Posted By: Ben Wilson (11/21/2009)

Comment: I bought a Kodak ESP3 about a month ago. It printes about 4 pictures that was good and after that it might have color on one end and none on the other. I tried everything I was told to try by Kodak and they finally said the printhead was bad and they would send a new one. I got the new printhead, installed it like they said and my printer won't calibrate. The red light just keeps blinking and nothing happens. I called Kodak support and was told to call back in 10 minutes because I had a bad phone connection. She said she could hear me fine but I had a bad phone connection. I waited 10 minutes and called back. When they transfered me to support the line went dead. My phone is working fine so I don't know what is going on unless they just don't want to give me support. I tried the chat but they said I had the wrong browser. I have a new computer with IE 8, what browser do I need? I sent an email, got one back that they would respond within 8 hours. I'm still waiting. This printer in one month old and I can't even use it. Never had any problem with my Lexmark printer but thought the Kodak would be better and the ink would be cheaper. If something isn't done soon I will not be buying anymore Kodak products.

Posted By: aaron Silverman (11/21/2009)

Comment: hey...bought AIO series 3 has never printed in color. Just pink....spent nearly 200 in new ink as that is all ireceived as an answer in tech support. Finally I need a new printer head was supposed to get it in 3-5 business days,,,it has been seven. Wow way to stay on top Kodak. Thought I'd support a working American Company. What a waste!

Posted By: Gloria Artus (11/19/2009)

Comment: Just wanted to give everyone an update. Kodak sent me a brand new ESP5 as a replacement for my 5300. As soon as I got it I requested a return shipping level since it did not have the separate 4x6 tray for photo paper. I was asked to try it for a day or two to see if I liked it. I agreed despite my misgivings. These are the results: Kodak Photo Paper - with/without "Kodak Perfect Touch Technology" - banding and washed out colors. Kodak Premium Paper - without Kodak Perfect Touch Technology - perfect - with Kodak Perfect Touch Technology - blacks washed out. Kodak Ultra Premium Paper - without Kodak Perfect Touch Technology - perfect - with Kodak Perfect Touch Technology - blacks washed out. I printed a 12 page document on plain paper and banding was apparent through the black on 4 out of the 12 pages. So, you can only use one of the more expensive photo papers and must clean the printhead I found out approximately every 3-4 pictures which sucks up the ink. Scans are really rough with what I call mottling of flesh tones, white spots, etc. This is with an original beautiful 4x6 print. Kodak has an engineering problem with their printers (at least the 5300 and ESP5) because frankly the amount of ink/paper used negates any savings to the consumer due to the number of printhead cleanings, ruined pictures, etc. This is why I was reluctant to even plug the replacement printer in. Kodak should refund the money everyone has paid for these all-in-one printers. We all bought based on Kodak's solid reputation with cameras figuring that if they got it right with cameras their printers must be great. I am hoping the company is honorable enough to refund my money and redesign the printers and scanning feature so that they actually work right and cost the consumer less to operate. I have requested a prepaid return shipping label for this replacement printer and a refund.

Posted By: Paul (11/14/2009)

Comment: Wow! The replacement printhead failed a few months ago, and it never occurred to me to contact Kodak, since my 5100 is probably out of warranty. Symptoms were no black ink printing, and spotty magenta. Yellow was okay. Replaced color and black cartridges, cleaned, etc., still no black, and rarely anything but cyan. Funny, I could see the ink levels decrease after every cleaning; swear it emptied the color cartridge in 5 cleanings. Two color cartridges and two black, used. Black's not gone, but it still won't print. Maybe I just give up on this thing. My wife's clamoring for a functional printer, but if it comes to that, I won't make the same mistake twice.

Posted By: KodakRicky (11/11/2009)

Comment: Hi KC, hope all is well at SouthTexas, I'm sure finals are fast approaching, will be in touch!

Posted By: Lindsay E. (11/11/2009)

Comment: I'm glad to see I'm not the only person having problems with the Kodak printers. What I don't understand is how is everyone getting free replacement print heads when I was told I'd have to buy them? How do I do this; who do I contact? I have wasted 6 cartridges of ink trying to fix the problem only to find out that it is indeed the print head. I was told that the cost of the print head would be almost as much as getting a brand new printer. If this is the case, I WILL NOT be buying another Kodak printer. Seems like everyone is having continuous problems and I really don't feel like wasting any more $$ or time. It's really sad because WHILE it worked, I loved my printer. The best photo printing, and I love being able to print my own photos at home.

Posted By: Gloria Artus (11/11/2009)

Comment: Received a call from Ricky Frasier at Kodak last week promising to look at the history and get back to me. Received an e-mail from him today saying: "Hi Ms. Artus, thanks for the update. Again my apologies for the rattling in your former unit and the dirty scanner glass. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in the future." So, not only did they send me a defective printhead for my original printer but then they sent a replacement (refurbished) printer that rattled out of the box and had cookie crumbs on the scanner glass. I returned that unit. I still can't print with my original printer because of the defective printhead they sent me. I expected better from Kodak but I guess I was dreaming. I am still requesting $149 refund which doesn't take into account all the wasted ink and photo paper to say nothing of my time.

Posted By: Gloria Artus (11/11/2009)

Comment: Received a call from Ricky Frasier at Kodak last week promising to look at the history and get back to me. Received an e-mail from him today saying: "Hi Ms. Artus, thanks for the update. Again my apologies for the rattling in your former unit and the dirty scanner glass. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in the future." So, not only did they send me a defective printhead for my original printer but then they sent a replacement (refurbished) printer that rattled out of the box and had cookie crumbs on the scanner glass. I returned that unit. I still can't print with my original printer because of the defective printhead they sent me. I expected better from Kodak but I guess I was dreaming. I am still requesting $149 refund which doesn't take into account all the wasted ink and photo paper to say nothing of my time.

Posted By: Gloria Artus (11/11/2009)

Comment: Received a call from Ricky Frasier at Kodak last week promising to look at the history and get back to me. Received an e-mail from him today saying: "Hi Ms. Artus, thanks for the update. Again my apologies for the rattling in your former unit and the dirty scanner glass. Please let me know if I can be of any assistance in the future." So, not only did they send me a defective printhead for my original printer but then they sent a replacement (refurbished) printer that rattled out of the box and had cookie crumbs on the scanner glass. I returned that unit. I still can't print with my original printer because of the defective printhead they sent me. I expected better from Kodak but I guess I was dreaming. I am still requesting $149 refund which doesn't take into account all the wasted ink and photo paper to say nothing of my time.

Posted By: KC (11/10/2009)

Comment: I am fed up with paying for replacement ink for these faulty print heads. I have received a replacement print head, a new printer, and now Kodak is sending another print head. However, I am a student and I have paid for 2 brand new ink cartridges and they were wasted on print head cleanings and print head calibrations. Why should I continue to keep this "money saving" Kodak printer when all it is doing is using what little money I have on these faulty print heads? I have wasted too much money on ink just trying to get the print head to work. Not one representative has offered to send ink with these replacement print heads! I'm supposed to keep wasting ink trying to make this printer work. I'm fed up. Can anyone help me?

Posted By: Jerry C. (11/4/2009)

Comment: Called the 800-421-6699 number, and they are sending another replacement printhead. Thanks, Kodak. He assured me that the new printhead has been redesigned and the kinks worked out. Let us hope so.

Posted By: KodakRicky (11/4/2009)

Comment: Hi Gloria, sorry to hear your issues with your replacement printer. Will get touch, thx!

Posted By: Jerry C. (11/4/2009)

Comment: I've been through the "replace printer head" 3 times already on my 5300. I sent in the last one pleading with the rep to let me know what seems to be the problem with Kodak's printer heads. No response or follow up to my request. So here I am again. Although the company seems to be willing to send me a new printer head, this is really, really frustrating.

Posted By: Gloria Artus (11/4/2009)

Comment: Took 3 minutes to reinstall my original printer. However, the printhead Kodak sent with the refurbished unit is defective. Banding. Aarrgghh! Again, requesting refund.

Posted By: Gloria Artus (11/4/2009)

Comment: Forgot to mention that the refurbished printer had a plain page count of 41,352 and borderless pages of 3,391.

Posted By: Gloria Artus (11/4/2009)

Comment: I received a refurbished printer from Kodak last night to replace my printer (see previous comment). I have spent since 8:30 this morning trying to install the software/printer including two online chat sessions only to be told that I need to go to level 2 support. The refurbished printer arrived with a rattle and cookie crumbs on the scanner glass. I am angry and frustrated. I'm going to send the replacement printer back. I would like a refund of $149.

Posted By: Shruti Goradia (11/3/2009)

Comment: J.Glenn - Please try our online chat at http://bit.ly/3MZJb7 or call 1-800-421-6699.

Posted By: J. Glenn (11/3/2009)

Comment: First ESP9 was about 13 months old when Kodak replaced it because of problems. Replacement now only 4 months old and needs new print head. I have been having same printer problems as everyone else on this blog. When will these problems be corrected or can we get our money back?

Posted By: TR (11/1/2009)

Comment: My third printhead in less than 2 years. Kodak please this is a joke. A recall is in order. Why risk a "class action" lawsuit?

Posted By: G. Artus (11/1/2009)

Comment: I purchased the Kodak 5300 AIO as a Christmas present to myself 12/12/07. I even waited til Christmas Day to use it. Everything was fine until 9/3/08 and banding appeared. I ran through all the troubleshooting and finally called and Kodak sent a replacement printhead. I was impressed. On 12/19/08 banding reappeared on my photos so again through all the troubleshooting and finally Kodak agreed to replace the printhead again. On 9/27/09 the banding reappeared and the printhead was replaced. On 10/31/09 the banding reappeared and a printhead is on the way. What really irritates me is that the rep said that if I wanted to "upgrade" to one of the ESP printers Kodak would give me a 30% rebate. This printer is less than 2 years old and the printhead has been replaced 4 times (at least it will be 4 times once the new one arrives). A 30% rebate on an ESP printer which from what I have read here and other places has the same issue is insulting to my intelligence. For 40 years I have bought Kodak cameras and was so pleased to see Kodak getting into the printer business. After all, their cameras are great, why wouldn't their printers be? I can't even begin to put a cost on wasted ink, paper, my time and frustration. Kodak needs to solve this problem. I realize that my printer is out of warranty but 30% is a ridiculously low rebate given the fact that Kodak has not solved the problem and the printer should have been replaced in September 2008. It's marvelous that Kodak supplies the printheads free but they need to fix the problem.

Posted By: Jennifer Cisney (10/2/2009)

Comment: F - Try our online chat at http://bit.ly/3MZJb7 or call 1-800-421-6699

Posted By: f garner (10/2/2009)

Comment: I own a Kodak 5300 and the printhead has stopped working I would like to replace it but where can I get one from?

Posted By: KodakAprille (9/21/2009)

Comment: Ron, Have you tried the online chat or support phone number? They are equipped to help - and it won't cost you. http://bit.ly/fm5EK

Posted By: Ron Balog (9/20/2009)

Comment: My Easyshare 5300 ESP5 worked great when I bought it about a year and a half ago. Now I cannot print pictures because the printer won't print colors, or just some and the pictures come out extremely faded. This of course also happens on my documents. I have never replaced the printhead, however from what I have read on here alot of people seem to have gone through that. How much do the printheads cost? And, is this going to be an ongoing problem? If so your printer is not saving me money like your ads claim if I have to continually replace the printhead. Is there a solution or should I plan on purchasing another brand of printer and forget about using Kodak? I need a printer that is reliable. By the way I ran all of the suggested ways of fixing the problem with no results.

Posted By: Paul Russell (9/7/2009)

Comment: My Kodak 5100 has had 4 print head replacements in the last year. I think the problem is that sponge the head rests upon or near. My sponge had huge deposits of black ink right, center, and left on the sponge. I have no idea how a mico fine head could ever survive living on that mess day in and day out. Somebody made a big mistake here that has cost Kodak money on replacement heads and has shaken customer confidence in the product line. Otherwise, this printer produces the best print I have ever seen from any ink jet I have owned. I have HP, and Canon in my room and the Kodak beats them all in print quality. That is of course when it works. Come on Kodak, fix this problem.

Posted By: Lee ELLIOTT (8/30/2009)

Comment: Unless your team had a really awful time developing this technology, I doubt very much if anyone is going to enjoy using it as much as you did developing it. I have an ESP3 and and AiO9. Both are completely unreliable. The first refuses to print in black, the second refuses to recognize paper of any recommended type. The WiFi refuses to work with Macs, the printer is often seen as offline when not. I need a printer that works - not one that needs to be constantly coxed and mentored. You just need to read the comments to see that we can't all be out of step by Kodak. I am sending these black, junk boxes to Kodak HQ and returning my loyalty to Canon who have never given me a problem - I thought the Kodak name carried some promise. I don't have time to act as a permanent, trouble-shooting gimp. I just want to take them outside with a bat like in Office Space! Very disappointed!

Posted By: Timothywmurray (8/27/2009)

Comment: We really fell for our ESP-9 And it worked great for 6 months. But recently we have begun to have the printhead problem. I'm glad I found this site and I plan to try cleaning the printhead before giving up. It would help if Kodak would begin to sell the printhead replacements as easily as ink.

Posted By: RippedOffByKodak (8/26/2009)

Comment: I can top all those! Not only do I have the same print head issues with my out of the box ESP-9(Side note: Bought new-got refurbished) but we ordered 2 Printers they shipped only 1. None of the non-english speaking C/S reps are help. Kodak wants us to make a false stolen report to get our other printer shipped. It only cost me $500 to learn what I already new. I love my HP All-In-One printer! Check out e-bay for a good price on new ESP-9 printer...

Posted By: ricky frazier (8/13/2009)

Comment: Hi Dave, sorry to hear you're having some issues with your ESP7 printer. I will try to reach you to see if we can get you up running again!

Posted By: Ed (8/13/2009)

Comment: I have an ESP-9. I had a Kodak 5100 and had the printhead replaced once. On the ESP-9 when I have to replace the ink cartridges I take the printhead out, run warm water until it runs clear, then soak it warm water for 30 minutes, and soak it in Isopropyl Rubbing Alcohol for 15 minutes. It has been working great for me.

Posted By: Dave (8/12/2009)

Comment: I purchased an esp-7 printer 3 months ago and have already gone through 2 ink cartridges and have had continual problems getting consistent good print quality. I have now starting getting error message 3802 which prevents any printing. I tried all maintenance and troubleshooting steps available from the printer and Kodak with no luck. My attempts to update firmware has resulted in install stopping half way through update. Called support got someone who could barely speak english and after 45 minutes no solutions to my problem. From internet research my problems seem to be the same frequent problems other users have with the printhead. I don't have time to nursemaid this printer to get it to work properly. I will junk this $200 piece of garbage and go back to my old HP printer. What a joke that I would save all this money with cheap ink cartridges. Kodak appears to have put on the market a defective product.

Posted By: Diana (8/4/2009)

Comment: This is in response to the comment made by Graham (4/11/2009); I believe you have found the answer. I noticed the same thing with the sponge under the carriage track building up with black ink. This was of course after my third printhead in about 12 months. I use my 5500 printer daily as needed for my small business and was troubled at the thought of having wasted so much money on cartridges after all the cleaning cycles and calibrations. Well on printhead #3 I decided to take matters into my own hands. The black ink builds up on the sponge which in turn gets picked up by the printhead causing the clogs and the need to replace the head again. Solution- keep the sponge and the carriage track clean, also check out the bottom of the printhead & keep that clean. 7 months later and I still have printhead #3 going strong. If you only use your printer occasionally, or won't be using it at all for awhile I would suggest removing the cartridges and the printhead and storing each unit separately in an airtight container or plastic bag to prevent them from drying out. I think the printhead design is very ingenious, but flawed as well. But there is always a way around the flaws until a permanent solution is found :)

Posted By: DC (8/4/2009)

Comment: THANK YOU, T Ward, for your comment made on 5/30/2009. I spent forever trying to find a place where I could buy a new printhead. I am very glad that Kodak does replace them free.

Posted By: Larry (7/27/2009)

Comment: I believe the problem is that there is a corrosive problem between the ink and some components in the head. So onces the corrosion has happens the only solution is replace the head.

Posted By: Mike (7/24/2009)

Comment: Some observations! I purchased a Kodak SP7 mainly because of it's features and cheap ink compared to my HP. Of course, I have experienced the same problems as everyone else with the print head. Kodak has sent me a new one which I have not yet installed, as I am trying everything under the sun to get the old (2 months) one to work. Being a jack of all trades and master or none, here is where I believe the problem lies. I don't think the problem is in the print head as such. (2) factors I beleive are contributing to ink drying in the print head in a rather short period of time compared to HP and other brands: #1-the ink is too fast drying while in the print head ( I understand it has to dry quickly after leaving the head, but can something be added to the formula to prevent it from drying before it is heated and expelled by the head.? #2-on the ESP7 when the print head is parked the pad it is parked on is hard and porous, all other brands that I have seen have used either a rubber pad with seal ridge to prevent air from reaching the head, or a sponge pad which keeps the ink in the head moist. Since the Kodak pad seems to be hard and porous there is nothing to keep the ink moist on the face of the head and if not used continuously it dries up. My HP can set for weeks and still print fine. If I let the Kodak set for over a couple of days it starts missing colors and needs cleaned. I know of no cure for this problem unless Kodak is willing to investigate replacing the parking pad with a different design or material, or re-formulating the ink to not dry up in the print head. Hope this is food for thought and your opinion would be appreciated. I'm sure you did an excellent job on engineering the head it's a shame for it to get the blame that is being caused by another problem.

