Customer Reviews

Epson Perfection 1650 Flatbed Scanner

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I really like this machine.... It warms up in less than 20 seconds and prescans in about 5 seconds -- so it doesn't take long to get started. The Epson TWAIN 5.51A software offers 10 choices of image type: Color Photo (48-bit), Color Photo, Color Document, Black and White Photo (16 bit),Black and White Photo, Black and White Document, Illustration, Text/Line Art, Text (Background Removal) and Copy and Fax. One can preview the prescanned image in each by simply selecting each in the dropdown menu. It is simple to preselect the area to be scanned, and the file size under each image type shows on the "target" line. If the file size is too large (or you can handle a larger than indicated file size), you can adjust the DPI in the following increments: 50, 72, 96, 150, 200, 240, 266, 300, 350, 360, 400, 600, 720, 800, 1200, 1600, 3200, 9600, and 12,800 dpi. (Again, these options are all drop-down so they don't clutter the interface.) Changing this option dynamically alters the "target" preview file size. --- Scanning is a one-click process, and when finished one is taken from the TWAIN to a preview screen where one can rename the scanned file, and either scan more documents or exit into a third screen where one can (if saving to a drive) select the file path, and type of image file format: PCX, TIF, BMP, JPEG or PCT. If you save to JPEG you can select the image quality (high, medium, or low). This is my first scanner, but I can't think how it could be easier to use. I am still exploring the more esoteric features (aka bells-n-whistles), but the operation is simple and the quality of the images is fantastic. Between this scanner and my Paint Shop Pro software, I've been able to do anything I can imagine in the way of imaging. I'm not surprised at the high rankings that this machine has earned in a number of publications.

This scanner along with it's TWAIN driver works for those who know nothing about scanning, as well as those searching for a more customizable importing option. The driver allows adjustment of nearly every facet of the medium being scanned. Photoshop Elements (...) is bundled with the scanner's software, but if you are planning on doing any advanced photo editing, I would suggest purchasing the full version of Photoshop. However, for simple projects and web use, what it comes with is sufficient (you cannot save photos in CMYK with Elements).

Software included: Epson TWAIN driver, Epson Smart Panel, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, Epson Software Film Factory Lite (I only installed the driver- the rest can be considered fluff if you don't want to create photo albums or something), plus a separate CD with Photoshop Elements.

I was looking for a low-cost decent-quality scanner to replace the two-year-old Umax Astra 1200s that I was very frustrated with (the quality of the scans was OK, or so I thought, but every time I tried to scan anything over 600 dpi the scanner software and Photoshop would quit, even after numerous clean reinstallations). After reading many reviews of many different products both here and on computer Web sites I decided that this one sounded like the best bet for the very reasonable price. (I'm spending the big money on a Nikon slide scanner, but that's another story.) I use the flatbed scanner in my desktop publishing business, mostly for small grayscale photos and line art, and for personal use as well (arcane projects, postcards, etc.). I had some 600-dpi scans of old movie posters (with lots of vibrant color and high contrast) I had made on the Umax from some very high-quality coffee-table type books. Just for comparison I re-scanned some of the same images on the Epson 1650. To put it bluntly, the Epson scans blew the Umax out of the water. The color fidelity and saturation of the Epson is greatly improved over the Umax scans, particularly in the reds, yellows, and fleshtones. The overall sharpness is also much improved, even when utilizing the automatic de-screening feature. Though the Umax scans were also de-screened, when I put them side-by-side in Photoshop at the same resolution and magnification, the process dot pattern of the originals is much less visible in the Epson scans than in the Umax scans, even with the increased sharpness. Very impressive. Overall brightness and contrast of the Epson scans is also better. In short, in no area were the Umax scans superior. I am very pleased. The prints off my Epson Stylus Color 880 (another terrific, inexpensive macine that also influenced me to buy this scanner) look fabulous, especially when printed on Epson photo gloss paper. (Printing to, for example, Xerox brand ink jet glossy photo paper still yields a print which would look great without anything to compare it to. However, placed side-by-side with the original, a print on the Xerox paper has a noticeable magenta cast and undersaturated blues and cyans while the Epson print is virtually dead-on.) A perfectionist with an exceptional eye may be able to spot some technical flaws with the scans produced by this machine (I can't and I'm pretty picky myself), but then they should be spending [lots of money] for a professional-level scanner if that's their wont. And yes the OCR bundle leaves a lot to be desired, but anyone doing lots of OCRing should just spring for OmniPage anyway. For this kind of money, the scans produced by this little box are terrific; even without color management and with minimal Photoshop tweaking they come off the printer extremely close to the originals. What else can you ask? My only caveat to a buyer is to make sure to read the installation instructions carefully and not interrupt the relatively long and unnecessarily confusing installation process. I'm a reasonably proficient (12+year) professional Mac user used to one-click installations and I somehow interrupted the installation before it was done. The scanner was unusable until I did an uninstall, reread the instructions carefully, and did a clean reinstall. After that the scanner software has worked flawlessly (it even dumped a Photoshop plug-in into the correct folder for me!) and it allows me to calculate reduction/magnification percentages online (hurray!), something even Umax's cheesy "professional" mode didn't allow. Highly recommended!

