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Technology Bytes
by Francine Brokaw
Epson Perfection 2480 Photo Limited Edition Scanner
Do you want to organize your photos and business cards? Are you tired of scanning one photo at a time? This scanner is the answer to your dreams. With a self feeder you can stack up to 24 photos, click a button on your mouse and leave. The scanner automatically takes in one photo at a time, scans it, ejects it and goes onto the next one. It’s just that easy. And with the user-friendly software you can easily restore faded photos and alter your pictures. The photo feeder can handle photographs up to 4” x 6” without any problems. Really old or special photographs should not be sent through the feeder though. They should always be scanned manually, just in case something should go wrong. After all, it’s only a machine. I did have a slight problem with some of the very small photos, but otherwise this little unit worked like a charm.
With the slides and negatives attachment (which is just a matter of placing the transparency adaptor in the proper position) the scanner will scan them quickly and easily. You select either the first three frames or the last three frames on the 35 mm film strip, place the strip into the proper position on the attachment and let the unit do its job. It scans up to three frames at a time and two slides at a time. When it has scanned your transparencies, the software lets you adjust the color or fix the photo. When you’re finished with the transparency adaptor, it stores inside the lid of the scanner so it will be handy for the next time you need it.
If you find you have a stack of business cards and are always shuffling through them to find the one you need, this scanner will help organize them. As with the photos, just stack the cards, place them in the feeder and the scanner does the rest. With the software you can easily organize all your business cards. No more sloppy stacks or piles taking up room in your drawers.
Using Hi-Speed USB 2.0, this is a fast little unit. If you’re not using Hi-Speed USB 2.0 your time will be about twice as long, however it’s still quite a fast unit. With clarity, details of your pictures will look wonderful. The scanner has 2400 x 4800 dpi resolution, so don’t worry about enlarging your favorite photo.
The software included with this scanner includes Epson Scan with Epson Easy Photo Fix, Epson Smart Panel, NewSoft Presto BizCard, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, and ABBYY FineReader Sprint OCR. With the Epson Easy Photo Fix Technology, it takes only one click to fix faded photos. You’ll be surprised at the results.
There are several modes to use on the scanner - Full-Auto Mode, Home Mode and Professional Mode. The Home Mode has preset controls. It takes the questions out of scanning documents and photos. There are basic settings to select. The Professional Mode gives the user full control of all aspects of scanning. Once you get used to scanning, you’ll want to use this mode to adjust your photos to your specific specifications. All of the options are available on the screen and easy to understand and select. Select the Full-Auto Mode when you are scanning stacks of photos.
The Scanner can be accessed from your desktop or from the programs group. If you have a graphics program already installed you can access the scanner’s driver through that program as well.
This little unit is a dream come true for people who want to replace their big clunky photo albums with digital ones. If you have a closet full of albums and never get them down to flip through your old photos, this will let you turn them into digital photo albums without you having to scan each photo individually. Place your stacked photos into the feeder, start the scanner, go get a cup of coffee or make that phone call, come back and start a new stack of photos. You don’t have to be present to scan your pictures.
The Epson Perfection 2480 Photo Limited Edition works with Windows and with Macintosh computers. Check the system requirements to make sure your computer meets the compatibility requirements. The unit measures approximately 10.6” wide, 4” high and 16.5” deep and weighs 7 pounds. If you do not have the need for the photo/card feeder, you can purchase the Epson Perfection 2480 Photo without the feeder.
The Epson Perfection 2480 Photo Limited Edition is a quality scanner that does a multitude of tasks. You can’t go wrong with this little work horse.
© 2005 Francine Brokaw
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