Posted By: Carl (7/8/2009)

Comment: As searching for location stores, troubleshooting solutions, and information on 'PRINTHEADS', I stumbled onto this plugin/comment site and notice the comments about the same experience I'm having with Kodak printheads. I have Kodak ESP 3 All-in-One printer, which purchased summer of last year at Walmart. I encountered problems which my photos wasn't printing high quality after 8 months since purchasing; was getting poor and fading photos using 4x6 and 8x11 Kodak Gloss photo paper while having full or 1/2 full ink. Don't really use them as much, but when I want to print photos (small or large); I sometimes think as well that is the ink running low but is not, its the printhead going out. I just sent for a new one in the beginning of this year and already is repeating again from the first 'Printhead' problem. It's ashame that we do have to call support center to get another printhead in time when you want to print some photos (spur-of-the-moment) and the printhead goes out a few times a year. Like said in another comment on this site. The maunfacturing company needs to redevelop and come up with a cleaning process if printhead becomes clogged or in if changing the ink cartriges because of median/high volumns of calls and comments about the same problem. But as long as I can get the 'PRINTHEADS' free by calling support, I'm good.

Posted By: Matt (7/3/2009)

Comment: I recently purchased a 5100 and realized that all functionality (even scanning) is lost when the ink cartridges need replacing. This is a money making scam by Kodak to force us to buy more ink cartridges. I would not have bought this product had I known this before and I will subsequently never purchase another Kodak product in the future. Thanks Kodak. I hope you made enough money off of this scam to outweigh the number of customers that you lost.

Posted By: Don (6/13/2009)

Comment: Thanks for the print head replacement tip that kodak offers . Bookmarked the blog!

Posted By: T Ward (5/30/2009)

Comment: These printheads can go out easily it seems, but Kodak is great to replace them FREE! You can call customer service and a native English speaking person will assist you...you can understand them and they can understand you. They will run you through some things that you may have already tried...and then send you a new printhead free of charge. Or you can go online at www.kodak.com/go/aiotroubleshooting and troubleshoot yourself and the new printhead will be to you within a couple days. It may be frustrating that the printhead goes out, but you cannot beat the customer service and willingness to provide free replacement parts. Remember that bitterness does not lead to betterness...there is always a solution!

Posted By: M.Sereda (5/11/2009)

Comment: I have stumbled on this blog while desperately trying to make my 5100 AiO print black. I see that I am not the only one to have this problem. What a contrast to your glorified description of the wonderful design of the Printhead, - which seems to be exactly the source of trouble. Like with others before me, I have discovered at the expense of my time and effort, that changing the ink cartridges does not help, and the software which is supposed to do the maintenance not only is not installable, but it is probably designed with some malicious intents, and not for the purpose promised. First, it can not be installed and then whatever it puts in the computer disk can not be removed. When looking in those files and directories that the Kodak software leaves in, I can clearly see plenty of spyware telltale signs - and this is probably what it is. Terrible waste of time, with that "software"... So, before throwing that box called 5100 AiO in the garbage and crying over my money and time, I was ready to accept the inevitable and replace "The Printhead", because in spite of its wonderful design, it seems it is clogged. But I can not find it anywhere, the replacment printhead, that is. And actually, before replacing it - shouldn't there be a way to clean it, clear the passages? Please advise how to do it, what products to use and what procedure to employ. My guesses are - hot water? Perhaps, to boil your wonderful invention in a kettle? Or employ strong solvents, like acetone? Being an engineer myself (now retired) I certainly appreciate your pride for a product well designed - the idea, which I will share as soon as I succeed in fixing this little problem with it.

Posted By: Mike (5/3/2009)

Comment: I bought a all-n-one 5500 last year about this time. I used it to print maybe 10 photos and 150 text sheets. I never completely used an ink cartriage. I left for work which kept me from home for 6 months. When I returned late Dec. It would no longer printwithout colors missing or faded severly. Forget black all together. I changed a few new cartriges before I found others had the same problem by way of reading sites like this one. The print head seems to have dried up on me. So, I need a new print head but I want to know how to prevent this from happening again as I don't print a ton on a regular basis. I do like its quality and cost of inks. I would hate to trash it and buy a different one over this issue. Thank you for your help in this matter.mikebiondo@hotmail.com

Posted By: agt_dale_cooper (4/22/2009)

Comment: Hmm...URL didn't display.. See http://www.kodak.com/go/itg (which will shunt you to location Jerry C. mentioned on 03/08/09). Froggot to mention that I'm running this SUCCESSFULLY with AirLink 101 MFP Server AMPS230 from Fry's. Takes some rigging, but eventually works. Wish they'd fix this 'doesn't play well with others' in a firmware update. Also, software update crashes everything badly in my environment, if you have similar difficulty (can't say absolutely that 'it doesn't work', it may work for you..), uninstall/clean registry/reinstall from original CD that came with the printer. I'm fairly certain I DID a firmware update, BTW...WISH I could undo, this problem REALLY mounted after that in my opinion. Updaters, beware...

Posted By: agt_dale_cooper (4/22/2009)

Comment: Link quoted from one of Ron's 03/09/09 posts. This page presents you with troubleshooting dialog, at the end of which if you've related your experiences to it's satisfaction, presents you with screen to order new printhead. MUCH better than my call to 800.421.6699, which had me arguing with some foreigner who seemed insistent that I buy another set of carts (mine are currently BOTH out as a result of this poor printhead problem, even though I ONLY print in B/W!) to run the tests required (?) to determine that the print head was defective. Does this make sense from a customer service standpoint? Not in my opinion. Symptoms, for anyone that wishes to commiserate: no WAY I've done more than 50 pages since I bought this in August (infrequent use at best), have gone through TWO SETS of print carts (they REALLY need to enable these to work independently or without one another!!), near all pages printed in B/W, infrequent use made for MANDATORY head cleaning before a single page would print in B/W correctly. Again, experience with customer service (if it can so be called) was POOR, SHAME that we're able to get what we needed by simply running through that dialog at website above INSTEAD of being able to get it directly from a human. Answers that put me through that dialog: All-in-one printer, print quality, unexpected vertical or horizontal lines (banding), No, No, No, 5300 or 5500, No, No. Enter your serial, model, problem = "Light or faded prints". SHOULD put you through to the "Send me a print head" data entry page. HOPE they send me a print cart set to replace the one(s) I've lost to this problem as well :) Hope my diatribe helps somebody....congrats to Ron for his quality of commentary...apparently he's not a 'foreigner'!!!! HAHA!!!!

Posted By: ByeRon (4/21/2009)

Comment: No point asking Ron for any help as he has now retired. http://tomhoehn.1000words.kodak.com/default.asp?item=2356353 What a nice guy he was and a big thanks for helping me with my 5300 on his last day at work - enjoy your retirement Ron!!

Posted By: Ralph Russell (4/14/2009)

Comment: I am still using an AIO5100,purchased new in Sept,2007.The printer has been replaced twice and the printhead 4 times,the last time just a few weeks ago.My print head lost the black printing capability after I received an e-mail notice that software and firmware updates were available...I installed the updated firmware and printed 1 page then the 2nd page had no black ink,both black and color inks were earlier replaced and the ink level monitor showed plenty of ink remaining.I will be glad to furnish all Case #'s if it will help resolve issues with this printer. Thank you, Ralph Russell

Posted By: Graham (4/11/2009)

Comment: I have just mailed ron baird with the address i found in these comments and its just bounced back??? so i am placing a copy on this page in the hope it may help someone out.. Hi Ron I have just read a lot of reviews on the kodak printhead problem at http://cathieburke.pluggedin.kodak.com/default.asp?item=488521 this is where i read your comments and got your e mail address from, i am having problems with the black print of my output and have mailed your tec team after reading loads on the internet about people having problems and am currently awaiting a reply, meanwhile i have had a look into this problem myself and think i may have the answer, this remedy may have been suggested before but i have not come across it. After reading the article about the brilliant technology behind the kodak printhead manufacture i did not believe the amount of negative feedback that kodak are getting on this subject, also on replacing print heads sometimes several times people are still having problems. This is the solution i have tried and tested and it has certainly worked for me. I decided i had nothing to loose with taking out the printhead and examining it, on inspection i found the head to be pretty messed up with black ink, as i unfortunately have loads of experience with cleaning epson printer heads i decided to use the same method on the kodak , i placed the head upside down and put a few drops of jettec cartridge flush from a syringe onto the head, i left this for 20 minutes and gently wiped away the ink downwards along the head with a microfibre cloth so as not to leave any debris on the head to block it, i then replaced the head did a recalibrate and did a test print, the result was no better so i did a head clean again to know avail. Not to be beaten i repeated this whole procedure once more with the same result, on the third time i took the head out i noticed how much ink there had collected around the head again, i now investigated inside the printer itself and have found where the problem is manifesting. When setting the carriage to the replace ink position and taking out the head looking down through the carriage there is an oblong hole where the printhead sits this rests above the sponge that runs the length of the inside of the printer, the sponge right under the hole in the carriage the same size as the printhead i thought was wet with ink, on closer examination i found the wet looking patch was in fact hardened ink that had dried solid, on the end of the sponge on the far left i found an exact oblong of hard ink. Now in my opinion this was not right, i put several drops of cartridge fluid along the hard ink and left to soak till the ink regained it fluidness and carefully with tissue paper soaked up all the ink in these places, the ink soaked up was black if significant. I then replaced all and recalibrated again and did a test print, this to my delight produced a perfect print without even doing a head cleaning cycle again, i went on to do half a dozen A4 colour photographs and the same in black and white with no problems at all. I really hope this has been a help to you because the printhead problem apart this is a fantastic printer especially for true black and white prints that show absolutely no color cast at all, which is in itself is a great achievement. I would be most grateful if you could investigate this and let me know the outcome .

Posted By: Aznetrook (4/11/2009)

Comment: Hello Ron --- the friendly Kodak guy. Glad you are out there! I just requested my third print head. Has Kodak SOLVED the problem with their print heads or will I just need to order a new one every 4-6 months? I want to get my employer to get me a 500A1O, but will not be successful if we have to continuously replace print head as I have had to do for my home unit for last 14 months. What does Kodak say on this?

Posted By: DICKI (4/6/2009)

Comment: I guess misery does love company. I saw the 5100 at Walmart and figured, finally a solution for my parents constant replacement of expensive cartridges. You see, they scan and print out a couple of puzzles every day, not even using the color, but when the black runs out, the printer tells them they need to change the color as well. It will not run until it is changed. The problem is however, the color doesn't even work. Because they use so little color, I think the printead clogged up long ago. so they replace both cartridges numerous times, finally calling me to tell me the black ink prints one light copy and then nothing. It is pretty plain by the blogs below Kodak has a systemic issue with these printheads and should offer replacements along with their cartridges. Oh did I mention, this unit has already had it's printhead replaced once? I'll be calling tomorrow when I go on site. Perhaps you ca recommend a good Laser.

Posted By: Steve Fiske (4/5/2009)

Comment: My 5500 started printing everything with lines running through all the copies/prints. Contacted Kodak and they are sending a replacement printhead. I just found this site and now I'm a bit worried the printer might not be very reliable. It's 11 months old and I'm sure if it goes bad again it will be out of warranty. We'll see what happens when the replacement arrives....

Posted By: Robert hale (3/28/2009)

Comment: I just want throught the same problem with my 5100. Just got thru changing the printhead after just 3 black cartridges and 2 color cartridges!! Printer works fine now. This Printer is only 11 months old!! Is this what I have to look forward to every year? Yes the ink cartridges are cheap but do I have to spend alot of money just to change the printhead everytime it quits?

Posted By: Dat (3/27/2009)

Comment: Same problem as other readers: 5100 print head clogged up, replaced, clogged up again. Wasted many ink cartridges. Ron, enjoy your job defending this piece of junk 'cause pretty soon you won't have a customer to talk to. I'm replacing the 5100 with a laser printer.

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/23/2009)

Comment: Greetings Katie, Sorry to read that you used up two full sets of ink trying to determine if the problem was indeed a print head. That's a lot of ink. What did our team ask you to do? It may be that although a print head may help, that there is something else involved. If you want to contact me directly or provide your Case ID I may be able the help further. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Katie (3/22/2009)

Comment: My 5300 print head has ceased to function for the second time now since having purchased it in less than 1-1/2 years. This is very inconvenient; I'm a freelance photographer with a few shows coming up and a lot of printing to do. Kodak customer service was great and will have a new print head sent to me right away. However, I wasted 4 (2 color; 2 black) ink cartridges trying to establish that the problem was indeed the print head and Kodak says they can't send me replacement ink. Next time I'm going with Epson!

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/19/2009)

Comment: Greetings Moe, Sorry to read that you are having trouble with your new printer. Your system has somewhat low RAM for today's technology, but just enough to run the Kodak Home Center software. We suggest an Operating System Compatibility WINDOWS XP, WINDOWS VISTA, a Processor Speed INTEL PENTIUM IV, 1.2 GHz, RAM 512 MB minimum (1024 MB recommended), and Hard Disk Space 200 megabytes. Language Support in English. Your system sounds like it is on the edge. Your system may run slow when trying to use your printer. It is also possible that your ink is low? If that is the case the printer will not work if there isn't enough ink in the cartridges. This is done to protect the print head. If you move air through the print head without ink it will ruin the print head. If you have more detail about your system and your experiences, I am glad to see if I can help. Also, our teams should not be giving you the run around. If you want to talk to me directly and give me your information I can check on the records to see what was done. Regardless, Moe, I will be glad help get your printer working as it is capable of some wonderful results. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Moe (3/18/2009)

Comment: Join the club. Just bought a Kodak ESP 9 Cannot scan or print. I have an AMD Athlon 512 mb. Windows XP SP2. Called Kodak but get the run around..

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/18/2009)

Comment: Greetings Angela, Sorry to read that you are having continuing print problems. Have you done a complete cleaning of the printer or perhaps a deep clean? If not give that a try. Also, have you tried printing on any other paper to see if that might be an issue? If that does not work and you continue to get unusual looking prints, let us know and we will follow through with more help. Call us at 800 421 6699 and our team will take care of you. Of course you can always email us as well. Good luck, Angela, and Best Regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/18/2009)

Comment: Greetings Joe, I read your recent account of your experience with your Kodak printer and can appreciate your disappointment. Expectations are always high when you buy something new. I am sorry yours did not turn out that way. The printer is capable of the noted options and will save you money in the long run. What we need to do is make sure your printer is performing the way it should. Since you have had two printheads, our teams should have offered to replace the printer. We will want to see what happened to cause two print heads to fail. They should have offered to replace some ink for you as well. If you want to contact me directly I can work through our teams to get you a new printer that I am sure will be what you expected. You can reach me at ronbaird@kodak.com I look forward to helping you further. Best regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Joseph Peck (3/18/2009)

Comment: I purchased an ESP-7 on Dec. 10, 2008 from Best Buy. On Jan. 12th Kodak sent me my first replacement printhead because of frequent failure to print. The replacement printhead had the same but less frequent problem. Yesterday I followed the online trouble shooter, and the Kodak self-help service said it would send me a new printhead because my rose colored prints were the result of a clogged printhead. In addition, each time the printer runs out of ink the wi-fi connection is lost and I must uninstall then reinstall the printer on my Mac in order to keep the printer working. Finally, the purported savings on ink are only achievable if one selects draft quality for the majority of printing. My initial reaction towards this printer was one of joy for it installed flawlessly and quickly with my Mac, the prints were spectacular, and I anticipated lower costs over the long run. Now all I want is my money back. I contacted Kodak yesterday and they offered to replace the whole printer, but I believe there are fatal flaws in the software and the printhead design that make this printer almost useless . I can not expect my 9 and 11 year old children to manage the known problems. If anyone from Kodak can help, I'd like to return this printer for a refund. Joe in NY

Posted By: Angela (3/17/2009)

Comment: My printer is printing color pictures with a green tint to them. I tried calibrating, cleaning the print head, and changing ink. Nothing is working. I have had problems before that led me to get a new print head, but this seems different. Do I need to do something else, or is it the print head again? Please help, thanks.

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/13/2009)

Comment: Greetings Vern, Sorry to read about all your trouble. Although you have painted a bleak picture, things are not really that bad. You have indeed experienced difficulty, but we can correct that situation. Also, we will stand behind your printer and if the print head goes bad again we will be there to review how printing is done. For so many print heads to fail, something else may be involved. The normal experience is to plug in the printer and enjoy the experience. We will get you back to that situation. For now, I suggest contacting our team and letting them know of the frequency of failure. This time be sure to tell them what kind of photo paper you are using, what you are printing, how you installed the print heads, as well as the time frame of the printer being inactive (which should not matter). We will continue to help you even though you are beyond the warranty, Vern, and Kodak will stand behind its products. Call us at 800 4211 6699. Best Regards Ron Baird The friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Vern Ophaug (3/13/2009)

Comment: I purchased a Kodak 5100 AIO printer in December 2007. The printer was fantastic until August 2008. At that time, the print head clogged after the printer sat un used for (3) weeks, while on vacation. After wasting 2 1/2 black and color ink cartridges running the cleaning cycle, at the direction of Kodak tech support, they determined the print head was bad. I received a replacement print head and replacement ink. The replacement print head lasted until October, 2008-went on vacation-came home -same scenario. Kodak again replaced the print head and ink. Printer worked fine until December, 2008. The printer was not used for 2 weeks and again the print head clogged and could not be cleaned. This time Kodak sent a replacement printer, (2) print heads and replacement ink. The replacement printer worked fine until it sat for 18 day (I keep track) and the print head was clogged again, would not clean and I had to change the print head again. I love the quality of the prints, but what happens when this last print head goes bad in a few weeks when I am on vacation? This printer is no longer in warranty. Another issue is that the black cartridge is not used for photo printing, which I never knew until recently. This printer is used only for photo printing, so cost for print claim is false since I have to replace the black cartridge, which has never been used, once for every (2) color cartridges. Had I know this, I would have never purchased this printer. Any solution to this problem???

