to manually set the time it takes for the printer to go into stand by mode (Low Power Stand By mode uses less than 1 watt of power).”
What is Your Opinion?
This printer has multiple five-star reviews on Amazon although there are a few negative reviews. But somehow, it just sounds too good to be true. What do you think?
I would love to hear from you. Do you have a favorite all-in-one printer? And what about prices on cartridges – have you made a comparison?
About The Author
Ann Barr is a telesales marketing success coach with a passion for teaching. She loves helping people who are starting out in new telesales careers and working with experienced sales reps who are looking for new ideas and tips. In addition to presenting monthly e-classes, she writes and edits direct-mail marketing letters and emails for clients. Sign up today for Ann’s free Weekly Sales Tips and get marketing tips and ideas to increase your sales!
9 Responses to “Is This Truthful Advertising?”
Leave a Comment
 |
Have all the posts and updates sent right to your RSS Reader or Email inbox |
|
 |
||
 |
Follow Me On Twitter |
Ann Barr
757.463.0924
3419 Virginia Beach Blvd #201
Virginia Beach, VA 23452
Books By Ann Barr
After receiving dozens of emails concerning this post, I thought I should make this clear: I am not endorsing the Kodak printer; just looking for information from users and printer experts. Thank you to everyone who emailed and put information on my Facebook page.
I sell ink and toner, and I have had customers call me asking for ink and print heads for the Kodak ESP 5. It seems once the ink runs out, and you try to replace it, then the print head goes bad.Unfortunately, the print heads are not easy to come by either. If consumer has to buy the print head every time or every other time with the inkjet and go on a wild goose chase to find the product, there is no real savings.
Hold on, as I see this set of printers is going to cause a stir up in the printer world. Mostly for service techs and head aches for suppliers.
Thank you, Linda, for posting your comment. This is exactly the kind of information consumers need to know about – BEFORE purchasing a printer.
Hi Ann,
Of all the all-in-one printers out there, my favorite by far is the HP Officejet Pro L7500 which takes 4 cartridges; HP#88XL in black, cyan, magenta and yellow.
I use it for all 4 functions; fax, print, copy and scan and love it!
I use it heavily and have had it about a year now. It has many features too.
Hope this helps!
-Charlene
Thank you, Charlene for visiting the blog and posting! This is very helpful information for anyone who is considering the purchase of an all-in-one printer. Several other people sent emails about this HP Officejet Pro printer. It sounds like a good one!
Wonderful Blog Ann! Very interesting and full of good stuff! Great Job!
Kevin, thank you for visiting the blog and posting your comment. I appreciate it!
When researching Multifunctional output devices, there are many things to consider besides the cost of the hardware. With the focus on the environment, one should factor in the cost of power when printing or when the device is idle, productivity and 2-sided print capability, and how reliable the device is when recycled paper is utilized. Take a broader apprach and you wont be suprised.
Good advice, Harry, thanks!