Wow. I can’t believe you can still buy standalone scanners. It’s not a product category I’d expect would be growing too quickly, considering the proliferation of multi-function devices these days. I guess it’s probably just for those high-end users who need quality results, really.
So, if you’re one of those people, Epson’s latest scanner, the V300, sounds like a pretty good deal. It uses LEDs to scan, which not only has environmental benefits (like no mercury, less heat, less energy consumption), but means there’s no time stuffing around waiting for the lamp to heat up.
The V300 scans up to 4800dpi (insanely detailed) with 48-bit colour depth, and will scan an image in as little as 16 seconds. It’ll scan 35mm film as well, six frames at a time (or four 35mm mounted slides) too, which is quicker than scanning print after print after print.
RRP is $249, if you’re interested, and it works with both Windows and Macs. It’s available… Now!
Epson Perfection™ V300 Photo scanner: energy efficient, affordable and fast
Sydney 14 October 2008: Epson has released its latest energy efficient home photo scanner, the Epson Perfection V300 Photo with LED (Light Emitting Diode) technology.The Epson Perfection V300 Photo features an array of LEDs as its light source instead of the commonly used cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL). LEDs have lower operating power consumption, less heat output and are mercury-free, contributing to Epson’s goal of reducing the environmental impact of its products.
LEDs also make the V300 Photo faster to use as there is virtually no warm up time required before scanning commences, unlike CCFL scanners.
Like all Epson scanners the core technology in the V300 Photo is designed to produce the best quality scans quickly and easily. The built in matrix charge-coupled device (CCD) and micro lens technology is capable of scanning up to 4800 dpi optical resolution with 48 bit colour depth.
By incorporating a micro lens on every CCD chip more light is captured during the scanning process creating superior image reproduction. Scanning is then taken to the next level with 12 lines of CCD with micro lenses producing quality scans at super-fast speeds in as little as 16 seconds*.
With an optical density of 3.2 Dmax, the V300 Photo captures a wide range of tonal colours ensuring the greatest level of detail in both highlight and shadow areas in each scan.
The V300 Photo has an integrated transparency unit and versatile film holder delivering flexibility and power with the ability to scan six frames of 35mm filmstrip and four 35mm mounted slides.The V300 Photo has four single push buttons for one touch scanning. The buttons can be customised and assigned to four pre-defined and 10 custom jobs using Epson Event Manager software. As default these buttons are set to start, copy, scan to email and scan to pdf for easy operations.
For ease of use on a busy desktop or table the V300 Photo has an innovative two way lid (portrait or landscape) giving users the ability to place the scanner anywhere on the desk while still having full and easy access. The lid is also extendable and opens a full 180 degrees to accommodate large documents and items up to 25 mm thick.
The V300 Photo comes with the latest Epson Scan 3.5 software, which can be used to automatically restore colour to faded photos and remove dust when scanning, eliminating the need for detailed editing of images after scanning.Epson Scan can also be used either as a TWAIN driver within programs such as Adobe Photoshop, or as a standalone program to manage the scanner. It has four pre-set modes – Full Auto, Home, Office and Professional – to meet the needs of home users all the way through to professional users.
Bundled software includes Arcsoft Media Impression, a comprehensive media management tool that allows users to easily edit, enhance and retouch photos with creative effects, and effortlessly attach scanned images to emails.Also included is ABBYY Fine Reader Sprint, an easy to use tool based on powerful ABBYY technologies allowing users to convert scanned documents into editable formats, such as Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel, or to create searchable PDFs dramatically improving the ability to search – and successfully locate – information contained in scanned and stored documents.
The V300 Photo has USB2.0 connectivity and is compatible with Windows (2000 Professional, XP and Vista) and Mac (OSX 10.3.9 or later).
The Epson Perfection V300 Photo scanner is RRP $249 including GST and is available now through consumer electronics retailers, computer superstores, and office superstores.
* For further information and specifications see www.epson.com.au
[Epson]