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/9/2009)

Comment: Greetings Jerry, I am glad to read the progress of your experience and that it ended with success. That is the result of most with a similar situation. We have an excellent process in place to help those with issues involving a Kodak printer. Whether it is a print head or other. As you found, the right way to go is through the 800 421 6699 numer or by visiting the http://www.kodak.com/go/itg site Let us know if you have any questions in the future, Jerry, and good printing. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/9/2009)

Comment: Greetings C.Johnston, You should not have any concerns about calling our team, they really are quite good and you will not have trouble explaining your experience. They do have instructions to make sure the experience you are having is indeed a print head issue as there are other situations that can cause this condition. You can also go to our Interactive Troubleshooting Guide at http://www.kodak.com/go/itg and follow the prompts. It will end in a form that sends you a print head. I will report the issues you are having with the web pages - it may be a browser issue? Regardless, we appreciate your posting and letting us know of your experiences. Our goal is for the best service we can provide. Thanks! Best regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy.

Posted By: Jerry C. (3/8/2009)

Comment: Installed new printhead & calibrated. Printed B & W document from Microsoft Word in BLACK just fine. Conclusion: Working Printhead = crisp black copies.

Posted By: Jerry C. (3/8/2009)

Comment: Correction: If a person is using Mozilla Firefox, going to www.kodak.com/go/printheadsupport gets you nowhere. If you use Internet Explorer you go to the site: http://www.kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=13950&CID=go&idhbx=printheadsupport&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=5618

Posted By: Jerry C. (3/8/2009)

Comment: Ron-- I forgot to add a few things. First, a search on the internet about Kodak printers having the "not printing black" issues is rampant. Only a very few have found this site and are trying to get answers. Countless others are trying to figure this thing out as well as you. Secondly, I received the new printhead but have not installed it yet. As a matter of irony, the sheet for returning the old printhead says,"NOTE: For instructions on how to replace the printhead, go to www.kodak.com/go/printheadsupport Now wouldn't you know it...going to that website gets you no instructions on replacing the printhead. Would it not be a simple solution to just INCLUDE a sheet of instructions on installing it?

Posted By: Jerry C. (3/8/2009)

Comment: Ron-- I've been using the same inkjet paper since I've had the printer, Office Depot Platinum Series 24# 115 Brightness Color Inkjet Paper. Like I've been trying to explain, the ONLY time I get any black is when you print a copy from the "print sample" command on the printer. Crisp copy on photo paper, blotchy on inkjet paper. If printing a COLOR document from the computer, I get COLOR. If printing a BLACK document from the computer, I get NOTHING. That doesn't sound like a paper issue. It sounds like the "print sample" command is sending a photo quality command to the printhead, and THAT command is quite DIFFERENT from a standard print command to the printer printhead. Back in October, I had this very same issue, and Kodak sent me another printhead with some replacement ink. Replaced the printhead, and everything was back to normal. Just confused as to why this could be a paper issue when I can even get a B & W copy on multipurpose paper when the printhead is working. Right now I printer is useless.

Posted By: C. Johnston (3/7/2009)

Comment: Ron: It seems I am having the same printing problems as others are. I too replaced the ink cartridges thinking there was something wrong with them. That wasn't the problem. So now I have a set of "Opened" perfectly good cartridges that may go dry.. (I put the orange "protector" back on them and put them in a zip lock bag. Will this help preserve the ink so that I might be able to try and use them again?) I don't know how many basic and deep cleanings I have done (quite a few). I did the trouble shooting from the computer. After reading several of the other comments, regarding being able to print in other colors, I did some testiing of my own. Whala! Documents come out in red, blue, green, yellow (only 1/4 of the doc), orange (was magenta), and black NOTHING! I have not yet called support. However, reading Jerry's ordeal with support, I am not sure I want to. I just want to call them and tell them "I know I need a new print head, please don't make me go through the trouble shooting process with you--I've done it already, just send me a new printhead!" I will be nice about it of coure (I went through this with DELL last summer. Knowing I needed a new mother board,I called them they had me do the diagnostics with them on the phone Result, "You need a new mother board..DUH that is what I told you in the first place). Sorry had to vent. Like in Jerry's case,(he had done the trouble shooting, cleanings etc and knew what he needed) why can't the support people just believe the customer(s) in the first place? Again, sorry had to vent!!! I look forward to hearing your reply as to what you think support will say to me when I explain that all I need is for them to send me a print head WITHOUT going through their trouble shooting process. Thank you for your time. C. Johnston

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/4/2009)

Comment: Greetings Jerry, Nope, I am not tired of responding. In fact, I rather enjoy being able to help people as I hope to do in your case. The experiences you have "and print a sample sheet from the printer button on PHOTO paper, you get a CRISP color/B&W copy! If you do the process and use inkjet paper, you get a blotchy color copy with grayish print in black." This sounds like the ink is not being absorbed into your paper. If that is true, it tells me there may be an issue with the media you are using. Very often people will print on paper that is designed for use in other media types, i.e. laser printers, and such. Although it may work in some cases, in others it will not. Surface type, paper stock, etc. do make a difference. If you are willing to share the type of paper with me, I can check it for these issues. Surfactants may be applied to some stock for special purposes and may be at work here. Regardless, Jerry, I will get you working successfully. I would suggest you first try printing with Kodak Ultra Premium Photo paper, then some Kodak Ultimate Paper. I will see if I can find some samples to share with you. At the same time, may I ask what paper type you are using currently? If we work together here, or via email, we can figure out the issues and have you enjoying your printer as you should. Talk to you soon, Jerry, my email is ronbaird@kodak.com Best Regards, Ron Baird The friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Jerry C. (3/4/2009)

Comment: Guess even Ron is tired of answering questions about the printhead problems... Off to get another brand of printer. Not even a response in 10 days.

Posted By: Jerry C. (3/1/2009)

Comment: Ron-- I called the 800 number and the person I talked to was rather non-understanding of my problem. He had me go through the entire process of deep cleaning and printing as if I had not done the process a dozen times before and wasting tons of ink. Then he said he would send out a replacement and I should be receiving it in 7 to 10 days! (without replacement ink no less) I tried to explain to him that I can print color just fine, but an all BLACK document comes out BLANK now. If I change the color of the document to DARK TEAL, I actually get a print, so the printhead on the BLACK side is not working. I'm really disappointed in the fact that the tech was actually trying to insinuate that I had tampered with the printhead, cleaned the printhead with some chemicals, or messed with the labels on the cartridges in some way. And on top of all of this, he wants me to send the other printhead back to him (gladly will do so! so you folks at KODAK can see what is going wrong) Is it really the printhead, or is it a flaw in the way the printer sends a print interpretation to the BLACK printing process??? (Stepping Off Of Soapbox...) And by the way, if you go through the steps as outlined at the KODAK website, deepclean, and print a sample sheet from the printer button on PHOTO paper, you get a CRISP color/B&W copy! If you do the process and use inkjet paper, you get a blotchy color copy with grayish print in black. But when you print something from the computer to the printer, the black NEVER prints out! So...is it the printer or a printhead problem? Although a new printhead DID solve the problem before in October!

Posted By: Diana Lordan (2/25/2009)

Comment: Ron, Thank you for your fast response. I have contacted Kodak through the website and after going through the troubleshooting steps, I have requested another printhead be sent to me. Hopefully this will solve the problem, being head #3 I would think at this point that improvements have been made to the design concerning the flow of black ink! One more thing I neglected to mention in my previous post; the black ink IS coming out of the printhead, it has been pooling onto the bottom of the printer. Luckily it is in the sponge section under the carriage track, but I have to wonder whether or not this will/has cause more problems in the future? Would it be wise to remove the sponge and clean the ink build up? Thank you very much for your time.

Posted By: Jerry C. (2/24/2009)

Comment: Ron--I had a printhead problem back in October in which I went through the troubleshooting problem on the Kodak site and talked to a tech after calling the toll free number. I received a new printhead and things were PERFECT again after the installation. Now I am having the EXACT same problem, no printing of black. If I change to a dark color and print, I at least get something, but cannot print in black and white, or receive anything in black. Drat. Do I have to get ANOTHER printhead? Has this problem been fixed or are all the printheads defective? Could it be the deep cleaning is not really working, although it goes through the motions of the process? I am tempted on getting another Kodak printer, but am concerned the printhead bit will just come up again. Drat.

Posted By: Ron Baird (2/16/2009)

Comment: Greetings Diana, Sad to see you are having trouble with your printer once again. This is certainly not the norm. Be assured, however, that Kodak will always stand behind its products. Even though your printer is just out of warranty, we will continue to provide the help you need. We can seek information about your case so we can provide a new print head. If you have not yet called us please do and provide the representative information about your case so they can follow through. Once a print head fails twice in a printer it is brought in for evaluation and possible replacement. We will do that for you as well should another print head not bring you back to normal. As mentioned, we will need your details to follow through for you, Diana, so give us a call at 800 235 6325 and we will open a case for you. We will continue here for you and all others in the future. Best Regards, Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Diana Lordan (2/16/2009)

Comment: Hello, I have had the 5500 model printer for more than a year now. I have replaced the printhead twice now because it stopped printing black ink, I use the printer daily as needed to run a small business. Now I am having trouble again. It will only print in draft mode and very, very lightly. My question and concern is will I have to begin paying for new printheads and will they become available soon to purchase at electronics stores? I don't have the time to keep waiting for new heads to arrive, and going through the trouble shooting process is a waste of ink and money. What I need is to be able to keep a spare printhead around or ditch the printer for a more reliable one. Will this be possible? Thank you for your time. -Diana

Posted By: Ron Baird (2/12/2009)

Comment: Greetings Ray, Sorry to read that you have a concern for your printer and print heads. Actually, you should not have too much of a concern. Kodak will always stand behind its products. Also, as a past Kodak employee, you likely know that Kodak is always working diligently on improving existing products as well as new. When any innovations are found they are implemented in our manufacturing processes. So, you can always expect continuing improvements as well as exciting new products. We thank you for sharing with us and encourage you to contact us any time you have a problem in the future. 800 421 6699 Best Regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ray Knapp (2/11/2009)

Comment: I just received a new replacement print head for my 5300 printer. This is the second print head that I have had to replace since I got my printer. I have some concerns and questions: 1. How long are these supposed to last? I do not do a lot of printing but 2 print heads in less then a year sounds like a high amount. I am concerned when I have to start paying for these that I may end up having to toss the printer and get another printer that doesn't have this problem. 2. I had problems with printing so I replaced the ink cartridges thinking that maybe the problem. It was not. So I wasted these 2 cartridges. I then ended up wasting half or more of the new cartridges doing regular and deep cleaning. So I am out almost 4 cartridges because of a defective print head. Not pleased. I was hoping they would send me a free set of ink when they sent the replacement print head but nope none in there! 3. I want to know if leaving the printer turned on all the time makes these print heads go bad sooner. I wanted to have this as my main printer for all my computers and leave it on so that when I want to print to it that it is available is this a good or bad idea? Thanks for your help, Ray. A former Kodak employee for 25 years. Still loving Kodak except for these problems!

Posted By: Scott (1/30/2009)

Comment: Thanks, It is for my Aunt I passed the info on she will call. She had me look at it because it kept giving a 3802 error. After a while of trying a new cart and inspecting for Paper Jams. I remembered these printers use prinheads.

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/26/2009)

Comment: Greetings Scott, Actually, we do not have them listed as a part just yet but when they are you can contact our parts dept if you need to buy one. At present, however, since the printers are still relatively new, we are providing print heads when needed. Give us a call at 800 421 6699 and they will walk you through that process. Glad I could review, Scott, Best Regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/26/2009)

Comment: Greetings Ron, Sorry I missed your post for so long. I have been on an assignment that has taken a great deal of time. Hope you have all you need. If not, you can write to me directly at ronbaird@kodak.com Once I have any additional information I can get you a print head. I am pretty sure it will resolve your problem. Talk to you soon, Ron - Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Scott (1/26/2009)

Comment: Does anyone know where to buy a printhead?

Posted By: Ron (1/13/2009)

Comment: Hello again, Ron. I suppose we can try changing the print head as you suggest. I'll need an email address to send you my contact info. Thank you very much for your help. Proud to be a Kodakian (Z612 & AiO 5100)!

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/13/2009)

Comment: Greetings Ron, Well nothing lost in trying. At the very least, we know you have the latest software ready for action. In this case, then, I suggest a different print head. If you are willing to send me your information, I will get you a print head and you will be on your way to successful printing every time. I look forward to hearing from you. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron (1/13/2009)

Comment: Thank you for the advice, Ron. Unfortunately after trying everything you suggested, the firmware update software still gives the "No Kodak printers detected" error. The printer is physically connected, the Home Center software shows "Kodak AiO 5100-Connected" and I was able to print a photo just before attempting the update. I'm using the latest versions of Home Center, Easyshare and Quicktime. My operating system is Windows Vista. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/13/2009)

Comment: Greetings Ron, Sorry to read that you are having trouble. I need a little more information. Not really enough information - When Home Center is open does your printer show in the lower left corner? - It would say KODAK 5100 AiO - Connected. Knowing this will make a difference. The normal process to update your firmware suggests that you make sure your computer meets the system requirements. I am sure they do as you have our software installed successfully. NOTE: EASYSHARE Software v7.0 requires APPLE QUICKTIME Player v7.1 for some software features. Visit APPLE to download the latest version of the QUICKTIME Player. I would disconnect all accessory devices from your computer (inkjet printer, digital camera, camera dock, printer dock, photo printer, card reader, etc.). Make sure you are logged on to the computer using the 'administrator' account (you have full access and use). Close all programs. Download the software. When the download is complete, select Start > Programs > Kodak > Kodak AiO Home Center. IMPORTANT: If you have a large picture collection, allow a few minutes after your computer restarts before starting the EasyShare software. The EasyShare software windows appears after your previous picture catalog has been updated. Try again with this in mind. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron (1/13/2009)

Comment: I've had the 5100 for over a year now and am very pleased with the product, I'm printing more than ever before. I am having a problem updating the firmware: each time I try the update, I receive a message that the printer is not connected (even though it shows as connected in the Home Center software). Is there a simple solution to this problem?

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/6/2009)

Comment: Hi Dan, I am sure you are quite frustrated. I would be as well. From the information I could gather, it appears your call was made on 12/27/08 A date that many had free. For me that is the day I tried putting togehter and trying the technology gifts I had received. It can be fun until you run into a snag and call for help. I am sorry to see we fell down on that experience. I suspect we were overwhelmed with calls about that time. If you went to our web site, it would have helped you directly. I am surprised it noted that you had a problem it could not fix? I believe I have the right information in our system so I will call you for details. Hang in there Dan, we are here for you. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/6/2009)

Comment: Hey Mike, Vicki, and Andy, So sorry to see that you had trouble right out of the box. This is not the usual experience. Rather, our printers are really quite good and reliable. You may see a lot of concerns here but the great majority never get to post any issues, as it unnecessary. But, as you can see, we are here for you if you do. If you have not returned your printer yet, we can get you up and running successfully, and keep you that way, in no time. If you want further help, let us know (800 421 6699) or visit the http://www.kodak.com Hope to talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/6/2009)

Comment: Greetongs Stan, I am glad to see that you were able to connect to Kodak later and that a new print head is being sent to you. Once you receive it, it is a pretty easy process install. It should clear uip your concerns. Enjoy your printing, Stan, and let us know if we can help further. Best regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy.

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/6/2009)

Comment: Greetings Alan, Sorry to see you are having trouble. We are here, of course, but may be overwhelmed due to holiday issues? You should always be able to get through to us. In this case, I suggest you visit our web site directly and complete the ITG (Iteractive Troubleshooting Guide). As you move through this process and you complete the questions (not many) you will be offered a new print head. When it arrives, you should be all set. If this does not work for you, let me know and I will help further. We appreciate our customers will be here for you. Best regards and Happy New Year, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Vicki and Andy O'Toole (1/3/2009)

Comment: Myself and my boyfriend both purchased the Kodak 5100. I had mine only 2 weeks when I had to replace the printhead. My boyfriend is also experiencing problems printing photos. The reds and yellows are not printing. We have tried calibrating the printer many times and also cleaning the printhead, wasting numerous ink cartridges and paper in the process but to no avail. We are so dissappointed with it and are considering putting the printer down to a bad experience and purchasing another brand.

Posted By: Daniel Tirado (12/27/2008)

Comment: I purchased a 5300 back in Dec 2007 and the print head went bad after 6 months. I had to go through several hoops but finally Kodak sent me a print head which solved the problem. Almost 6 months to the day the second print head went bad. I go to the chat line since I can't get through the 800-421-6699 number. I then was told to go to http://www.kodak.com/go/itg where the system said it was something I could not fix. It gave me a case number (PH01) and told to call the 800 number again. I've been dialing and dialing the last two days and can't get through. Sorry Ron, but your company lacks good customer service and great techniques at frustrating them until they give up.

Posted By: Mike (12/21/2008)

Comment: I just bought a Kodak ESP 5 from BestBuy in US. It printed the first photo and then started giving Printhead missing error. I have removed and reinserted the print head and cartridges a number of times but no success. It sucks. I will try a few more times and if it doesn't work, it is going to BestBuy tomorrow and I am going to get a different brand.

