The Bottom Line
This is an excellent choice for anyone -- individual or small business -- who needs to work with transparencies. An strong software bundle adds to the versatility of this sturdy device. It is simple to use, while providing access under the hood for professionals. A good value.
Pros
- Effortless set-up; wizards make it easy to get started
- Good bundling of software
- Third party software is installed 'a la carte' -- components can be installed or removed separately.
- Plays well with other third-party software
- Windows/Mac compatible
Cons
- Scanning slides and/or film can produce long waiting periods.
- Takes up more desktop space than an all-in-one
Description
- Flatbed color image scanner. ADF (automatic document feeder) available separately.
- Film holders for 35mm negatives, slides and 2.25-inch transparencies
- Up to 4800 x 9600 dpi resolution; 12,800 x 12,800 dpi with software interpolation
- Hardware Bit Depth: 48-bits per pixel (color 16-bits per pixel (greyscale)_z_printscan_z_);
- Recognition Software: Presto BizCard, ABBYY FineReader Sprint Plus OCR
- Photo Software: Adobe Photoshop Elements, Digital ICE, Epson Easy Photo Fix
- USB 2.0
- Size: 10.71 x 18.7 x: 4.5 inches
- Weight: 9.1 pounds
- One year limited warranty in the U.S. and Canada
Guide Review - Epson Perfection 4490 Photo Scanner
Often, 'all-in-ones' are really 'most-in-ones.' Not only are there models that don't have standalone faxing, but the majority won't scan transparencies. That's when you want a specialist like this unit. It's hearty enough for professional use, and allows as much tweaking as you need. Yet it's truly easy to use -- most operations are performed by simply placing your documents or negatives correctly on the flatbed, and the combination of hardware and software auto-detection takes care of the rest. It took under an hour to go from unboxing the unit to getting quality individual prints from old film negatives -- without going near the manual.
The software it comes with can all be accessed from a single interface (called "Epson Scan"). Click on the "Scan" icon and it will automatically recognize the type of media you're trying to scan and do it all for you. You can also get rid of film scratches, recognize business cards (and export the data to software or PDAs), and of course do OCR (optical character recognition).
This is a solid piece of equipment at a good price for someone who needs more scanning power than the standard all-in-one provides.
