Customer Reviews

Epson Perfection 1250 Photo Flatbed Scanner

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

With all the hype about the image quality of Epson scanners, I was disappointed by the lack of quality that came from the one I just got. In short, there's dust under the glass, inside the scanner where it's unreachable, that I can see with the visible eye, and that is magnified in scanned images. Image quality would be excellent except there's dust specks all over the place on the images. Since consumers have complained of a similar dust problem with previous Epson scanners, I thought the company would fix it with this new model, but they didn't. In fact, quality control doesn't seem to have improved--there's even a fingerprint on the underside of the glass. I'm returning this one and getting a Cannon or HP instead.

I've enjoyed the superb quality of my Epson printers & wanted to give them a try for my next scanner. For the price, you can't beat the quality of the scan or the fact that it includes a 35mm film adapter. But I do have a couple of issues that are serious enough for me to write about.

1) Dust. There was enough dust under the glass on the first unit I received to warrant exchanging it. Now that I have the 2nd unit, there is still dust (Epson quality control is lacking), but not as much. It is not at all noticable when scanning at 72dpi (for uploading to the web), but is *very* noticable on-screen when scanning at 300dpi or greater for printing. Fortunately, it is barely noticable when printed. I've not yet decided if this is enough for me to send it back again.

2) The Smart Panel software interface pops up randomly, and it's VERY annoying. Even if I haven't scanned anything since booting up, it will just open for no reason. Closing it does no good, it will open again. Minimizing it does no good, it will keep refreshing. Epson referred me to their 3rd party software vendor, NewSoft, where I found the following in their FAQ:

"ESP2-0013 Why the Smart Panel interface will pop up randomly?

The problem was due to the scanner driver detect the wrong hardware code to launch Smart Panel. Our development team are working on the issue. Please visit NewSoft website for further release notice, if there's any new Patch to cover this issue."

Great, no end in sight.

If not for these two significant bugs that should be easily remedied with a little Quality Control, it would be an unbelievably wonderful unit for the price.

I've always preferred Epson scanners. At work we used the top of the line, so when I needed a home unit, I thought this would fill the bill. So far, I've been very happy with it. It's lighter weight and slower than the professional models I've used, but it also cost less! Set up was a snap and it worked from the get-go. I'm happy with the performance and quality of scans; all the scans I've made thus far are very good. The slide scan adapter also works well; too cumbersome to convert a tray's worth of slides quickly, but the quality is suprisingly good. The software is fine, but I've switched to the manual TWAIN mode and scan everything into Photoshop. This one's a keeper--After living with it for a while, I've upped my rating from 4 to 5 stars.

Contrary to the experience of another reviewer, dust was not at all a noteworthy problem in my unit. The vast majority of the dust specks I have scanned were above the glass and on the pictures scanned. Users must be careful to clear these areas of dust prior to scanning. I found a dust-removal (anti-static) spray helpful in this regard. The extremely few specks of dust under the glass were no more numerous than in a more expensive ScanJet I have used many times at my workplace.

The image quality in the scans is tremendous compared to other scanners I have seen. The texture of the photographic paper is clearly visible in higher resolutions, for example. The colors are also more true to the original image than in the other scanners I have experienced recently. The film-scanning attachment is a great deal at this price-point. I have used this unit quite a bit to scan photos and slides at resolutions up to 1200dpi, and I have been very pleased with the results.

I have always wanted to be able to scan slides, but never could justify the high price of doing so in the past. After reading the many negative reviews of this scanner I was hesitant to order, but did so anyway, having been so pleased with previous Epson products. I received my scanner a couple of days ago and immediately checked to see if there was any dust under the scan glass, there was none, the entire unit was clean as a "whistle". I agree the scan rate is sooooo slow, especially when scanning slides, but the end product is worth the wait. After running them through Adobe Photo Shop and using the Auto Adjust feature, they are as good as the day I originally took the pictures, and that was in 1958. I would highly recommend this low price scanner to anyone interested in scanning slides...

