Epson Perfection 1670

After months of struggle with my Manager and IT department, I was finally allowed to upgrade my standard company PC, to a faster model with more memory, better processor, and larger hard drive capacity. Due to this, I also upgraded my Operating System to Windows XP, from Windows NT4 and as a result my current scanner, a HP1200s was made redundant as it was not compatible with Windows XP, nor could a driver update be found by Hewlett Packard to allow it to run. Therefore I had free reign to purchase a new scanner using the company's purchasing department.

*Choosing a Scanner*

To ensure approval by my manager alone and without needing IT approval, I needed to spend below GBP100.00 (excluding VAT) on the new scanner, so I started my search on Dabs.com, an online company selling technological products.

I wanted a brand I was familiar with, so selected Epson and a price bracket up to the GBP100, in order to compare their products, and was given a list of two.

1. EPSON Perfection 1670
2. EPSON Perfection 1670 Photo

The only difference between the two was GBP10.00 in price, and the Photo option had the capability to scan film negatives.

I had a brief look at other brands of Scanner, such as Kodak, Minolta, Mustek and Canon, but the products that looked favourable to me were either out of stock or over the price bracket, and I really wanted something that could be delivered immediately.

So I decided to choose the EPSON Perfection 1670 Photo.

*Product Description*

The EPSON Perfection is a very modern, classy looking scanner. Coloured in two shades of grey, it makes the perfect accessory to my new black Dell PC.

The scanners dimensions are as follows -

Length - 41.9cm
Height - 8.6cm
Width - 27.5cm
Weight - 3kg

The scanner itself is smaller than my current HP model, and it's a lighter, making it easy to move if need be.

The scanner is able to cope with media sizes of 216 x 297mm, and has max resolution of 1600dpi x 3200dpi (DPI = dots per inch. This is a measure of resolution for equipment such as printers and scanners. Basically the higher the DPI, the better the quality.)

The connection to the PC is also a high-speed USB (A connection that simplifies the addition of new peripherals (e.g. Scanners/Printers) to your PC without the need to re-start the PC.)

This scanner also supports the following media types, film, slides, transparencies and plain paper, and is compatible with the following operating systems; Apple MacOS 8.6 or later, Apple MacOS X 10.2 or later, Apple MacOS 9.2.2, Micro Soft Windows 2000/XP/ME and 2000.

*Product Packaging*

Delivery through dabs.com was quick and simple, and I received the product 3 working days after ordering. The product did require a signature upon acceptance.

The packaging itself was bold and bright, with purple being a dominant colour of the lettering. Displayed across the packaging were a photo of the scanner and a brief description of its functions.

Inside the scanner was well packed, and was surrounded by polystyrene packaging, making it very secure.

Inside the box, you received the following:

Perfection 1670 Photo Scanner
Power Cord and AC Adapter
USB Cable
Film Holder
CD Rom with EPSON Scan Driver, software and electronic manuals
Paper instructions

The paper instructions also detail the safety instructions of the unit, which should be read carefully when installing any new equipment.

*Installation*

This must be the easiest scanner installation I've ever undertaken. The EPSON CD Rom containing the software must be installed before the scanner can be connected, and according to the manufacturer, this installation may take several minutes.

You are asked however to close all open programs, and turn of any virus protection programs while the install is running.

The CD should start automatically, if it doesn't then access My Computer on the desktop of your computer, locate the file called EPSON (This should be obvious) and double click.

You are first asked to read and accept the license agreement before proceeding, if you don't accept the install program will close. Once accepted you are redirected to an install screen where you simply need to click install.

The majority of the install will run automatically, however you will be asked occasionally to click Next, or Install if a new program starts. The CD Rom will install the Epson scanner software, as well as Adobe Acrobat and the online reference guides on to your PC.

*Connection*

After the scanner software is installed its time to connect the scanner itself. Again this was relatively simple and the guide notes were very easy to read and understand.