Posted By: Stanley Wedge (12/20/2008)

Comment: I.D.2295451.I have tried to send a copy of my Photo Prints of my EasyShare5100. but was unable too.I phoned your Help line and always end up Frustrated, because they do not answer me. It makes me think, that my new Printer, in buying it,was a mistake.I had done everything you told me to do.

Posted By: Alan (12/20/2008)

Comment: Using my second print head, red color has stopped working, followed instructions on website to clean, still not working, tried new cartridge, still not working, called help number, asked to hold, got busy signal, then hang-up signal, nothing is working at Kodak.

Posted By: Ron Baird (12/19/2008)

Comment: Greetings Cheri, There is no need to wait, Cheri, and although it is a good idea to go over what our team suggests, if you retain your Case ID, when you call you can tell them to review your notes and they can go directly to your information. Once they know more they can move ahead more quickly to help you. Kodak will always be here and will back you up. If you need a new print head you will get one. Also, you can avoid a phone call all together if you use the ITG (Interactive Troubleshooting Guide). http://www.kodak.com/go/itg On that site you will find prompts that will take you through a normal visit. At the end, if you have a Kodak All in One printer, you will be given the option of getting a print head directly. No need for direct contact. Hope this helps, Cheri, we are here for you. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Cheri Biggs (12/19/2008)

Comment: I've owned the Kodak 5500 since 8/27/07. Already I've gone thru 2 printheads! I am tired of these two hour marathons with Kodak Tech Support. But WAIT, I also own their low end AIO model -- the only problem with that one is it won't print in draft format. I can live with that. I guess. I no longer have time to sit and visit with their Tech Support for 2 hours each session, while we both bang our heads against the walls. My AIO 5500 has been down for about 3 weeks this time, and when I do get time to visit with KODAK Tech Support, I will insist on a NEW printer. I'll settle for the low end model. At least it prints out something! Will I use up the cartridges faster due to the inability to print draft, yes. But at least it will print.

Posted By: Ron Baird (12/19/2008)

Comment: Greetings Lynette, Sorry to hear you are having trouble. What is happening? There are lots of things that might go wrong with any printer or other device. What counts is support, and with your purchase you get a great team of skilled people that will be able to remedy any issue that might arise. If you are having trouble with a print head, you can go to the following web site and follow the prompts so we can learn more. At the end is the option for you to get a print head. http://www.kodak.com/go/itg If you need other support, just call the 800-421-6699 number. We will be there. You made a good choice. Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Lynette (12/19/2008)

Comment: Wow...I wish I had read these posts before I purchased my 5500. I am having problems, apparently from what I'm reading with the printhead. I've been spoiled, I've never had a problem with a printer/printhead...ever. I've only had it 6 months. I've generally had Cannons and I'm starting to regret giving my old one away.

Posted By: Ron Baird (12/16/2008)

Comment: Greetings Laura, Sorry to hear you did not get a return label. Actually, we are just now going through a transition of carriers. UPS will be our carrier in the future. Regardless, I am glad to help further with the return of your part, please contact me directly at the listed email address. I will help you with your return. We are always here for you, Laura, and I wish I had noted your need earlier. I wish you a happy holiday season. Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Laura (12/13/2008)

Comment: Hello. I had a piece fail in my ESP-5 Kodak printer. Kodak support sent me a replacement, which works. However, multiple phone calls, emails, and IMs later I still do not have the return shipping label - as promised four times. I am hoping someone may have had success in getting a return shipping label (mine was not in the box in which the replacement came nor is it in my spam folder of my email). Any successess or ideas on to whom to contact? Thanks!

Posted By: Ron Baird (11/24/2008)

Comment: Greetings, I can appreciate your quandary, Sal, but if you follow the prompts found at the ITG (Interfeature Troubleshooting Guide) of our support site, you will get all the possible options. If things work out that you need a print head or other, it will provide the path forward. This includes getting a print head mailed to you. Give it a try Sal, just go to: http://www.kodak.com/go/itg Talk to you soon, Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Sal Mancuso (11/23/2008)

Comment: My Kodak 5300 is all of sudden printing faided colors and the black ink does not appear at all. How do I know if this issue is caused by a print head?

Posted By: Ron Baird (11/18/2008)

Comment: Greetings, Replacing a print head may seem to happen frequently if you go looking for that experience. It is often reported here as well. In reality the great majority of owners enjoy their printers without concern. we are going to make that happen for you as well. We do look at replacing a printer if the print head continually fails. This is not done in every situation and it depends on what our representatives find upon reviewing a particular situation. I am sure you will enjoy your printing over the holidays. Best regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Lee Middleton (11/16/2008)

Comment: I received the EasyShare 5300 as a gift over a month ago. I too am experiencing problems with what appears to the printhead. I get streaky pictures and even text is faded or not visible at all. My wife and I were really excited when we printed out first pictures with the Kodak. But now it has become a distant memory due to the frustration we are now experiencing.

Posted By: Marty (ex-Kodaker) (11/16/2008)

Comment: Interesting that you say, "If we see that a customer has had more than one experience with their print head we call in the printer." My mother-in-law had to replace her print head twice, and now, I'm in the process of replacing my print head for the second time. We both have the 5300 AIO. No one had said anything about replacing the printer. Another point: the ink might be inexpensive, but with as many times you have to clean the print head, I get very few prints, either photos or text pages, without having to change the ink. These printers are frustrating.

Posted By: Ron Baird (11/7/2008)

Comment: Greetings Aaron, I can see how it might seem like there is a real issue with the Kodak print head; many of the postings here are related to that experience. In fact, however, the great majority of customers do not have an issue with their print head. The posters here generally post problems and issues they experience. They should be posting their problems through the customer support option we provide or use the ITG feature that is offered. They can get a print head directly that way. If we see that a customer has had more than one experience with their print head we call in the printer. Not all issues are related to the print head itself but other issues that might result in the print head not performing. This is the kind of experience you will find on any support site or discussion area. We can improve of course, and we are working diligently to that end. You can count on it. For now, if you have a problem with your print head, I suggest going to the following web page and following through. http://www.kodak.com/go/itg Good luck, Aaron, let us know if there are continuing problems. Ron Baird The friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Aaron at Kodak (yes, really) (11/6/2008)

Comment: Right. I'm also on my second print head (black) and if there is a fault with the printer driver circuitry, there is nothing apparent that proves this: Replacing the print head solves the problem. You know there are failures, so it's really better to admit it. It's not hard to be honest and customers really do appreciate it. I am both an employee and customer and would like to see less gravitas and more reality displayed. Thanks.

Posted By: TiM at Kodak (10/29/2008)

Comment: The Kodak EasyShare All-in-One Printers use 100+ years of imaging science and a combination of Kodak's pigmented, quick drying inks with a high speed writing system that generates brilliant, crisp documents and photos that last a lifetime. The Kodak All-in-One printer with its high density 3840 nozzle printhead is the critical component of the printers writing system that ensures quality printing of documents and photos. To this end, maintenance procedures performed by the printer serve to maintain the integrity of the printhead nozzles and prevent the quick drying ink from drying in and clogging the nozzles. In the unlikely event that a printhead does become dysfunctional due to clogging of nozzles, there are additional steps that can be performed to resolve the issue. Should these procedures prove unsuccessful the printhead itself is replaceable. It is not expected that repeated replacement of the printhead is necessary to maintain quality printing. If this is the case it will need to be determined if the printer itself is malfunctioning and not properly maintaining the printhead, causing the issue. This is a rare occurrence, but is possible.

Posted By: Becky H. (10/28/2008)

Comment: Hi, My Kodak Easy Share 5300 printer has now failed twice. I just called the service line and they are sending me a SECOND replacement print head and new ink cartridges. I appreciate this, but wonder if there is an inherent design problem. Like so many other users, I need this printer for my work, and I need to be able to count on it to be ready when I need it. What can you tell me about this issue and what to expect of the printer or print head performance in the future? Also, when I replaced the print head the first time, the printer has never really printed as well since then. Colors are faded and off-tone. Do you think this will change with the new print head? Thank you.

Posted By: Rob (10/27/2008)

Comment: I have a Kodak 5100. Ran out of ink and now it won't scan. I haven't replaced the ink because I don't print very often. I NEED the scanner though for my online business. HELP!

Posted By: Deb at Kodak (10/27/2008)

Comment: Greetings Tom: I am very sorry to learn of the problem you have encountered with your Kodak EasyShare 5100 All-in-One Printer. At this time, we suggest that you replace the printhead using the online Printhead Replacement Procedure: www.kodak.com/go/itg You can also complete this request by calling 1-800- 421-6699.

Posted By: tom (10/26/2008)

Comment: I have a 5100 AiO and it is not printing black all the time. The printer will not run the printhead cleaning gives an error code 1-0 "CleanHead opperation failed"

Posted By: Deb at Kodak (10/22/2008)

Comment: Greetings Keith: We would greatly appreciate the opportunity to assist in resolving any issues that continue to prevent you from enjoying the full use of your KODAK All-in-One Printer. If you have not yet called our support team, please call 1-800- 421-6699 to speak with a Technical Support Specialist.

Posted By: Keith Johnson (10/21/2008)

Comment: I googled "Kodak error code 3802" I was surprised, yet relived to see I was not the only one having the same issues. I can count the hours I have spent trying to get this printer to work every time I needed it. I'm not exaggerating on the hours. Imagine, planning an hour to print 2 pages. Actually the kids email me the stuff so I can print at work. The cool thing at this point is, I do not get the error, I do see colors. BUT (there's always a but) 99% is in black, and I do not see black printing. I just replaced the cartridge. I want to say good try at making a printer, BUT.....

Posted By: Don Young (10/14/2008)

Comment: Ron, DHL picked up my 5300 printer last Friday afternoon and my new one arrived Monday morning. I want to thank you and the Kodak team for your quick, professional response.

Posted By: Jerry (10/10/2008)

Comment: Ron-- I called the tech support toll free number and got a very supportive answer to my questions. It was determined, as so many others have experienced, that I needed a new printhead. The printhead was sent out the very same day as my call as it arrived the NEXT day! Thanks, Kodak for being so supportive. The printer is "back to normal", and everything is printing out again just like new.

Posted By: Ron Baird (10/10/2008)

Comment: Greetings Dean, I can appreciate your concerns and need for reliability. Believe me, Dean, that is one of the main goals that we have at Kodak as well. We are working diligently to that end. Since there are a number of issues that might result in what appears to be the same problem, it is hard to tell the best answer. Since you have had this issue more than once yet cleaning the head cleared the issue, I am going to guess that the print head was the problem in that case. For now, I can send you another head. Please let your Daughter try it and if there are any further problems you can come to me directly. I will work with you to a resolution. Normally, a printer is replaced upon a second print head issue but that may not be the problem here? If you are willing to work with me, I am pretty sure we can resolve this issue. Thanks for your patience. If you have not yet called our support team to get a case ID and a second print head, please do (800 421 6699). Or, send me your data and I can get it entered into our system. I am glad to have this chance to work with you. Talk to you soon. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Dean A (10/7/2008)

Comment: Well, kudos to Kodak and their customer service, but this is now the second time that I've had to call in for a new printerhead, and my Easyshare 5300 is barely a year old. I appreciate the cheaper ink cartridges, but the headache of the printhead clogging is more than an inconvenience. After the first clog, the tech I spoke with recommended that I do not turn off the printer and just let it sleep so it can run its maintenance cycles. That did alleviate the clogging for a few months, but here I am, waiting on another printhead. I wonder whether the ESP series have rectified this problem or whether it's just another problem wrapped in a fancy black package. I'm almost tempted to chuck this printer and just pay the $ for ink for a printer from Epson, HP, etc. Coincidently, my mom owns this same printer, as she had recommended it to me last year and she's already had to replace the printhead once. I would like something that "JUST WORKS." Is that so much to ask? I understand the differing ink technologies, but I've had EPSON printers that hadn't been touched in months, yet performed without a hitch when fired up.

Posted By: Richard J (10/7/2008)

Comment: Ron, thank you for your quick response. I executed the "Printhead Cleaning" process several times before I posted my original message. I will contact Kodak support at the 800 number you gave. Thanks.

Posted By: Ron Baird (10/6/2008)

Comment: Greetings Richard, No, deep cleaning does not require you to remove anything from the printer, rather it is a process to follow and is built into the printer and software. To clean the printhead: Start the KODAK AiO Home Center Software on your computer. NOTE: If the Help toolbar is not open, click the Help (?) icon in the upper-right corner of the window. From the Help toolbar, select Maintenance. Click Printhead Cleaning, and wait for the printer to complete it. Your model does not have a deep cleaning feature. Rather, if the cleaning process does not work, call and let us know. We will replace your printer. We will be here for you if you need us, Richard, 800 421 6699. Best regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (10/6/2008)

Comment: Sharon, I can appreciate your need, if you have called our team and provided your full US Mail address, phone number, and email address, they would have sent a new print head by now and you should have it by tomorrow or the next day. I know this is not what you need (you need to print right now) but it is something that can be stored for a bit, we will get you working as quickly as possible. If you have not called us yet, please contact 800 421 6699 and they will get you a print head right away! If you continue to have trouble, let me know. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Richard J (10/5/2008)

Comment: It appears that my AIO-5100 needs a new print head too. I purchased the printer in 3/08 and used up the first set of ink cartridges, no problem. I'm am about half way through the second set of Kodak cartridges. Symptoms of the problem are no color whatsoever and streaks through text. I went through Kodak's online troubleshooting guide and it concluded that a new print head was due. It allowed me to order a new head which I did. The process was quick and to the point - much appreciated. I would like to ask some questions of Ron Baird: Can a print head be cleaned, and if so how do I go about doing this? I have run across the term "deep cleaning" which I believe means removing a print head and soaking it in something like isopropyl alcohol. Can this be done with Kodiak printheads with good results? If a deep-cleaning process has already been documented, just point me to it. Thanks!

Posted By: Sharon F. (10/4/2008)

Comment: Yes, this printhead issue is really becoming a nuisance. After purchasing ink...yet again, I have come to realize that my printhead is the real problem. Of course, I have multiple items that need to be printed "now", not next week when my new printhead arrives. Ugh!

Posted By: Ron Baird (10/3/2008)

Comment: Greetings Don, Sorry about that. What was I thinking? You can contact me directly at ronbaird@kodak.com I look forward to helping you. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Don Young (10/3/2008)

Comment: Thanks for your quick and friendly response Ron, but you forgot to include the Email address you referenced in your response.

Posted By: Ron Baird (10/3/2008)

Comment: Greetings Don, You have a generous Daughter, Don, and are in a situation that certainly was unexpected. Actually, this is something quite unusual. I am going to take care of it directly. If you will contact me at the following email address, I will make sure you get a new printer. Please send me a note with all your details, i.e. full US Mail address, phone number, and of course your email address. Once I have that and a review of your experience I will get the wheels of progress turning in your direction. I will try to get a new printer at your door by the beginning of the week. At the same time you will receive a packet of information on how to return your printer. We will come and pick it up and have it returned to our engineering team, as they will be very interested in learning what happened. I look forward to your email, Don, as I am eager for you to enjoy this great All in One printer. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Don Young (10/3/2008)

Comment: My daughter bought me a AIO 5300 for my Bday, tried to set itup last night, 1st thing the install CD did was give me the download latset ver. from web option, which I chose, only to find that the server was slower than dialup. 2 hrs of downloading later, I finally had it installed. Printed 2 shots, 1 from each tray, the quality was great. Then tried to do a copy and kept getting spurious errors, paper jam, printhead missing...started smelling burned silicon, pulled the printhead and it has a burnt streak on the bottom, and now the missing printhead error is constant and this is an oversized useless anchor. I'm extremely disappointed with Kodak.

Posted By: Sal Cappo (10/1/2008)

Comment: Thanks Ron, Just came home from work and my new printhead was waiting for me.That is great customer service! I should be up and printing in no time at all! Thank you Kodak for your fast shipping and excellent support! Sal

Posted By: Ron Baird (10/1/2008)

Comment: Greetings Sal, Sorry to hear that you are having trouble, but glad to know our team has been able to help. I am sure you will be up and printing soon. Since you have had trouble more than once, our team will likely replace your printer if you have any trouble in the future. As to the warranty, you can count on Kodak standing behind its printers for as long as it takes. You can count on us. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Sal Cappo (10/1/2008)

Comment: Hello all, I also have the AIO 5100. I am also on my second printhead in less than a year. Like Murray said when it's working it's great. It's just frustating when all of a sudden you have problems printing, especially when you have 2 children in high school and they need the printer for school work. I called support yesterday and they were very helpful and understanding. Hopefully I will receive my new printhead in the next couple of days. Also, my biggest concern is when my warranty expires. Is Kodak going to extend the warranty of these printers to keep supplying us with new printheads every time we change ink? Thanks

Posted By: Murray Hooper (9/21/2008)

Comment: I have a AIO5500 and as everyone says, when it works, it works well. However, I have just got off the phone with support and they are sending me my second printhead in 9 months. My biggest concern is the 1year warranty that expires at the end of the year. Is Kodak going to extend the warranty of these printers to keep supplying us with new printheads every time we change ink?