I researched multiple scanners in (this)price range before finally purchasing the 1250 photo. My primary use was scanning for the Web, so the 48-bit, 1200x2400 resolution fit perfectly (Web supports 72dpi - scan at hi-res then resize) into my plans. I've used both the 35mm neg adapter and the slide film adapter and they both perform flawlessly (although the negs seem to turn out better). The "dust" mentioned above is true although it is actually a fog under the glass that I've seen before in certain scanners. My guess is that it's a result of step taken (or not taken) in production. I sent Epson an email inquiring about it and they told me that I can take it in to an authorized retailer for repair. I thought of opening it up (negating my warrant) and cleaning it myself but I honestly cannot see it showing up in my scans. The neg/slide adapter pushes the scan down a couple of inches, missing the fog. The only re-touching I do in Photoshop is for minor dust specs that reside on the front of the glass. (...)...

All-in-all this is a great little scanner for the money - the fog is a minor detail. The final result is perfect for my medium.

I was looking for a reasonable priced Scanner for Photo's & Slides. I found the Epson Perfection 1250 Photo/Slide scanner to be what I was looking for. After reading the reviews I was a little hesitant because it said it was very complex to operate.
I ordered this scanner because it was reasonably priced and had what I required.
Upon receiving the Scanner I was totally impressed with the ability to copy 25 year old slides very well. The Epson Smart Panel makes it very easy to operate. I would highly recommend this scanner to everyone.
Also copies photos very nicely and fairly fast.
The only problem I had was loading the software for the scanner. This was caused by Norton 2002. Once I disabled the Norton 2002 software it was a breeze.
Try it you will like it.

This is an incredible scanner, I am using it to make textures for 3D characters and 3D models for 3D Studio Max, with that in mind I was looking for a scanner that was high quality and inexpensive on the wallet (I am a student after all). To make textures for 3D characters you need a good scanner, needless to say, this scanner done the job incredibly. To demonstrate, I scanned in a picture of a face from a magazine, the scan came out so clear you could see the pores and facial skin texture. If you are a high end user -- 3D artist, texturer then don't shy away from this scanner. It's incredible, plus you will still have enough money left over to buy a 3D graphic book!

I had read many good reviews of Epson Perfection models, so when the 1250 Photo came on the market I decided to give it a try. Installation was smooth on my PC (930 MHz, 128 Mbyte PIII) and the documentation was clear. Only problem was, there were horrible vertical color streaks over about 2/3 of the scan. The remaining 1/3 looked fine. I double checked all the settings and tried scanning various documents, making sure the document was flat, the glass was clean, etc. always with the same result. In a word, horrible.

So I returned the unit for a replacement. (Thank you Amazon for making the return process so painless). Thanks to Amazon, in less than a week, I had a new unit on my desk. Again, installation went smoothly and I looked forward to using my scanner. But again, horrible color stripes, this time over 1/3 of the scan (at least there was some improvement). And this time, the scan head made a terrible noise during portions of the scan. I couldn't believe it! I'm an engineer, so I know something about hardware and software. I always check for system incompatibilities or driver problems first, and this time I could find none. Apparently, Epson is having some quality control problems. So I'm giving up at this point and looking for another scanner.

The first Epson 1250 I purchased was a disaster. There were streaks inside of the glass. The scan head would lock up. When I was able to complete scans, the results were less than favorable. Photos scanned would have a dark blue hue and text scanned would have a dark gray hue. I tried various settings and reloading all of the software. Customer support was closed. My second Epson 1250 was a disappointment from the moment I opened the box. The first thing I noticed about the unit was the finger prints inside of the glass. Plus there were streaks and a couple of hairs thrown in for good measure. I tried it anyway (with the software from the first scanner), just to see if I would have the same troubles I had with the first unit. It scanned without a hitch, except for the extras inside of the unit. I just returned this one to [Amazon.com] today. When I get my refund, I guess I'll look at a Canon or maybe an HP. I've always heard good things about Epson. I never had any second thoughts about ordering an Epson product. Now, with the lack of quality control and the lack of an 800 number for customer support and the lack of 24/7 support, I seriously doubt I will ever purchase any Epson product again, nor will I recommend Epson to any of my customers. It's a shame, because I'm looking for a photo quality printer also.