Epson V700 software problems

[LVA]

I am new to this forum and to film/photo scanning. I recently purchased an Epson Perfection V700 scanner and have read Mr. Oliver's excellent review and various questions and comments from the forum.
However, I have encountered a lot of problems with the Epson software. i have a new Windows 7 computer with 8 gigabytes of RAM and about 800 gigabytes of memory free. Yet I sometimes get messages saying: "Cannot write to file" after doing a scan. I have been scanning big files - 4800 dpi for negatives - but still.
But my biggest concern is that I get messages in midscan that the "scanner is warming up." It does pause for awhile and then restarts. The scans are good, but that stopping and starting concerns me.
I have tried VueScan and Silverfast, and have not had either problem. However, I have gotten the best scans with the Epson software. (That could very well be because I'm not using VueScan and Silverfast to their highest advantage.
I have called Epson's Tech Support operation, and they assure me that the "warming up" message is nothing to worry about. Still, I would appreciate anyone's suggestions and opinions.
In particular, my questions are: (1) Do the midscan warmups hurt the machine? (2) Would it be better to stick with the Epson software or go with one of the other programs?
Thanks for any feedback.
Lisa

[bez]

Welcome Lisa – your V700 should not be warming up in mid scan. Once a particular light source (film or reflective) is warm it should remain operable for several minutes, even without any scanning activity. Obviously if you change light source it will have to go through the warm-up process. Might be worth checking the lead from the lid to scanner body is fully connected (take it out and reinsert)
As for file writing, try using a different USB socket, preferably one on the back of the PC directly into the motherboard (usually at the top) and not through a hub or similar.
My V700 works fine with Windows 7, although W7 still seems a little bug-ridden – presumably you’re using the latest scanner drivers. Are you scanning directly from Epson Scan or through Photoshop, and saving as TIFF, or something else?
Personally I use Epson Scan as I find it the simplest to use – you may get slightly different results with Vuescan or Silverfast, although ultimately the quality is limited by the scanner’s capabilities, which is very good for the price.

[LVA]

Thanks for the quick reply, Bez. I had downloaded the latest scanner drivers and will check the lead from the lid to the scanner body. I have been connecting the scanner to the front of my computer because that USB port is the most accessible. I am scanning directly from Epson Scan and saving as a JPEG.

I just don't know what to do. I am wondering whether I should return the scanner and get another one. I am concerned about whether those glitches are ruining the hardware.


Welcome Lisa – your V700 should not be warming up in mid scan. Once a particular light source (film or reflective) is warm it should remain operable for several minutes, even without any scanning activity. Obviously if you change light source it will have to go through the warm-up process. Might be worth checking the lead from the lid to scanner body is fully connected (take it out and reinsert)
As for file writing, try using a different USB socket, preferably one on the back of the PC directly into the motherboard (usually at the top) and not through a hub or similar.
My V700 works fine with Windows 7, although W7 still seems a little bug-ridden – presumably you’re using the latest scanner drivers. Are you scanning directly from Epson Scan or through Photoshop, and saving as TIFF, or something else?
Personally I use Epson Scan as I find it the simplest to use – you may get slightly different results with Vuescan or Silverfast, although ultimately the quality is limited by the scanner’s capabilities, which is very good for the price.

[Costas L]

..... I am scanning directly from Epson Scan and saving as a JPEG. ....

Welcome to the forum Lisa

Just a thought, do you get the same problem if you save the file as a TIF. Also what processor do you have in the machine and what size negative are you scanning ?

[LVA]

Thank you for your reply, Costas. I have an HP Elite computer with an Intel i5-650 Processor (3.20GHz). I am saving files as JPEG simply because I am used to that format, but I will try TIFF. Do you think these glitches would hurt the scanner?

[Costas L]

If the light source is constantly heating up and cooling down that will shorten its life span. If the problems persist I would seek a replacement

Your PC is more than adequate for the job with that processor. I just wanted to be sure it was not too underpowered but the Intel i5-650 Processor (3.20GHz) is more than a match for what your doing.

Can you confirm that your running Epson Scan from Windows and not via an application like Photoshop. Also what size negatives are you having the problems with - 35mm 4 x 5 inch ?

[bez]

If it only does this warming up with Epson Scan there's something strange going on
On another point you may want to consider scanning colour film in 48 bit (black & white 16 bit) then saving as a TIFF. This extra bit depth gives you a greater tonal range to play with when subsequently editing the image in Photoshop etc.
You can reduce to 8 bit TIFF or jpeg once you’ve finished editing, to reduce the file size (jpegs are always only 8 bit)

[LVA]

Costas, I am running Epson Scan from Windows, not Photoshop. The problem has occurred with every scan I've made - both photos and 35mm negatives.

Epson says the scanner is not literally warming up, just taking a breather. Still, it bothers me that it does this. It definitely stops for 10 seconds or maybe more.

The really weird thing, though, is that I get no such messages (and a much faster scan time) with VueScan and Silverfast.

I have only had this scanner for a week. I've made probably 100-120 scans with the Epson software. Would that be enough to damage the scanner, do you think?

Bez, Thank you for the advice on TIFF. I will try that with VueScan. My scans with VueScan were pretty good, but maybe saving as a TIFF would improve them. If the scanning I've done has not done irreparable harm, I might keep the scanner and just work with in VueScan.