Posted By: Ron Baird (9/19/2008)

Comment: Greetings Jerry and Gwen, Sorry to see that you are in need of help, but glad I can provide it. Jerry, we have an excellent support staff that can help you directly if you are having trouble with the print head in your system. We can get another to you very quickly. But, before we do that there are a few procedures we would suggest you try. Did you do a 'Deep' cleaning of your printer or just a cleaning. If not give that a try. It may clear up your issue. If that does not do it, call the 800 421 6699 number and they will work with you to get things corrected. Gwen, if this is the second print head in your machine, I suspect that in your case it should be exchanged. The same number noted above should help. They will arrange for a different printer for you, that i am sure will work just fine. Give them a call 800 421 6699. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird The friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (9/19/2008)

Comment: Greetings Jerry and Gwen, Sorry to see that you are in need of help, but glad I can provide it. Jerry, we have an excellent support staff that can help you directly if you are having trouble with the print head in your system. We can get another to you very quickly. But, before we do that there are a few procedures we would suggest you try. Did you do a 'Deep' cleaning of your printer or just a cleaning. If not give that a try. It may clear up your issue. If that does not do it, call the 800 421 6699 number and they will work with you to get things corrected. Gwen, if this is the second print head in your machine, I suspect that in your case it should be exchanged. The same number noted above should help. They will arrange for a different printer for you, that i am sure will work just fine. Give them a call 800 421 6699. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird The friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Gwen Lewis (9/18/2008)

Comment: We have had this printer about 1 year monday the pint head went again so this will be the third one for this machine We print oridinary emails and some photos its not over used. I think this is a poor show for this product. I am seriously thinking with this reliability it will end up being a dustbin job

Posted By: Jerry Crouser (9/16/2008)

Comment: I've had a 5300 series all in one printer and have been pretty happy with it overall except that recently I've had problems with poor coverage. About 2 weeks ago it would not print black at all, and seemed to print yellow most of the time. I performed a head cleaning function, and it seemed to help somewhat, with everything back to normal for about a week. Now the pages seem spotty. That is, some of the black is very readable, and some tends to look grayish. I performed another head cleaning, and it just does not seem to help. Colors are no longer clear and crisp, Maroon looks red. Bright blue looks plain blue. Could it be the printhead that needs to be replaced, and where do I get one?

Posted By: Ron Baird (9/16/2008)

Comment: Greetings Don, There is no need for you to buy a print head. In fact, we do not sell them; rather we provide them as needed. So, if you are in need we will send at no charge. What our reps should be suggesting is the process to follow to make sure you need one. Since you have already done this, there is no need to go through that trouble shooting again. Just let the representative know that you have done these checks already. If you have been in contact with us already, you should have been given a case # that you can use for future reference. If you refer them to it, they will know all about your experiences etc. I am glad I came along to help and am glad to arrange for a print head. In reviewing your name I did find a Don Gardner with a case # of 1520172. If that is correct, a print head is on its way to you already. If you like Don, once you get and try it, let me know. I can also help you further if need be. As to the amount of time on the phone, that is quite unusual as our phone contact times are far less. Maybe you had specific issues at the time? Anyway, good printing and enjoy the print head. Best Regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Don Gardner (9/14/2008)

Comment: I was sold by a Kodak rep who was in my local Wal-mart when I was looking for a printer scanner combo. Let me just sum up. The scanner works good, at first the printer worked but now my printhead appears to be shot because replacing the ink does not get any black printing to work. Aaaannnd the bundled software never did work. To top it all off, I can't seem to be able to find any place I can purchase a printhead. I guess I would have to say I am really pist off. Especially when I see how prevelant this problem is. You can brag all you like on the technology, but where the rubber meets the road; function, reliability and service, Kodak is a dismal failure. I'd like to find that rep who convinced me to purchase this boat anchor. I return it fist first. And before you get after me for being this boisterous, I have already spent WAAAYYY too much time on the phone with Kodak's tech support. I found them to be unknowledgable and unhelpful and the one hour-fifteen minute wait was intolerable.

Posted By: Ron Baird (9/12/2008)

Comment: Greetings K, Sorry to see that you had trouble getting started. When you find you are having trouble installing the Kodak Home Center software, installing the latest software from the web site is the best course of action. Keep the printer unplugged while you remove any old software using the Windows Add/Remove feature then visiting the Kodak http://www.kodak.com/go/clear site. Follow the instructions to rid your system of any Kodak software. Once done and with the printer unplugged from the computer, reinstall the software using your web connection. Once it is complete, All should work very well. If any ink is reported to be out of ink, the printer will not scan, copy, or print. This is a protection for you as doing so would damage the printer. The report that alludes to a problem is likely due to the print head. Please call our 800 421 6699 number and let them know you have this issue. Follow the suggestions and they will get you a new print head if needed. Once installed you will be all set. Good Luck K, you can contact me directly if you have further problems. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (9/12/2008)

Comment: Greetings Kip, Glad everything went well in replacing your print head. I have to agree it is disconcerting when something happens to a new purchase. It is frustrating. What is redeeming in my mind is the support I get when that happens. Getting a resolution that works well, and quickly, is the key to gredat support. If you every have to contact us in the future, you can expect the same. We will be here for you Kip. Best Regards, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: k (9/12/2008)

Comment: I forgot to mention...1. Uninstall is

Posted By: k (9/12/2008)

Comment: I have spent the last 4 days trying to get a Kodak 5100 to work....geeze what a piece of crap.... 1. It all started when my scan.jpg was -40 quality.... 2. Tried to download new software incase of corruption....printer not connected. 3. At great anguish reloaded entire system. 4. Works but black is out...(low ink affects scan??? apparently so...WTF 5. Bot new black, color 25%ful 6. Print is light -50%, and have cal'd till Im blue in the face. 7. Print head?

Posted By: Kip (9/1/2008)

Comment: I am happy to report that I did receive my new printhead in time for my family reunion. I installed it and my printer has worked perfectly ever since! I will admit that purchasing this product has greatly shaken my confidence in Kodak. I can't believe they are selling these printers without fixing the problem up front. My current Kodak camera is about 2 years old and I will probably replace it soon. I'm not sure I want to purchase it from a company Kodak-how do I know there won't be a problem with that product too, that they already know about and continue to inconvenience buyers?

Posted By: Kip (8/29/2008)

Comment: My wife and I purchased a 5300 on Tuesday, and here it is Friday and it's still not working. We get the message that the printhead is missing or not installed correctly or has come loose. We have probably re-inserted these things 100 times by now. My wife called the support line yesterday, and they told us they would send us a new printhead and some ink cartridges, but they are not here yet. We specifically got this printer for a family reunion this weekend, but now I'm not so sure we will be able to have it ready on time. I'm very disappointed to see that Kodak knows of this problem, but keeps selling the printer (s) anyway, without fixing it. If our new pieces don't arrive in time, or they don't fix the problem, this will be the last Kodak item we buy. There are too many other companies out there where we can get a similar product, that actually works.

Posted By: Ron Baird (8/27/2008)

Comment: Greetings Lisa, I review the boards here from time to time and I see you have had a problem with your printer. If you are not getting any black in your prints or you cannot print documents, try reseating the cartridge a couple of times to see if that clears up the trouble. If not, consider calling our online team. They have all the answers and help you will need. If the cartridge needs replacement they will help with that as well. One of the features of your Kodak printer is our support. We are here for you if you need us. I will be here as well if you want to talk further. Best regards, Lisa, hope you will give us a chance to show you that we care. Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Lisa Stewart (8/21/2008)

Comment: GEEZZZ!!! At least I know I am not crazy and it is not just my printer!! Like everyone else..no black ink!! And with out black ink the colors are going to be off also!! Was wondering why I was going through so many ink carts. Blamed my 13 year old for printing to many photos!! When it works it is great..but not worth it if it is not reliable. Put in an e-mail to trouble shooting, but will probably start looking for a different printer next couple of weeks. Maybe go back to a lenex or HP!! To bad, like the Kodak concept..now if they can just get it to work!!

Posted By: annette (8/9/2008)

Comment: I purchased the Kodak 5100 AiO because my family has owned several Kodak products in the past and knew of the company's quality and reputation. I am sad to say this may be my last purchase. The first issue came up when I was running out of color ink. The scan function would not work. Nothing I tried would make it work, so I went online to try and find a solution and saw that many people had this same problem. So I went ahead and purchased Kodak replacement ink cartridges and installed them. Now the printer will not print black and the colored ink is very faded. I have sent two emails and chatted with a CSR online, who finally told me I needed to replace my printhead. After more research I see this is a wide-spread problem with these printers. I bought the Kodak printer thinking I would save money in the long run on ink having previously been using Lexmark AiOs. I hope Kodak will get the printhead and scanning issues straightened out for their future customers.

Posted By: David Ward (7/31/2008)

Comment: I have had problems with my 5300, mostly the same as previously posted. one other thing I have an issue with is the Kodak help-line, why do they make you go through everything that there online help goes through? Almost 30 minutes your on the phone! The Kodak help line staff are pleasant enough, they seem to know your going to have to replace the printhead, yet make you go through everything! If this is a problem with most peoples Kodak printers surely Kodak should be refunding not simply gleaning a fortune from customer help-lines!!!

Posted By: Jason McGovern (7/31/2008)

Comment: I too have bought a 5100 and have the same issues with a printhead not working properly. I was able to print about 50 pages and then i stopped getting black. then all the colours stopped slowly, one by one. Currently only the yellow prints. The funny thing though is with all the blank pages that I printed, the new black cartridge that a bought 1 month ago is already empty. How can this be if it is not printing? I thought I was getting a good deal with this printer but if I have to keep buying cartridges that don't work, I am goign to end up spending a lot more money then I would with my old Lexmark. If there are so many people with this problem, why is Kodak still selling the printers with the same printheads? If I get a replacement printhead, will the same problem occur in two months? What is the number to call from Canada if I need to speak to a customer servicer representative about getting a replacement printhead?

Posted By: mark cook (7/31/2008)

Comment: I also have printhead problems. I am in the process of contacting Kodak to replace the black printhead for the third time. I've owned the printer less than a year. I just hate going through the phone call where I have to go through all of the troubleshooting when, at this point, I am well aware what the problem is. This time I even tried to go through the chat feature, which was unavailable because it was too busy, and the email. I got a response on the email with around eight things for me to check. Very helpful. I want a different printer.

Posted By: ThriftyTechie (7/30/2008)

Comment: Before I tell you about my problem, I must say that the Kodak AiO printer phone support is excellent. I've had several experiences with your phone support (unfortunately) and every person has been helpful. Kudos. The bad news. It looks like that you have a couple of fundamental engineering flaws in your printer. I 1. The non-disposable print head is just not durable enough. 2. The ink cartridges are too small. More frequent ink swaps are a) annoying for the consumer and b) can not possibly good for dependability, durability of the machine. My 5100 printhead failed completely after about 14 months after several months of sub par smeared and greyed-out printing. Lots of ink cartridges wasted on calibrating and testing. I was high on the product's claims (i.e., save money on ink!), but this product certainly did not live up to the hype. I will be posting a review to this effect on my blog shortly.

Posted By: Andre Mildren (7/30/2008)

Comment: I too have had the "Printhead missing, not nstalled correctly or has come loose" message. I picked up my 5300 this evening (it was an exchange for a non printing 5100. Rmoved all the prior software, followed the installation instructions to the letter and after calibration, managed to print two pages. Swithed off the printer, rebooted my PC and then switched on the printer again - that when I got the message. I am extremely disappointed with the product quality so far from Kodak, fortunately, I have a three year extended warranty so it looks as though it's going back - I just don't think the replacement will be a Kodak.

Posted By: Ron Baird (7/30/2008)

Comment: Rodolfo, Sorry to hear you are having trouble with your printer. You will be glad to know we have a phone number and an email address your can use to get the help you need in Mexico. Call 001-888-575-4134 or write to http://www.kodak.com/cgi-bin/global/en/service/contact/feedback.cgi?conf=/global/include/en/service/contact/contact.conf It's a long URL but if you copy it and paste it into the address line of your browser, it will take you directly to the entry page for email support. We are here for you Rodolfo and will help you get your printer running as soon as possible. Take care, the friendly Kodak guy Ron Baird

Posted By: Ron Baird (7/30/2008)

Comment: Greetings Brian, I am truly concerned to hear about all the trouble you had with your printer. It certainly is not what you expected and not what we wanted you to experience. Since this happened to you twice already, I strongly encourage you to contact our online team. They will give you directions on how to get your printer sent to us - no charge to you. We will be reviewing your particular printer and printhead combination as we want to fully understand what might have gone wrong in your situation. We are sorry for all your trouble, Brian, and we will be addressing that issue with you as well. Thanks for letting us know about your trouble. I will make it a point to note your issue in the database. In the meantime contact our team at: 800 421 6699 and give them a case number of 1149324. We are here for you Brian. Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Rodolfo Caballero (7/30/2008)

Comment: I bought one all in one 5300 in El Paso Tx. I live in Chihuahua Mexico. I can't print in black ink and I make all the things recomended in your support page. How can get a new printhead??

Posted By: Brian Child (7/29/2008)

Comment: My 5100 seems to have the clogged printhead problem described by so many others here on this post and other webpages. It's less than a year old and this will be the third time it has happened, but this time it seems terminal. It was the yellow ink when it was new, then red later and now it's the black. I have wasted so much paper, ink and time fiddling with this printer it has cost me twice that of my HP which by the way works everytime (for years). I've also had difficulty updating the software. The last issue was a timeout problem which they wanted me to edit the registry to fix it or get Kodak to send me the software on CD. I am so dissappointed in this printer, it's worthless - I wish I had my money back. I also found the chat line to be worhtless, they didn't even know there was black ink in the color cartridge - I was informed the catridge was black? I was also dissapointed to see the printer will turn off if you have an empty ink cartridge. I think Epson was sued over this, you should still be able to use the other functions even if the ink is empty (scanning).

Posted By: Ron Baird (7/21/2008)

Comment: Greetings Jim O'Dea, Sorry to read about your experience. I can appreciate your feelings but, like many other companies, support has been globalized. We have support teams around the world to support the many places Kodak sells its products, which is most of the world. Since many of the teams are English speaking, their expertise is utilized. A good many of those on these teams are college graduates and expert in a number of fields as well as being multilingual. This allows us to bring you excellent products and support them via voice, email, and in letter form. You are right, however, that similar requests or reviews of what you are doing are sometimes requested as it is a requirement for them set by Kodak. This process works well for many others and it makes a considerable difference in getting the customer the right information. You need not worry about going through this concern every 6 months as the replacement print head should last you a very long time. Should you need a print head for s second time we will look into replacing your printer. Please know that support is much more than reading a scripted response, although this is sometimes a part of it for a first call. We do our best for everyone Jim, and try to bring all products the support they may need. I will share your comments, however, with the managers involved. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (7/21/2008)

Comment: Greetings Jim and Jim, Sorry to hear about your troubles. Jim Hughes, you will not have to wait long for the print head, it should be delivered the next day depending on what time you made your call. The head should last you for a very long time and I know you are going to enjoy your printer from here on out. Watch for our delivery if you have not received just yet. You will be able to continue getting great results at a low ink price. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: James O'Dea (7/19/2008)

Comment: Well, my 5300,purchased Jan. 08 is doing pretty much what everyone has described. I went through the drill of deep cleaning, calibration, etc. Twice. then emailed Kodak, and the sent back a reply to go through all that, which I did. Finally I called, spend way too long on the phone with the guy in India, who had me do it all, AGAIN. In the end, he is sending me a new print head and a set of inks. I am disturbed to no end, in general, by the fact that they have to use this guy who doesn't really speak English, he is just reading a script, instead of paying a living wage to an American. I am also not too happy about the prospect of having to go through this every 6 months or so. And at what point will they want to start making us PAY for these print heads? I purchased this printer on the basis that the ink works out to be about 1/2 the cost of feeding an HP. But if I know have to factor in periodic print heads, that advantage disappears.

Posted By: James Hughes (7/17/2008)

Comment: I have a 5100 printer and like the other post, It will not print black ink. Before it stopped, it started printing the black light. I replaced the black ink cartridge and it does the same thing, at first it would only print a light page after cleaning the print head via the printer maintenance page, now nothing. I have gone thru the 2nd ink cartridge just trying to get it to print. I went thru all the t/s as per the email from Kodak, and via tel with Kodak. I now have to wait for the replacement black ink cartridge from Kodak to continue to t/s the problem. I have had it less than a year and barley used it to print less than 50 sheets, but I have now replaced 3 color and two black ink cartridges. If only my HP printer cartridges didn't cost and arm and a leg.

Posted By: James Hughes (7/17/2008)

Comment: I have a 5100 printer and like the other post, It will not print black ink. Before it stopped, it started printing the black light. I replaced the black ink cartridge and it does the same thing, at first it would only print a light page after cleaning the print head via the printer maintenance page, now nothing. I have gone thru the 2nd ink cartridge just trying to get it to print. I went thru all the t/s as per the email from Kodak, and via tel with Kodak. I now have to wait for the replacement black ink cartridge from Kodak to continue to t/s the problem. I have had it less than a year and barley used it to print less than 50 sheets, but I have now replaced 3 color and two black ink cartridges. If only my HP printer cartridges didn't cost and arm and a leg.

Posted By: James Hughes (7/17/2008)

Comment: I have a 5100 printer and like the other post, It will not print black ink. Before it stopped, it started printing the black light. I replaced the black ink cartridge and it does the same thing, at first it would only print a light page after cleaning the print head via the printer maintenance page, now nothing. I have gone thru the 2nd ink cartridge just trying to get it to print. I went thru all the t/s as per the email from Kodak, and via tel with Kodak. I now have to wait for the replacement black ink cartridge from Kodak to continue to t/s the problem. I have had it less than a year and barley used it to print less than 50 sheets, but I have now replaced 3 color and two black ink cartridges. If only my HP printer cartridges didn't cost and arm and a leg.

