No other vendor prices the inks for its cheaper MFPs as low as Kodak does. Black pages from the 335-page low-capacity black cartridge (priced at $13) cost 3.9 cents per page; the 670-page XL cartridge ($20) reduces that figure to just 3 cents per page. Color costs are equally appealing. The regular $20 cartridge lasts for 275 pages or 7.3 cents per page (2.43 cents per page per color) and that drops to 6.5 cents per page with the 550-page XL cartridge ($36). Bear in mind that this is a unified, tricolor cartridge; if you don't use the colors evenly, color cost per page can be higher. Still a four-color page for as little as 9.5 cents per page is a major attraction.

Aside from the software glitch, the Hero 3.1 appears to be quite a bargain for a color inkjet MFP. But it still pays to compare it to similar rivals such as the and the .