[Costas L]

Lisa - your not doing anything that is going to damage the scanner. The fact you do not get the messages with VueScan and Silverfast does not mean anything - those applications might simply not be reporting what is happening.

From what you said so far, comes down to checking the communication with the PC. During the pause, the scanner is transferring data to the PC and it cannot continue until that has completed and its buffer is empty. I sometimes get a pause with my scanners although not seen " a warm up message". Try the following

1) Plug the cable into a different USB port on the back of the machine. Make sure there is nothing in the adjacent port
2) If the problem persists, try a different USB cable.

You can leave the USB cable plugged into the PC without the scanner connected to it when not scanning.

[bez]

My V700 has never ‘taken a breather’ so I have no experience – does the light keep moving?
Have you got ICE turned on?
As Costas says it could be a delay in writing – a USB thing, or differences in the software.

[bez]

.. but maybe saving as a TIFF would improve them.

simply saving as TIFF won't make any difference – you will only see the benefit with subsequent editing, so unless you’re certain you’ll never work on the images, carry on with jpeg

[LVA]

Bez, I do have ICE turned on. I am not sure about the light, but I don't hear anything during this warming up midscan period, as opposed to when it is scanning and I hear a sort of low hum, like on a copier. But I noticed it took VueScan a lot less time to scan the same negatives.

[bez]

with ICE it does two (I think) slow complicated subtractive scans to remove blemishes, so that's quite normal. I never use it (or Dust Removal) and would strongly advise against unless you really need them. And it will be much faster without it!
If you're going to edit in Photoshop or similar I would also turn off Unsharp Mask - if not leave it on.

[lnbolch]

Bez, I do have ICE turned on. I am not sure about the light, but I don't hear anything during this warming up midscan period, as opposed to when it is scanning and I hear a sort of low hum, like on a copier. But I noticed it took VueScan a lot less time to scan the same negatives.

I do use ICE with my 4870 when doing overnight batch scans where quick scanning is of no consequence. I have used it on occasional single scans and noticed the "warming up" message. A lot of devices and software seem to generate cryptic messages occasionally, that make little sense except to the engineers who embedded them. A music production program suddenly popped up one of these and I did a screen shot of it. "Access violation at address 00403360 in module 'bbw.exe'. Read of address 2020201C at 00403360 ." I e-mailed it to the publisher and got a very nice e-mail of thanks in return. In a couple of days there was a patch and I never saw the message again. I have no idea what it meant, but his development team did.

I think it is probably there so you don't make a mistake thinking the scan has been completed, and remove the film. I just scanned a negative, once with ICE and once without. Even though I had just done a scan, the warming up message was there as soon as I hit the [Scan] button. Without ICE it "warmed up" for 24 seconds then completed the scan.

With ICE the initial warm-up was 56 seconds. After a bit more than a minute of scanning, it did another "warm up" which took just over a minute. The completed scan with ICE took 06:34 while the non-ice ICE took 01:37. Of course time will vary depending upon the resolution.

Programmers think in ways that mere mortals do not, and they may enjoy being obtuse for its own sake. I expect the programmer thought that there would be no point in giving a verbose description of what was really going on, since users are too dumb to understand anyway. ICE requires an infrared scan for dust and scratches, plus a scan for content. Somewhere along the line, the dust and scratches are subtracted from the content. I expect it does the first pass - either for scratches or content - then stores it. This is when it says it is "warming up" in mid-scan. It does the second scan, then spends the rest of the six and a half minutes reloading the information, processing the subtraction, applying the settings and saving the image.

Instead of saying "loading the DigitalICE module", "Initializing the DigitalICE module", "Scaling the DigitalICE feature to the resolution set in the interface", it says "Scanner is warming up".

Instead of saying "Doing the infrared scan for DigitalICE", it says "Scanning". Instead of saying "Processing infrared scan", "Storing infrared scan", "Loading content scanning module", "Initializing content scanning module", "Scaling the content scanning to the resolution set in the interface", "Aligning content scan to infrared scan", it says "Scanner is warming up". When it resumes it says "Scanning".

Certainly, it could describe making the content scan, retrieving the infrared scan, doing the subtraction, doing the dynamic range, colour balance, and any other histogram functions, unsharp mask, grain reduction, colour restoration, etc. as each individual step is accomplished, but all that takes processing time and really is not of any importance to the user, since it is all handled by the scanner and computer without any user input.

The "Warming up" message may well be too cryptic, but the above is far too verbose. In the end the scan is made regardless of the messages, and that is the only thing that counts.

As per wear and tear on the machine, Epson estimates 100,000 scans between failures. As a matter of comparison, the V500 shows 36,000 and the V300 only 10,000 average cycles. Regardless of warm-up cycles, I doubt that many people will ever wear one out to the point that it can no longer be refurbished. At 10,000 scans per year, that is ten years before maintenance. Few users will even hit the 100k mark - that is a LOT of scanning. I expect that 100k may be a very conservative estimate, and the scanner may well be capable of a lot more scans than that.

Enjoy the scanner and don't worry.

[LVA]

Thank you so much, Larry and Bez! It was the Digital ICE that created the problem. I tried scanning a photo without it and had no problem. And as you pointed out, much shorter scans.

I am also going to experiment with TIFF.

Thanks again. I am ecstatic that I can use this scanner without worrying if I am destroying it!