Posted By: Ron Baird (7/15/2008)

Comment: Greetings CJ, I am concerned that the new print head did not resolve your issue. I need to be sure that you have properly seated the print head. If not you would get the report you have noted. Also, have you downloaded and installed the latest firmware. If not, please give that a try as well. Let me know how you make out and I will help further with your issue. You can write to me directly at ronbaird@kodak.com Best Regards, Ron Baird / the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (7/15/2008)

Comment: Greetings Ress - Brian - and Troy, Sorry to hear about your printer troubles. If you had similar issues and were able to contact Kodak at 800 421 6699 you should be getting the help you need. If you haven't done that just yet, give it a try. If you have yet you are not happy with your experience, let me know and I will help further. Best Regards, Ron Baird (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: cj (7/15/2008)

Comment: I finally got the printhead I was promised on Saturday. I put it in and it says color and black ink need to be replaced and I know darn well the ink I have in there is new. They sent two replacements. So what am I supposed to do just throw out two full cartridges - black and color - that I know perfectly well have ink in them? This is the biggest ripoff - now I'm very unhappy. Oh by the way, it still will not print.

Posted By: cj (7/14/2008)

Comment: I wrote on the blog on 7-11-08 and just wanted to say that DHL never showed up on Saturday after I waited at home all day to receive the printhead Kodak said they were going to overnight to me so again, I am not only held hostage by the printer not working but I spent a whole day waiting for something that never arrived when promised. Very disappointing. i tried printing again, and anything red comes out green and the white eyes on peoples faces look like something out of the Excorcist!

Posted By: Ress (7/13/2008)

Comment: I have the same problem with a 5100. It worked great for a couple of months and now it won't print colors correctly. Colors look faded/transparent, eyes are white. I have done numerous calibrations and wasted cartridges of ink doing the printhead cleanings. I also removed the printhead and cleaned it. No problem printing black although sometimes it looks faded. From what I've read in the posts here it sounds like I need a new printhead. I am so disappointed in this printer.

Posted By: Brian (7/12/2008)

Comment: Having exact same issue with no black ink, new cartridges installed, did all of the cleanings. Do you all recommend I just trash this and go buy an HP? I would have expected this Kodak to last more than 6 months. Model 5300.

Posted By: Troy (7/12/2008)

Comment: The first problem that I had with my 5100 was that none of the "free" color cartridges included with the printer would work (the printer indicated they were empty). After trying everything else I bought a new cartridge and it worked. Now I too have lost my black ink when printing. I have purchased a new cartridge and still no luck. It seems like this new printhead technology is a joke.

Posted By: CJ (7/11/2008)

Comment: PS.. I forgot to say that the young man that helped me as very nice and patient so nothing against his service. He did the best he could to try and help and the one thing that made me happy was that we did not get "accidentally" disconnected and forcing me to call back over and over. Even though my issue is still not resolved for certain I do want to say he was a very nice person and Kodak should be happy to have him as an employee.

Posted By: CJ (7/11/2008)

Comment: PS.. I forgot to say that the young man that helped me as very nice and patient so nothing against his service. He did the best he could to try and help and the one thing that made me happy was that we did not get "accidentally" disconnected and forcing me to call back over and over. Even though my issue is still not resolved for certain I do want to say he was a very nice person and Kodak should be happy to have him as an employee. .

Posted By: cj (7/11/2008)

Comment: I am so disappointed. I am working on a fundraiser and need to send out 35 letters immediately but the black ink suddenly will not work. The day before the red ink was printing green. Somehow I got that fixed, I put two new ink cartridges in and now the black ink will not work. I changed them again thinking the others were faulty. I have deep cleaned it, calibrated it, a couple times and black ink still does not work. My major complaint besides this problem is that the ink runs out so fast. Yes it's cheaper but does not last near as long as when I had my HP deskjet. With the HP deskjet when you were running out of ink you could print until the well ran dry, with Kodak, you are held hostage, you get a message that says replace your black ink, even though it clearly shows there is a little left and if you don't have one on hand you are stuck until you order it by mail from Kodak or Dell because your printer WILL NOT MOVE. You can't even go to Staples and buy it. Then when you order you have to get at least two or three so you are not stuck when the printer stops again. This is called "planned obsolescence". It's a big let down especially at a crucial time when I have fundraising letters to go out. I long for my HP, I never had this kind of problem. I just saw the 5300 and trusted that it was better than the HP. My printer is useless now and it is only about 6 months old. I called for help and was led through the same things I had already done. I was told they would overnight me a printhead but that I must be home to receive so I am held hostage all day at my house on a Saturday until someone arrives with it from DHL and I must be available to sign for it. This is not good customer service. I was told by the guy at Kodak he never had this problem before and you keep replying to people saying millions of people have this printer and just a few problems but that is because they don't know about this blog or where to complain. this is a major problem and something Kodak needs to correct. It is such a letdown to be held hostage by a faulty product when you depend on it for your job. CJ

Posted By: Ron Baird (7/11/2008)

Comment: Greetings Amy, I am very concerned to hear of your second print head problem. Certainly not the norm. When you contact our team, they will let you know that we want your printer returned with the print head and ink carts. New ones will be provided along with another printer. When returning your printer, you can print a copy of this email if you like and include it in the package when shipping your original printhead. This is also in the instructions you received when contacting us. In the plastic packet on the exterior of the packaging for your replacement printhead and all-in-one printer, you will find a return-shipping label, along with instructions for returning the nonfunctional products. Please disregard the return-shipping label and instructions, included with the replacement printhead. This is included for anyone that experiences this for the first time. Since this has happened twice, we want to see the printer and all related items. We request that you package your printer, together with the first replacement printhead, ink cartridges, and the original printhead. DO NOT include any cables, you will need them for the replacement printer. Enter the AUR/Mail number on the outside of the package. It is important that we have that information. A DHL representative will arrive to pickup your package, at the location and time you specify. Your satisfaction is very important to Kodak, Amy, and we are including a set of ink cartridges, one Kodak color ink cartridge, and one Kodak black ink cartridge, as a token of our sincere regret regarding any inconvenience you have encountered. Remember, support is available at 1.800.421.6699, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We are always here for you. Best regards, Ron Baird The friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: amy larson (7/9/2008)

Comment: Hi -- I'm about to order my SECOND printhead replacement for my 5100. Original one lasted 8 months, the first replacement has now lasted just 4. (yes, i've tried cleaning, calibrating, removing printhead, reinstalling software, you name it.) Yes, customer service is quick ... but this is absolutely ridiculous. Guess that's what you get for $150. We're on the way to get a new printer and this one will soon be on it's way to the dump.

Posted By: amy larson (7/9/2008)

Comment: Hi -- I'm about to order my SECOND printhead replacement for my 5100. Original one lasted 8 months, the first replacement has now lasted just 4. (yes, i've tried cleaning, calibrating, removing printhead, reinstalling software, you name it.) Yes, customer service is quick ... but this is absolutely ridiculous. Guess that's what you get for $150. We're on the way to get a new printer and this one will soon be on it's way to the dump.

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/23/2008)

Comment: Greetings Kathryn, Sorry to see that you are having some trouble with your printer. I wonder if you have done a deep cleaning as well as changing your ink. Very often doing a deep cleaning a couple of times will clear any clogged heads and return you to normal. If you find this does not help, let me know and I will help further. Also, please know that not everyone is having this problem. It is common for a blog like this to see people post their issue, especially when it is similar to others. Truth is there have been close to a million printers sold, so the few people that have come here or experienced some other issue are really quite low. Regardless, Kathy, we are here for you so you can count on Kodak. Talk to you soon. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/23/2008)

Comment: Greetings Kathryn, Sorry to see that you are having some trouble with your printer. I wonder if you have done a deep cleaning as well as changing your ink. Very often doing a deep cleaning a couple of times will clear any clogged heads and return you to normal. If you find this does not help, let me know and I will help further. Also, please know that not everyone is having this problem. It is common for a blog like this to see people post their issue, especially when it is similar to others. Truth is there have been close to a million printers sold, so the few people that have come here or experienced some other issue are really quite low. Regardless, Kathy, we are here for you so you can count on Kodak. Talk to you soon. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Kathryn Zack (6/22/2008)

Comment: I bought my 5300 allinone before Christmas, it now will print extremely light!All inks are full?Seems like everyone has this problem. I want my HP back!

Posted By: tim (6/20/2008)

Comment: Actually contacted customer support through emails and got very prompt responses(within a day). Two emails later-a print head is on the way. Great support

Posted By: Tim (6/19/2008)

Comment: Love the printer(5300) However 3 days ago lost the black ink in all my documents. Changed out the ink and cleaned the printhead but still no ink. Did all the t/s techniques describe in the manual but still no positive results(not to mention an almost depleted new ink cartridge) Figure it's the printhead but can't find one to purchase. I'll try the number you mentioned. Hopefully it'll fix the problem

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/19/2008)

Comment: Greetings Angie, I can appreciate your frustration, but you did the right thing contacting our team directly by phone. They are well trained at resolving issues that might arise, like yours. Updating the firmware of the printer and making sure you have the latest software is one of the ways to resolve some issues. If you follow the process carefully, it should work for you. I am not sure why you would need to turn the printer on in the middle of that process as it should already be on? The reason we ask for a charge card number is to actuate our systems so a different printer can be sent. Kodak, and many other manufacturers and retailers follow this process. Another printer is shipped and a one dollar charge is sent to your card number for validation. This charge is later removed upon receipt of the returned printer. Agreeing to send another printer without this process is not correct and I will be investigating that action. As to some people posting issues about print heads please note that that is the most common issue, i.e. clogged heads generally that are not cleared using general cleaning processes. Remember, there are many hundreds of thousands of printers that are in use now without any problem. We look forward to helping further, Angie, and you likely already have the other printer. Best regards, Ron Baird the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Angie (6/18/2008)

Comment: I called Kodak help b/c like so many others my printer won't print black. It is only a few months old and lightly used. The quality also rapidly went down hill after the first ink change. Yes, they were Kodak carts and not refilled. After a much longer then anticipated time on the phone my printer went from not printing black to not turning on. This happened as I was trying to install an update per the instruction of the kodak representative on the phone. The printer has power but would not turn on. I don't understand why I was told to update software anyway. Then they wanted a charge card number to send me a new printer. I had a major headache with Dell doing the same thing a few years back and refused. They finally agreed to let me send the printer back first and forgo the charge card number. But, seems to me they should have just sent me a new printhead without putting me through all the headaches of the tests that I had already performed myself. Seems like all the websites report problems with printheads and black ink - I think Kodak needs to go back to the drawing board to fix this problem. Also could you sell your ink at Staples?

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/17/2008)

Comment: Greetings, I am quite concerned to learn of your experience, Gitana, but am glad to follow through for you. Since you are in the UK, I will move any information you share with me to our UK team management. They will be most interested in your comments. We hope you do not return the printer, as I am sure with a bit of time and effort on our part we can get your printer working. Your experience so far is not the Kodak way and no one is going to be disrespectful, I can assure you of that. If you are having a print head issue that can be easily resolved, but we will need to review your personal details etc. to make sure we have things in order. If you are intent on returning your printer, contact the retailer where it was purchased about their return policy. That is your best return route. If your printer was purchased at the Kodak store within the last 30 days, you can contact them directly by phone or email. Otherwise, and hopefully, if you are willing to continue to work with us we will help you get things working, Gitana, and make sure you are happy with your printer. Call our UK store number at 0870-2430270 in the UK. If you want to share your details, i.e. email address, name and UK Mailing address or the case ID number you were given, I will make sure your information and the details of your experience are shared and that things change for you. Best Regards, the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: GITANA (6/16/2008)

Comment: CAN I ASK A QUESTION?I BOUGHT KODAK PRINTER ALL IN ONE 5300 AND IT IS NOT WORKING PROPERLY,I GOT REPLAISMENT,BUT IT IS ALSO NOT WORKING.I CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT PROBLEM IS PRINTHEAD,BUT YOUR TEAM WOUNT ANDESTAND IT,AND JUST LAUGHING FROM ME.I DONT WANT KEEP THIS PRINTER,I WANT SEND IT BACK AND GET MY MONEY BACK.HOW I CAN DO IT?THANKS

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/16/2008)

Comment: Greetings, Sorry to see that you have had a lot of trouble with your printer. If you want to share some of the details of your system as well as your name and address, I will be glad to review your case with you directly. You can use my email to contact me. Have you contacted our support team? I look forward to learning more about your situation. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Miles (6/16/2008)

Comment: This product started out very nicely, with excellent print and copy quality. But we've gone through several new replacement printheads and recalibrations, etc , etc. and It will not print out black. It runs through cartridges at enormous rates. It is an unreliable and poor quality product.

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/16/2008)

Comment: Greetings Victoria, If you would read the messages left just below yours, you will find a reference to the number to call to get help and if a print head needs replacement. Give them a call they will help you directly. They will be able to answer any question you might have. 800 421 6699 Talk to you soon. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Victoria (6/15/2008)

Comment: Please advise where I can get a new print head. Since I cannot print black. As with all the other comments - have replaced ink, cleaned, calibrated. have sent an email to support - which says they are so busy that someone will get back to me sometime......Not overly hopeful on that from reading on here !!!

Posted By: shakunthala (6/11/2008)

Comment: Hi............I have gone through your website.It is good.I want more information in this machines. -------------------- Great printer toner and ink cartridge deals, discounts and coupons. Also, check out the latest printer reviews and technology news. http://blog.concordsupplies.com

Posted By: http:// (6/11/2008)

Comment: Yikes, let me correct myself and provide the right number for anyone to call about a printer. 800 421-6699 The other number I posted is for our digital products not for our printers :-( Sorry for error. Ron the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/10/2008)

Comment: Greetings all, Just a note to let you know that we have set up a really great support team that will be able to take you through the right process of support for your printers. They are fully trained on all aspects of our printers and should be able to help directly. Tty them at 800-235-6325. Of course, if you like you can contact me directly via my email address and I will try to help as well. Might take a bit longer but I will be here. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Amy Smith (6/10/2008)

Comment: I think I need a new printhead. I have a Kodak 5300 series and I love it. Only problem is it will no longer print black. Seems like a lot of other people are having the same problem. I am having trouble finding a replacement. I use my printer for all my scrapbooking and I really need the black to work. Please help.. Where can I order a printhead? Thanks

Posted By: Dennis Christensen (6/9/2008)

Comment: I have run at least ten reams of paper for copies, photos, etc. it all looked great, Fri. 6/6/08 my blck quit working even though the quanity showed sufficient amount of ink, I relaced the cartridge anyway and still no black print? I have changed yet another with the same results, I have also cleaned the print head and it started to show a little black print but I have run the clean printhead so often I am almost out of black again? If I need a new print head, where can I buy it? ... DC

Posted By: Phil (6/6/2008)

Comment: My 5300 has started printing everything green. I changed inks thinking I had a bad batch and still green. I calibrated a few times and even took out the printhead to clean it, but still green. We really enjoyed using this since we got it for Christmas and get a ton of use out of it. What can I do?

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/4/2008)

Comment: Greetings Kim, Sorry to hear about your situation but glad to know of your creative thinking. More than likely the print head is clogged and that is the reason for your trouble. Since you have already written to us, you should hear from us soon. We will make sure the print head is replaced and you get to enjoy your new printer. I can tell you that you are in for some great printing and at a cost you will appreciate. Talk to you soon, Kim, we are here for you. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Kimmy C (6/3/2008)

Comment: i'm having problems with the printhead on my 5300, so thinking that was the problem i took the printhead out of the 5100 we have on another computer and it worked perfectly fine. I ran the cleaning and calibrated the nonworking on many times and still didn't help it any. I just emailed Kodak about this problem today so am waiting for an email back. I would really like to use my printer since i just got it for my birthday.

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/3/2008)

Comment: Hi Amanda, You have the same issue as the other two people that have just posted, Amanda, and I am concerned that our team did not provide you with a good solution? I looked in our database but did not see your name. What I would do is call back and request another review. Please let them know you stopped here, posted a concern, and that I replied to you. Also, please know that most of the time only those users that have had an issue with their printer come to post here. Although this is a great site to get help, it is also a great place to get information. Of course, I will help you with your print head if you need it. But, I am more concerned to that you get the help you want from our team. They are pretty good at support and should have helped you already. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/3/2008)

Comment: Greetings Susan, Sorry to hear about your black ink issues. I suspect so, Susan, you should not have to clean 10 times, too many for a usual clogged head. I would contact our 800 235 6325 number and get a new head sent to you. You can reference my name if you like to save time. Once you have the head replaced, all will be well. You will continue to have great results into the future. Talk to you soon, we are here for you. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (6/3/2008)

Comment: Greetings Lynda, Sorry to hear that you are having trouble. From your information it sounds like a clogged head. I suggest the usual head cleaning process. I would also call our 800 235 6325 number to get some direct help. Our team at that number can provide details on how to go about this process and follow up with you if that does not do the job. We are here for you, Lynda, and will be in the future as well. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Susan (6/2/2008)

Comment: Help..I am having the same black ink printing problem..wont print..I have cleanied..deep cleaned and calibrated 10 times...using all my ink..not right...is it the print head? and where do I get a new one? Only had this 5 months sp far...thanks in advance for help

Posted By: Amanda Mhanna (5/27/2008)

Comment: Ron - I see all the help you are giving everyone else. Now maybe you can help me. I call your number and get the worst service EVER. I have the 5300, I have changed the black printer cartridge, cleaned the printer head, calibrated it and it continues not to print anything black, it doesnt matter if it is a photo or just a word document. I have replaced, rearranged and bought new cartridges. Can you give me any ideas of what to do next. We love this printer but are not having luck with these problems. - Thanks!