The guide details the full connection process, which follows:

1. Unlock the transportation lock on the base of the unit
2. Remove all security stickers
3. Connect the cable for the transparency unit
4. Connect the power cord and AC adapter
5. Connect the USB cable to your PC
6. Turn on the scanner - when the light at the front of the unit stops flashing the scanner is ready to use (this takes around 2 minutes on the first occasion, and roughly 30 seconds thereafter)

The whole connection and installation process for me, probably took around 15 minutes.

*Scanning a document*

In order to scan a document on my previous machine, I had to run the scanner software first before activating the scanner. The EPSON Perfection is different. Located at the front of the unit are three buttons, these enable you to scan in three different formats

1. Scan and Save to your hard drive
2. Scan direct to E-mail
3. Scan to printer

When you select Scan and Save the software automatically runs, as does the scanning process. When this is complete (60 seconds on average) the software asks if you wish to save your document, or scan another.

The Scan direct to E-mail button, does just that. The document is scanned, and dependent on your e-mail software launches a new e-mail and inserts the scanned document.

The Scan to Printer button also does as it says, and basically acts as a photocopier, scanning your document and printing it.

Since I received the scanner, I've had the opportunity to scan several documents, one being a photo and the other an invoice, and the quality has amazed me. Each time the standard of the scan has far exceeded that of my last scanner, and is always very clear and detailed. With respect to the photo scan I could choose between colour or a black and white scan, and both were scanned with very good results.

*Transparency unit*

The EPSON Perfection 1670 Photo has a built in transparency unit (TPU), which enables the user to scan film strips or slides. Within the packaging you would have received a film holder, which needs to go beneath the standard reflective document mat, on the inside cover of the scanner. The reflective document can be replaced after enabling the scanner to be used as standard.

Full details are provided on how to scan filmstrips using the film holder, but as of yet I have not tried this functionality but will update my review when I have done so.

*Price and availability*

I order by EPSON Perfection 1670 Photo scanner from Dabs.com, who were offering it for GBP67.98 (GBP57.86 excluding VAT), and at the time had 8 units in stock. I have just re-checked the website, and although the price has not changed, they now have availability of 26 units.

This particular model is also available from the following companies, and for the following prices:

Savastore.com - GBP62.28 (Including VAT)
Simply Computers - GBP74.99 (Including VAT)
Argos - GBP69.99 (Including VAT) - Catalogue price states GBP89.99, this is a special offer.

I should also mention that when purchasing via dabs.com the scanner comes with a years warranty.

*Dabs.com*

If you are interested in purchasing this scanner from Dabs.com, the relevant details are:

Manufacturer code: B11B162131CS
Quick Linx code: 2Q9RWS
Price: GBP67.98 (Including VAT)

*Any problems?*

The only downside that I have recently noticed, is that if the software application is left inactive on your PC for a certain length of time (generally a couple of hours), that this can cause the program to freeze requiring a manual shut down. This then results in the program failing to restart as it wasn't shut down correctly, so in order to re-use the scanner you will either need to selet the scanner option from the start menu (rather than using the buttons on the scanner direct) or restart your PC before the software can be used again.

*Personal opinion?*

Well, after returning my faithful HP1200s scanner to my IT department, I was keen to find a replacement that was just as good, if not better. To my pleasant surprise the EPSON Perfection 1670 Photo is just that. The price of the scanner is extremely good, the quality of the scans amazing, and the installation process very simple.

I really like the ability to scan documents direct to e-mail, as this is what I would mainly be using the scanner for, so personally I find this very beneficial. I also like the option of being able to scan film slides, which although I've yet to use, I'm sure would come in very useful for personal reasons.

I scan a fair amount of documents during my working work, mainly sending invoices out to customers, scanning documents for other members of my department, or scanning documents for our auditors, and I think this scanner is going to be a great asset to my role.Thank you for reading

Kels x