I returned two Epson 1250's, figuring anything by Epson couldn't be lousy (I have owned many Epson printers over the years...all were great). Then I bought the 1650. I found only one difference - no dust under the glass, Otherwise, it was the twin brother of the 1250. Poor color match, slow & noisy, awful software. Called Epson more than once and nothing improved. My 4th scanner was a Canon N670U. I've had it for a month now and it has been excellent. Perfect color and much faster than the Epsons.

There is much to like about the Epson Perfection 1650 scanner. What sets this one apart from others I have used is the truly excellent supporting software that is included. You get your choice of scanning applications, including some one-button jobs that you might find entertaining. YOU will want to ease into manual mode, called Epson Twain, where you get exquisite control of all the scanner settings, with very fine adjustments possible. Figure it all out, experiment with it, and get very high quality scans, just the way you want them, with little or no Photoshop tweaking necessary.

Native resolution is said to be 1600 dpi, but in reality the sharpness maxes out at 800 dpi, apparently limited by the optical system. Best results are at submultiples of 1600. Going from 800 dpi to 1600 dpi gets you a file four times the size, with no additional detail. For most scanning, this is not a problem. If you are a philatelist scanning itty bitty stamps, you need a better scanner.

I bought the accessory 4x5 transparency unit, as I shoot some photos in that format. Strangely, the cosmetics of the transparency unit (beige) do not match the scanner (two-tone grey.) There are holders for a 35mm strip, and for 120 and 4x5 formats. Unfortunately, there was no 35mm mounted slide holder. You just lay them on the glass. Scans from film are quite good, but limited in resolution. They look soft compared to a dedicated film scanner, but then, there is a huge difference in the price.

OCR software is included. I gave it a really unfair test, scanning a fuzzy, distorted printout from a library microfilm reader. Astonishingly, it read every word correctly, except for one drop cap at the beginning of a paragraph.

This scanner is an excellent value in its price range, with the best software support I have seen to date.

I'm a graphic designer, and I did a lot of research, including "professional" sources such as photography mags & websites, before choosing the Epson 1650. I've found this scanner disappointing -- it consistently clips the shadows and highlights so that very dark areas scan to muddy gray while the brightest areas come out about 25% darker. Tweaking the Twain settings to expand the range pulls more black into the shadows but still misses the c,m & y and vice versa on highlights. So on color scans, there is a lack of richness at both ends. I also use the scanner for OCR, and the bundled OCR software is horrible.

From the time I received my shipment from Amazon to the time I was printing my first scanned photo was 13 minutes. That alone is enough to recommend this scanner.

After using it for a few days I found it to be an amazing device, delivering high quality scans with a minimum of fuss. The resolution is excellent and the color reproduction is very, very good. You will notice that it can scan a touch little lighter than the original. If that happens to be a problem it is easily corrected, either at scan time or by using a photo editting package.

The only limitation I see in this machine is the speed. I have a 1.2Ghz PC with 1GB of RAM. Total scan time for an 8x10 photo is about 25 seconds. If you are a professional scanning lots of images each day you should spend some more money. But if you scan only a few pictures a day then the speed is not an issue.

This is a perfect scanner for the home user. The software is simple
to use, you have a choice between automatic scanning and manually
scanning.

However, I was disappointed with the descreen feature (which
doesn't seem to work) and Epson seems to have forgotten the
option to scan from newspaper or magazine -> and yes, this
does make a difference :) if you're specifically looking
for these options.

But if you're looking for a fast, quality scan from photo
quality or original prints, whether you're output is a laser
printer, inkjet or a website, this is a great machine.

Bought this scanner last week, and installed it on a Compaq laptop with Windows XP Professional. Downloaded the TWAIN driver for XP and the Scan to email patch for XP from Epson's website before it arrived. When it got here, the installation was a snap (with one minor glitch), and everything worked from minute one.

The minor glitch with the installation happened when I first inserted the CD. The installation screen came up that allows you to select what applications to install. The first product installed fine, but the 2nd one cause the machine to lock up while displaying a "installation in progress... please wait" message for about 15 minutes. Finally had to reboot. When the machine came back, I inserted the CD again, then hit exit. I just went to each application's directory on the CD and double-clicked on the setup files. Worked fine from then on. Maybe Epson needs a little work on their installation processes...

As far as the scanner itself, I'm very impressed with its quality. A little noisy during a scan, but so what? It's not like you're going to be scanning 24 hours a day!!!

Anyway, it works well, and does great scans for the money. What more could you want?

This is a very good scanner, with some bad support. First off, the software that comes with it does not work with Windows XP. The support for the software is from some third party company, not Epson, and they seemed to be mentally challenged! The actual driver for the scanner, which is from Epson, works fine. So, I had to use one of my picture viewing programs to get the scanner to work. Once I did, and you may find this hard to believe, I found the scanner scans TOO GOOD! It picks up DUST! That being said, the quality of the scans are incredible! I am sure if you do have Windows XP, you will rate this scanner 5 Stars. If you have Windows XP, be prepared for a headache. Now that I got the scanner working, I do recommend it.