Posted By: Lynda Sargent (5/17/2008)

Comment: I have the Kodak 5300 printer which I have been using since February and I am all of a sudden seeing my photos not print with any dark colors. The browns are white, the shadows are white and the rest of the photo looks washed out. I have calibrated, cleaned printheads and changed ink cartridges until I have lost my patience. Any ideas???

Posted By: Ron Baird (5/13/2008)

Comment: Greetings, Sorry to hear about your trouble with the 5100 model printer. Sounds like you have an issue with alignment or calibration. This can sometimes happen with the print head not being installed correctly. I would first try reseating the print head to make sure it is secure. Once you have it in place, calibrate the printer. These processes are in the manual. After these efforts, you find that the printer is still 'banding' let me know directly and I will work with you further. You can also visit our support teams at: http://www.kodak.com/go/printers Also, you can always call us at 800 421-6699. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the Friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Andy Ness (5/12/2008)

Comment: Not sure if my problem is related to the printhead or not, but I've not used my printer for a couple of months and now it's started printing lines on my photographs (believe it's called banding?). I've only my 5100 since January, and I've tried cleaning the print head 4-5 times to no avail. Does it need replaced?

Posted By: Ron Baird (5/5/2008)

Comment: Greetings Reviewers, Sorry to hear about your trouble. Was reading through the blogs and came across your posts. Actually, we have a new blog that will help you directly with those issues. We also have a great team that will take care of you immediately on the phone. Just call 899 235-6325. Or, and I am not sure if you visited the support team yet, but if you go to the following URL you will find a great deal to help you. Try visiting: http://www.kodak.com/go/support and http://http://www.kodak.com/go/blogs On the blogs page you will find the PluggedIn blog. Either way you will get direct help for your issues. I am here as well if you need me. Talk to to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: bob speerly (5/4/2008)

Comment: I went to replace the ink cartride of my 5300 Kodak. The machine won't reset and pring. What gives, and how do I reset it?

Posted By: Barb Braun (4/27/2008)

Comment: I have the 5100 serious and I am so glad I have found this site. I am in the same boat as everyone else it seems. I used my printer maybe 2 days and then when I went to use it again it tells me the printhead is not there or incorrectly installed. The aggravation is beyond words. What is the cleaning cycle I can try and if not how do I get a printhead because lord knows I can't seem to locate it anywhere? It shouldn't need anything since I haven't had it more than a few months and have barely used it. It is so disappointing.

Posted By: Dr Corey Blake (4/26/2008)

Comment: We have a 5500 with all these problems. and all the cleaning cycles does is suck up all the ink. was a great machine while it worked.

Posted By: Ron Baird (4/25/2008)

Comment: Dear Linux community, we've heard you. Please check out today's post by John Manard (http://1000nerds.kodak.com/default.asp?item=2191668#comments) to see a scan of the first Linux print from our AiO injet printers. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Alan Young (4/24/2008)

Comment: Just wanted to say, that after reading these comments i was a bit frustrated. i have always had the *best* customer support from Kodak. yesterday i called the 800 number , talked to a very nice lady from El Salvadore who spoke perfect English. Was assured i would have a new Printhead within 2 business days. In less than 24 hours I rec'd a *new Printhead* from Kodak sent 1Day/Overnight! I call this Customer Service!! Regards, A Young

Posted By: Ron Baird (4/22/2008)

Comment: Greetings Amy, Sounds to me that your printer needs a full cleaning. Not sure if you have done that just yet, but if not you may want to give it a try. If the printer has not been used for a time this can occur. It also may be related to the print head. If it is not printing anything black, and a cleaning has no change, let me know and I will work with you further on your issue. The print head may need changing? Let me know the outcome either way, Amy, talk to you soon. Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Ron Baird (4/22/2008)

Comment: Greetings T. Rester, Yikes, that is not normal. If you want to write to me directly I will help you with your issue. Our teams should be answering the phone much sooner than 2 hours. We will be very interested in seeing your printer. I will look for your email, T, and will take care of you directly, if someone has not already. My email is as noted ronbaird@kodak.com Talk to you soon, T, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Amy Kostesich (4/21/2008)

Comment: My 5100 printer will not print the black ink. Have only had it since late December. Ink cartidges are full. No error messages. What gives? No response from Kodak either.

Posted By: T. Rester (4/20/2008)

Comment: Hi, I bought a new 5300 today and in the calibration stage, smoke and burnt odor emanated from the printer. I disconnected it immediatly and called the 1-800 number,I waited 2 hours for a technician but nobody was available. I'm afraid to connect it again. Thanls

Posted By: Richard Faulkner (4/17/2008)

Comment: Ron: I guess I should've come to you sooner. I received the package (thanks for the upgrade). I hooked it up, installed the printhead/ink and away it went. I'll send the broken printers back soon. I'm still disappointed with the telephone support I received, but Ron... you are a man of your word. thanks.

Posted By: Ron Baird (4/10/2008)

Comment: Greetings Richard, I Started reading the posts here and picked up on yours right away. Sorry to hear about the trouble you have had. This is certainly not the norm. I am going to have your printer picked up and returned to me so we can review it directly. If something goes awry with a print head, it is usually something that is remedied by a replacement. Since this did not happen for you, and in fact you received another printer, I am surprised to read that the new one did the same thing. We will be interested in seeing this printer, Richard, and I will be arranging for a pickup with you directly. I am also sorry that you had a hard time with our support team. I suspect that the representative simply could not find a supervisor. Sorry that happened. I will be in direct contact, Richard, Talk to you soon, Ron Baird - the friendly Kodak guy

Posted By: Richard Faulkner (4/5/2008)

Comment: Ron: I am another very unhappy owner of your 5100 printer. I've been on the phone many times with support... they've sent me a new print head and eventually a new printer and I still get the well known print head missing or not installed. When I called today to speak with a supervisor, I was told that I can only speak with a supervisor on Monday through Friday. I have had this printer for 4 months now and still haven't received one print out of it. I find it difficult to believe that after all the print heads and printers I'm sure you've had to replace since this printer was put on the market, that you don't have a handle on what the problem is. My case number is 12109770. Help!!!!

Posted By: chad craig (4/1/2008)

Comment: biggest piece of sh*t ive ever had kodak should have had all the bugs worked out if this 5300 printer b4 thay released it to the public..yea thay are sending me a new printhead but my printer is down and i need to get my work done

Posted By: david (3/23/2008)

Comment: How do I reset the printheads? I'm having terrible problems with this printer. It worked great for the first few months, and has been nothing but trouble since.

Posted By: Chet (3/18/2008)

Comment: Sorry for the Double post didn't see the first one posted.

Posted By: Chet (3/18/2008)

Comment: Have to say Kodak Customer service has been Number 1 in my book. I called on Saturday night and this morning Tuesday went to get my paper and a box was waiting for me. Great service Thank you. The question I have is when I installed it and put the new cartridge in from saturday night I still got the same error so I put in the new one that came with the printhead and Viola it worked. Somaybe it wasn't the printhead and it was the cartridge? Wondering if I should take the cart back to the store? Thank's again for the help.

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/18/2008)

Comment: Greetings Chet, Not to worry, Chet, new cartridges that are used in the future should be just fine. I suspect that after opening the cartridge and leaving it set for a while, will dry the ink which may cause it not to work correctly. That is the reason we suggest you always use the ink that is sent, or other new cartridge. I am pretty sure you are going to be well pleased with your printer from now on. You can contact Kodak directly to get the same responses and help by going to the Kodak support page and sending an email or calling us at 800 421 6699. For email go to: http://www.kodak.com/go/support Talk to you soon, Chet, enjoy! Ron Baird (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: Chet Sala (3/18/2008)

Comment: First off I have to say the Kodak has the best customer service I have recieved in a long time. I called late Saturday night and this Morning Tuesday I went out to get my Paper and a box was there from kodak you can't ask for much then that. The question I have is when I put the new Head in and put in the cartridge I just open on Saturday and I got the same message to replace the ink so I took it out and put in the new one that was sent and it worked perfect so the question is why is the new ink cart not working could it be the cart that was bad? Thank's again Kodak for the fast service.

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/17/2008)

Comment: Greetings Chet, Sorry to see that your printer had trouble. Our team has sent you a new printhead which should fix that issue; you should not have trouble in the future. Whatever it was that caused your printhead to malfunction when you changed ink carts will be eliminated when you change printheads. You can expect the same great results as you had in the past. Our teams will be here for you if you have any questions in the future. Ron Baird (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: Chet Sala (3/16/2008)

Comment: I got my printer a few months ago and all was well until I had to replace the color ink for the first time and now I get the same message after I new ink tank was installed and that is it needs to be replaced after I just did it. The question I have is have this problem been fixed. Customer suppoert was helpful and they are sending me and new head but the question is have this problem been fixed with the new heads? Or am I just getting the same head?

Posted By: D Biegler (3/11/2008)

Comment: Hurray, I am up and running once again on my Kodak aio Printer. It seems the print head needed replacing. This problem may have been caused by the fact, the original Kodak instructions were not great for installing the print head. Kodak support was wonderful, I was more than satisfied with their help. I should have tried contacting support via phone rather than trying to resolve the issue myself, over a 3 day period, via online support & emails. The new print head, has a sticker on the back, that directs the person installing it exactly where to push the print head to engage in the correct position. Another thing I noticed that may help others is; when I kept getting a error message, the wrong one telling me I had a paper jam, I could not utilize anthing to get around the error message, not even shutting down the printer. I turned off the power & unplugged the USB cables several times, that didn't work, there fore I just left everything unplugged over the week end, for some reason when hooked everything back up & plugged in the printer to power up, the error message told me the print head needed attention, rather than the paper jam message & there fore allowed the print head to move to the center of the printer so I could remove it. The Crux of this story is; If all else fails, turn off power & unhook USB cables, only leave these off for more than just a few minutes, some how computers seem to heal themselves in this process, why or how only the geeks know for sure I guess. I'm back in love with my Kodak aio printer, I love my Kodak camera too & just yesterday purchased a Kodak digital frame, Kodak support was very helpful with knowledge of how to copy photos from my Easyshare software on my computer to the new Kodak frame. Have patience, your issues can be worked out Kodak is very responsive to your problems.

Posted By: Lonnie Betts (3/9/2008)

Comment: I'm the next victim of the 5100 AIO Printer. It's taken 5 hour to print 15 pages with many resets because it's either a print head problem or not communicating with the PC. Latest Error MSG was 3802. I bought this today but it looks like the store will get it back.

Posted By: Ron Baird (3/3/2008)

Comment: Greetings Daruish, Sorry to hear about your trouble. If you haven't called our 800 235-6325 number please do. They have all access to all the tools to get you up and running again quickly. Let them know you already did the noted testing. They will help you. If you have trouble, you can contact me directly as well. My email address is posted. We are here for you Daruish, Ron Baird (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: Eric (3/2/2008)

Comment: Regarding Phillip Whitt's comment above (1/28/2008) - "No wonder the Kodak printers save SO MUCH ink, They Won't Print." I had to chuckle - I said the same thing. Too much to type. Sharing everyone's pain, Eric.

Posted By: Daruish Molavi (3/2/2008)

Comment: My 5300 has worked flawlessly for a year. Recently, I replaced the blank ink cartridge, and the printer won't print anything. I've tried replacing both cartridges, removing/reseating the printhead, doing deep cleaning, calibrations, nothing works. My one year warranty expires in 3 weeks (I registered it with you the day I purchased it). Please advise me as to the options I have. This printer has been wonderful until now, printing great photos and documents. We use it daily, and it's unavailability is a royal PITA. $250 on something that only lasts a year is terrible, considering how it's touted to be a money-saving printer.

Posted By: Ron Baird (2/29/2008)

Comment: Greetings Mike, I was reading through the posts and saw yours. Sorry to hear about your trouble, but glad to help if I can. If you did not get the printhead, I will be glad to arrange for another. You should have been offered another right away. For someone that has an issue with a printer, we provide overnight delivery. You can contact me directly if you like. Since this all seems to have happened a week or more ago, you have likely come to a resolution? If not please go ahead and contact me. We are here to help you and not make a difficult situation worse. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: Amanda Thurber (2/29/2008)

Comment: I received a Kodak 5300 printer for Christmas. It worked wonderful for the first month. I went to use it one day and there was a smokey/burning smell and I got the printhead error. I contacted Kodak and they sent me a new printhead. The error was still there with the new printhead. I contacted Kodak again and they sent a return label for my old printer and once they received my old printer I had a new one delivered within 48 hours. The customer service people were wonderful and helped me with my problem in a timely manner. Some people have said that they have had issues! with hold times. I think I was only on hold for about 2 min. If you are having problems I would contact Kodak, they are doing a wonderful job at helping their customers solve the issue. The new printer works wonderful!

Posted By: chris masciale (2/27/2008)

Comment: Read these comments when my 5300 stopped printing black. Two weeks ago I went through upgrading firmware after replacing 2/3 full ink cartridges, because the printer insisted they were empty. Black stopped printing two weeks later. I cleaned the print head as described, no luck. Called Kodak this morning from work and they picked right up and gave me a case number. Will have to call back with service number from printer. The engineer on the line promised that they will replace the printhead and ink cartridiges after I proved service number and did some diagonostics with them.

Posted By: Mike (2/17/2008)

Comment: I'm glad to see that I am not the only one with 5300 Print Head problems. Every time I changed the ink cartridges there was a malfunction. This last time Kodak sent a new printer w/o the print head. Since I was unable to remove the one from the previous machine I contacted Kodak to send one. It's been a battle ever since, although they claim it was sent 2/11 via FedEx (or maybe Pony Express). My previous HP lasted 7 years with no problems. Kodak has some serious support & printer head problems. It is very frustrating dealing with them.

Posted By: Dave Wild (2/15/2008)

Comment: I am very surprised that products with such a well documented problem as the printhead error are still being picked up from the shelves by consumers such as myself. I took back my first printer to PC World, only to pick up a second with the same error. I eventually got the second to calibrate and had a wonderfull day of printing. The results really are very good. The only problem is that when I turned the printer on next day it simpy wouldn't recognise the printhead and I was back to square one. I now have had a promise of a replacement for next week, though that won't print out my wife's presentation for an interview next week. It may be a costly exercise to recall these printers but would be the fair and just thing to do in the long run. Or how about sending out batches of printheads to distributors to send out with the printers? You must have enough info now to be able to identify which printers have the problem. It's sad, but I'm getting more annoyed as I type!

Posted By: Jeff (2/11/2008)

Comment: Amazing you post a message that they don't want and it vanishes! I asked about drivers for Linux and my message just disappears. well what's the deal is Kodak going to either provide Linux drivers or provide the information needed for the OSS community to write their own drivers? Jeff

Posted By: Ron Baird (2/11/2008)

Comment: Greetings Neil, I review the blog here at Kodak to see if I can help with some of the issues that come up. I am glad to see if there is a way to get you the help you need. The reality is that these printers are very popular and the volume of sales has increased dramaticly more than expected so, the more you sell the more calls and contacts we get. We are addressing this issue and support is going to improve just as dramaticly as the unexpected sales increase. Of course we are sorry for the time you might spend online currently while we get that support in place. In your instance, Neil, we need more information than we have now to help you directly. I searched our database for your contact information but did not find any. I will contact you directly. Talk to you soon, Neil, I assure you that you are going to enjoy your new printer. It truly is great and will provide all the noted features very well. Best regards, Ron (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: Neil Clapton (2/11/2008)

Comment: I got a 5300 in October. It now seems to have the not printing black on documents problem. I have wasted 2 cartridges doing the deep cleaning and troubleshooting. Rang Kodak and they said I would have to wait 48 hours for a technician to ring me back. I work in IT so I am not an idiot and from reading the web know that it is most likely a faulty printhead. There is nowhere on the Kodak site to order a new printhead or get a replacement without ring them. I would like to get this fixed under warranty without all this grief. Not Happy!

Posted By: LaToya Crain (2/8/2008)

Comment: My mom ordered the 5100 printer from HSN and I just got it today. Once I did get the printer to recognize the printhead, when it printed out the calibration sheet, it came out blank two times. Then I took it out then the error popped up again. I was wondering if Kodak was going to put out a callback for all the stores that are still stocked with the 5100 printers with the faulty printheads? Because I've been searching on the net about it and I've seen a lot of complaints with a few where people had no problems with the printheads.

Posted By: Michael Eberhardt (2/4/2008)

Comment: I bought the big boy, the 5500, never realizing all the printhead problems that are occurring over the past YEAR. Customer service was great, going to replace the whole printer(yes I got the fatal printhead error). Pain is, I never even got to print one sheet. I'm guesssing it runs beggining diagnostics/cleaning, and boom....no prints at all. Even though my experience, other than a bit of inconvenience, has been good, why is Kodak still distributing this printhead. Jesus people, put manufacturing on hold, FIX THE PROBLEM, and then restart distribution. IMO it's truly bad business ethics selling products that obviously have a serious design flaw. How do I know the new printer I get is going to be any better? Kodak is going to spend more money in FedEx shipping replacing Printers and printheads than they will make selling them. Could this have something to do with Kodak's stock price being the lowest it's been in 10 years?? I own a p712 , z712 digital cameras, and have been a Kodak person since I could take a picture. My god please don't ruin your company over this. It can be a great idea, a breakthrough that will make me buy 10,000 shares, but I 've got to see alot better news in this department before that happens. Good luck to both of us.

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/30/2008)

Comment: Greetings Phil, I understand your frustration and your very pertinent question. Truth is, we wouldn't. We go to great lengths to review and test before any product is released. We honestly do our very best to make sure that before any product is released it is the best it can be. I can also commisserate with you over the long hold time you have encountered in reaching our support team. I have had similar experiences with other products I have purchased (thank heavens for bluetooth accessories). Just after a holiday it is sometimes unavoidable. I am taking the action of reporting this and do whatever I can to help reduce those times. I have also checked the contact database we have and noticed that your call was successful. Be assured, Phil, that you have a great product and once you exchange printheads, you are going to be very pleased with your printer (and save money in the doing). We are here for you.

Posted By: Phillip Whitt (1/28/2008)

Comment: No wonder the Kodak printers save SO MUCH ink, They Won't Print. Why would they release these with know flaws, they had to be known with the volume of complaints I have seen at different sites. Kodak needs to get a hold of this now or they can absolutely count on a large boost in HP's sales. PS. I'm typing this while on hold with Kodak going on 1 Hour+ now and still counting.

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/28/2008)

Comment: Greetings Andrew, I can appreciate your need, but I am afraid that since I am based here in the US, I cannot really help you directly. Rather, I suggest a call to the following number. Since you already have a case ID be sure to give them that number. Ask to find out the status of your printhead. It should have been sent already. I would look it up for you but I cannot access that particular database. I will send a copy of your post to a counterpart in the UK. Please bear with us as we work through this issue, Andrew, we will not let you down. Your patience will reward you.

Posted By: Tom (1/28/2008)

Comment: Between printhead problems and Kodak's "service" organization, I just threw my 5300 away after 4 months.

Posted By: Tom (1/28/2008)

Comment: Funny how negative posts just vanish into thin air.

Posted By: Andrew Stafford-Deitsch (1/26/2008)

Comment: Dear Ron, I am also having print head problems. I replaced both cartridges but the 5300 AIO says the new ones need to be replaced. UK support emailed me on 21st January (my case ID is 313991) to say that they would advise me as soon as authorisation to send another print head had been received. I've heard nothing. As happy as I have been with the print quality so far, I'm beginning to feel rather let down. Can a faulty print head be cleaned or fixed by the user? Andrew

Posted By: Phillip Whitt (1/25/2008)

Comment: I just got my 5300 today and was very excited to try out photo printing. I needed to print an 8x10 photo of my family to mail to my mom for her 85th birthday but I first printed out 4-Pages just fine and then just before attempting to print the photo I started getting a printhead missing message. Did I say I just got the printer today "Brand New" and only got to print 4-Page of text. As instructed, I did take the cartridges and printhead out and reinstalled and am still gettting the message. Is there anything else that I can try?

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/24/2008)

Comment: Greetings, As you can see I wander around in here often. I also appreciate your concern over the Printhead experience you had, Jim, and am glad to help further if Ican. Truth be told, Jim, kodak is always monitoring feedback from its customers to be sure that what we are offering is the best it can be. Of course we do run into issues from time to time, but as soon as they are identified, they are resolved quickly. A good example are the postings here as well as those made in other discussion areas, as well as the email and phone calls we receive. They are gathered daily and shared with those that can make a difference. We take the quality of our products and support very seriously. I am sure that you have already resolved the noted printhead issue through our support options. If not, let me know by reply to my email address. I will help you further. Best Regards, Ron Baird (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: Jim Grant (1/22/2008)

Comment: I have printhead failure out of the box why? If it known fix it proactively!

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/15/2008)

Comment: Greetings Lee, I was reading the last post and now noted yours. I checked our contact reference and noted that you did get to us yesterday (14th) and that we are sending a new head sent to you. I am glad to review and help further. I appreciate the concern of not getting to the teams in a timely manner. I have dealt with many situations and that is one of the most frustrating. I can assure you that Kodak is working diligently at reducing wait times. Thanks for your patience in the future.

Posted By: Lee Kupersmith (1/14/2008)

Comment: I also am having problems with my print head making the printer useless. I completed the online support request form and received an automated reply 11 days ago, but no actual reply or help. The Kodak... We're Here For You (KMM7055367V97009L0KM) message said you'd reply within 24 hours. It's been 270 hours so far. I wasted two full color cartridges and 1-1/2 black cartridges so far doing head cleanings and calibrations and still can't print black. I performed all of the troubleshooting tips from your troubleshooter. I paid $190. for this printer less than a year ago and it's useless. I've waited on hold at 800-421-6699 four times for an hour each time, and no one picks up. Is it necessary to contact a lawyer to get a reply from Kodak? I've never dealt with any company that has such a poor support department. Kodak - please contact me immediately regarding this problem. I need a working printer and don't plan on simply writing off my expenses with this one.

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/14/2008)

Comment: Greetings Charles, Thank you for your email, Charles, and please accept our apologies for the length of time it has taken us to respond. This is not the usual performance for Kodak support. I have taken action, however, and a new printhead is on the way to you as I write this reply. I have also sent additional ink, so you should have a good supply for your future printing. I am quite confident that you will enjoy your printer once the printhead is replaced. I am also taking the action of finding out what happened to your email and why it took so long to reply. If there are other issues involved, they will be corrected also. We are sorry for any inconvenience and frustration. You can count on us 'being here' in the future.

Posted By: Charles Viemeister (1/13/2008)

Comment: Do you know I have four, count them 4, "We're Here For You" automated acknowledgements of my emails from Kodak regarding my Printhead error message. This has obviously ballooned from a technical problem to brand damage. They should learn from Tylenol on what to do, but instead they have their heads in the sand. Blast mail your customers that you have a problem and tell them what you plan to do to fix it. It doesn't have to be fixed we just want to be treated as though you know "We're Here" Now look what you have done. I was a Kodak fan. I grew up on Kodak film and processing. But now... I am turning into your worst enemy. I am sending my correspondence with Kodak, albeit one way, to HP's advertizing group so they can have some laughs.

Posted By: Denise Stinardo (1/3/2008)

Comment: Jeremy, I just read your comment and wanted to respond as soon as possible. Ron is a member of our customer support team. We work together to respond to questions pertaining to service. Since I manage Kodak's blogs, 1000 Nerds and 1000 Words, I want to let you know that we do not filter our comments. We are currently investigating the issue regarding comments that have been removed that pertain to requests for Linux drivers. Thank you for bringing this concern to our attention. Stay tuned!

Posted By: Jeremy (1/3/2008)

Comment: Ron, hi as you appear to be 'moderating' this comments board, can I ask: why have you removed all of the requests for drivers that aren't for MS or Mac operating systems? (I'm talking about L*n*x, which I'm trying to disguise so that it'll get past your filter) best wishes, Jeremy

Posted By: Jeremy (1/3/2008)

Comment: Ron, hi as you appear to be 'moderating' this comments board, can I ask: why have you removed all of the requests for Linux drivers? best wishes, Jeremy

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/3/2008)

Comment: Greetings, I was browsing yesterday and noted a comment by Ashley that she was missing the printhead for her printer. Not sure what happened to the posting, I hope I did not delete in error. But, Ashley, if you are reading this or anyone for that matter, please know that if you have a problem that requires a printhead of if it was not included in your package, you can get a printhead quite easily by contacting us directly. Call the following number and you will get the help you need immediately. CAll = 800-421-6699 A missing printhead is quite a rare experience Ashley, so our team will be anxious to capture your information. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird

Posted By: Ron Baird (1/2/2008)

Comment: Greetings, Sorry to hear that you were not able to get through to our support teams? We are here and will be glad to help. I am going to check your data to see if anyone has reviewed your information. Exchanging your printhead is a very easy process. Since I do not have your details I cannot help directly. If you want to contact our online team they can follow through in a matter of minutes. You will get a new printhead quickly. Please persevere with the contact times as there likely are a great many people trying to get information or use questions. Thanks for your patience. Your new printer is worth it. Best Regards, Ron Baird

Posted By: Gerald (12/30/2007)

Comment: I recently received a Kodak 5300 all-in-one printer, and got the "replace printhead" error afer the calibration prints. I tried to call Kodak but after an hour on hold, I hung up. I have sent two emails but still no response. I should have ordered an HP machine.

Posted By: Ashley (12/25/2007)

Comment: Well how do I get a printhead? because it did not come in the box. and i really wanted to scan something and its christmas ..so that really made me mad!!! can someone plz help

Posted By: Jeff (12/23/2007)

Comment: Hi, I'm wondering if someone can help me. I have a Kodak 5300 and for the last 2 weeks for some reason it prints very faint for black words/images only. I've replaced the ink cartridge 2 times, and even the color ink cartridge 1 time. I have cleaned the printhead dozens of times and re-seated the printhead dozens of times. Is this a bad printhead?

Posted By: Dan (12/13/2007)

Comment: Shane, I wish you posted what you got instead. Stupid me I just bought the printer today, and yep error code 6203! Googled for help and though OMG what a mistake. Others had the same problem. Anyhow I felt I was technically savy so I followed the online instructions to recover from that error by reseating the ink cartridge. It worked 2 prints then failed again. Again I reseated it and the problem went away for 8 more prints. Now I'm stuck with the print head cartridge problem. :( Re-seating those does not help. I did notice a black spot which looked like a burn mark on the print head so I guess the print head burned out :( Anyhow I'm going to return it, but not sure what to get now. :(

Posted By: Shane (12/9/2007)

Comment: Sales lady at Sams Club showed me the 5300. We need to send out pictures for Christmas and this looked great. Just $99.76 and the cost of print cartridges was less than half of other printers. This should pay for itself very quickly. Got two, one for house and the other for a gift or maybe the office. CAREFULLY followed all instructions and slowly put all the parts in place. Printed the calibration sheet, put it in tray to scan, push start and BAM Error Code 6203 shows on display. Error code 6203 is not in any of the documentation. Error code 6203 is not in the Kodak Knowledge Base or avalable anywhere in their support website. I suspected a problem with the Scanner. So used Google and found this site with all these complaints for the 5300. I should have known, inside the box is a paper with a big red stop sign that says DO NOT RETURN TO THE STORE, call Kodak technical support. What is the name of the comedian that says "Here's Your Sign" Bill Engvall? Well I feel like a dope for not seeing it. As a consumer, it sure looks like Kodak is dumping this product at fire sale prices on trusting people. Then we spend time, energy and frustration to identify,download and correct defective software. Hey I have a full time job, I am not willing to work for Kodak for free. I will not dink around with a non-functioning product that Factory already knows about. Thank goodness I did not give this as a gift or take this to the office to spend company time on Kodak's problem. Kodak, you can fix this yourself after Sam's Club sends it back. Good luck selling it again. Hope other people read this before they purchase from Kodak. Don't bother with sending me an email, I am gone and there's YOUR sign Kodak.

Posted By: Ron Baird (12/3/2007)

Comment: Greetings Maurits, Was reading the posts here and saw yours. Sorry to read that you had a problem. I suspect that the printhead that came with your printer may be suspect. Once replaced, it will provide you with excellent results for a long time into the future. When our team gets in touch with you, let them know of your suspicion and request a new printhead be sent to you. I am confident that you are going to love your printer once this issue is resolved. Talk to you soon, Ron Baird (the friendly Kodak guy)

Posted By: Maurits (11/22/2007)

Comment: I recently bought a Kodak 5300 all-in-one printer, and got the "replace printhead" error afer exactly 1 photo printed. Phoned the Kodak service people and they told me to renew the firmware, but using their instructions and not let the printer software take control. This had no result. I'm awaiting some more help, but, quite frankly, I'm already getting fed up with these clowns. It took them 1 day just to send me the firmware instructions. If they keep this pace up, my printer is going back to the store.

Posted By: Ronald Baird (9/27/2007)

Comment: Greetings Denise, Sorry to hear of your trouble and experience. That is certainly not the way we handle issues at Kodak. I will investigate a bit to find out more. The process of sending out a new printhead is exactly the fix for your particular situation and one that helps as much as possible. Here in the US we would use Federal Express to get you the printhead asap. Not sure how that is done in the UK burt I will find out for you. Please persevere a bit while I review with my contacts in support. Thanks for the patience. Also, please provide your full general mail address in the UK or where you want a new printhead kit to be sent. You can contact me at the email address below. This is a much better way to communicate than here on this blog. With your details we can move ahead. Best Regards Ron Baird ronald.baird@kodak.com

Posted By: Denise (9/27/2007)

Comment: Hello Ron, Thanks for your reply. I called the 0870 number first, the guy told me I had to wait 3 days for a callback, I explained I cannot take 3 days off work to wait for a call and he hung up the phone on me. This is still unresolved a lady at UK Harrow branch is trying to find someone to help me but it is not happenning. All I got was a standard email from support telling me to remove the printhead and ink and replace it, do they not think that I haven't done this already. I can see this is a common problem so why can't someone just send me a replacement printhead and I will return this one. I need a printer, I use it everyday but this one has now been out of action since Sunday. I am just really upset at the way I have been treated having spent so much money on the printer. I really hope it gets resolved soon..

Posted By: Ron Baird (9/26/2007)

Comment: Greetings Denise, Just browsing here and noticed your post. If you have not heard from our team in the UK just yet, you will shortly. They are aware of your situation and, as we are here in the US, are eager to help. If you do not, you can write to me directly and I will make sure you get the help you need. It may be that for a short time things got so busy we did not get to your particular email right away. Regardless, I will be investigating as that your experience is not the usual service we provide. You can count on Kodak Denise, we will be there for you. Just to make sure, did you call 0870-2430270 in the UK for help with your printer? Also the fax number to use should have been 44-131-4586962 Since you are in the UK our team there has the capacity to help you better resolve your situation. More than likely it is a simple trade of the printhead. Once completed, you are going to love the results. Talk to you soon, Denise, Ron Baird (US)

Posted By: Denise Foster (9/26/2007)

Comment: Well I have called, emailed and faxed Kodak and had no reply whatsoever to my problem. Their customer service is awful which is a shame as I was hoping to buy a Kodak camera to go with my printer. But if this is how they treat their customers then it looks like I will be taking the printer back and going back to Lexmark or HP

Posted By: Paul (8/24/2007)

Comment: I feel extremely put off by Kodak. After setting up a brand new printer and printing about 2 pages, I got the dreaded printhead fatal error message. They promised a new print head in 2-3 days. It has now been 10 days, and no one in their customer service can tell me whether the new printhead has been shipped or not - no FedEx tracking number or anything. They do promise to send me more ink - a lot of good that will do. Whatever happened to customer service?? My case number is 11356616 if that matters.

Posted By: David (7/2/2007)

Comment: Too bad the printer dies with a fatal error after about 10 prints. The fatal error states that the print head or ink is not installed correctly, when I had already printed and never touched the print head or ink. I had this exact same problem with 2 separate units. Time to take it back and buy a Canon Pixma. I was hoping the Kodak would be the ticket, but it was not to be. Better luck next time.

Response: Dave, I'm very sorry about your experience. Ink jet printing involves a very interactive system, including the printer, firmware, printhead, ink, media, and ink tanks. Kodak did extensive system testing to insure problems like the one that you experienced don't occur, but unfortunately, when volumes increase, failure modes happen that have not been previously observed or anticipated. The error message that you got typically indicates a bad contact between the printhead and printer. There are several potential causes. If the problem was due to a stuck pin in a pogo pin connector in the printer , it is possibe that it would work for a while before failing, and replacing the printhead would not fix the problem. The service center now replaces printers if printhead replacement does not correct the malfunction. Kodak analyzes all returned printheads and printers in an effort to understand the new failure modes and fix the problems in future products. We appreciate that you took the time to let us know of your experience and hope that you will give Kodak another chance in the future.

Posted By: Carl Sharak (6/24/2007)

Comment: I am concerned with print head failure. What can be done if the printer head fails?

Posted By: Sinjin Dixon-Warren (5/4/2007)

Comment: Chipworks has published a blog on the new Kodak printhead, see http://www.chipworks.com/blogs.aspx. We are currently analyzing the printhead layout and the detailed microfluidic-MEMS-CMOS process used to fabricate the printhead die.

Posted By: Consumer (3/1/2007)

Comment: This printer was touted as "having the cost of ink, by separating the ink tank from the printhead." With a combined 5-color tank, however, you must replace the entire set of 5 colors when any one of them goes dry! This is why I only use color inkjet printers that have separate color tanks. I save MORE than half the cost of ink this way! I was disappointed to see that this did not factor into your design! Also, if an inkjet printer is left unused for a few weeks or a month, the ink has a tendency to evaporate, and this has a tendency to cause the printhead to clog. When you replace the printhead with the cartridge, this is not as big a deal, but with the printhead as a separate (and probably more expensive) item, this is a very real concern. How are you addressing ink evaporation and printhead clogging with long term non-use in this new printer? I look forward to a furtue blog addreessing these issues!

Posted By: Jeff (2/27/2007)

Comment: Thanks for you blog on the new Kodak inkjet printing system. I will definitely consider the Kodak AIOs when I replace my 6 year old HP DeskJet 970. I think you were right to focus on cost of ink. The clear coating is something I have not heard of before. Does it help in making the prints more durable? I must admit that having the printhead be a part of the printer does give me pause. I hope you have solved any durability or clogging issues! One bad batch of ink might really ruin your warranty claim rate! (Of course, I know that Kodak is an excellent manufacturer--I don't think I ever got any bad film in my entire life.) Good luck to you in this very ambitious endeavor.

Posted By: Consumer (2/26/2007)

Comment: Now explain to us how this is different than HP's thermal inkjet printhead technology that isn't described as MEMS. This looks no different than HP and Canon. Perhaps another blog entry is in order?

Posted By: Dave (2/21/2007)

Comment: Great stuff! It makes me proud to work at Kodak, knowing we have people and teams of this quality. Your article should remind us all that great products don't just happen "in some other building" -- they happen right here among us. Thank you for working to deliver what very well may be the reason that Kodak survives in the post-film era!!