Epson Perfection V39 Color Photo & Document Scanner with Scan-To-Cloud & 4800 Optical Resolution, Black

I needed something inexpensive to scan artwork (42 illustrations) for an illustrated gamebook I am self-publishing and going to a local business would have costed me 600 dollars. For 1/6th of the price, this was an obvious choice. I was a little nervous because several of the reviews here made the device seem like unusable garbage, but I can honestly say, I have no idea what they are complaining about. The device is super easy to use. It's as close to "plug 'n play" as you can get with a device like this. If people are confused about this device, this is user error--not the scanner's. I'm super happy with the output images and really could not have asked for more. The only thing I am not a fan of is the auto-crop feature which I haven't really looked into how to turn off. Sometimes it takes a little bit too much off of the sides of my artwork and I have to reposition it and re-scan to get a better cropped image. All in all, though, the scanner is more than I expected.

Despite all the bad reviews I took a chance.I wanted to scan mostly 4x6 photo prints to upload to an on-line site to make a photo book.Figured if it worked and lasted long enough to do 300 pictures, it would pay for itself compared to the cost of getting the scanning done outside.My level of computer savvy is I need a Dummies book to get anything done.So far I have done about 100 scans at 600-which is what the on-line site uses,on my windows 10 computer.Quick and easy to save and upload.I have experienced zero of any of the problems reported by others and am at a loss to understand some of the concerns.1.Software.There was no disk included.Simple link to their web site.Download and install the software.Puts an icon on the desktop.Click on it and operate the unit.Works perfectly with my new windows 10 .Didn't try any of the, to me "fancy" alternate modes,like Professional or scan multiple pages to a single PDF or "stitching",so can't speak to any of that. I just set the resolution and get a nice JPEG digital image.Of course you can't do multiple scans at the highest resolution.Takes too much space on the hard drive.Seems to me some of the negative people may have unrealistically expected high end professional level performance,which you can only get from units at much higher price points.2.Buttons.Don't get this concern.Didn't try them-why would you want to? Scan and save to my computer, so you have to turn it on.Also turns on the scanner.Easy to click on the icon.Used basic screen.Just click on "start scan".3.Borders.The manual that downloads with the software tells you about the minimal edge reduction.Wasn't a problem for me.There are two marks on the lower right hand corner.I just put the photo down by the marks,less than 1/4 inch from the edges.Doesn't have to be exactly square or straight.Program scans it perfectly for me.4.Smudges.People are amazing.Yes if you put your fingers on the glass that isn't good.Exactly like any other scanner.I just put the photo down and move it around by touching the photo. I use a soft plastic tooth pick to lift the photo up a bit off the glass, so I can remove it without touching the glass.Haven't had any problems, nor had to wipe the glass so far.5.Noise.Another concern I don't get.Some people must have very tender ears.The first pass is about 5% louder than my Brother MFC-8660DW, 3 in 1 printer-copier-scanner.Then you get a thumbnail of the scan to decide if you like it.Then the second pass is the same sound as the Brother. All scanners make a noise,don't they?6.Plug.I don't know the technical name but the mini USB end of the 4' cable that plugs into the unit is not exactly robust.The comments alerted me to a possible problem so I plugged it in and put a little duct tape around it and I leave it alone.Just use the other end which is a normal USB, to plug in and out of my desktop.Mostly I leave it plugged in all the time and it automatically turns on when I boot up my computer and off when I log out.6.Time. It takes me 30 seconds to scan a 4x6 photo-from the time I click on start scan until the process is complete.7.Saving.This is another concern I don't get.Probably because I am mostly clueless about computers.When a scan is complete a window pops up automatically, New Scanner under Pictures.The scan is placed there and saved by itself.I drag it to my desktop.The on-line site sees it there when I click on add photos.Drag and upload.Then I make a new folder in Pictures for that book, and drag it off the desktop into the folder.I am sure there are better ways but that works for me.8.Lid. It was heavy enough for me to flatted slightly curled photos.The hinges are a light plastic so I try and be careful.It stands upright while I place another photo.The manual says it is removable to scan bigger items but I haven't tried anything except scanning photos as big as 8x11.Conclusion:I couldn't be happier so far.The unit does exactly what I hoped for at what I consider a bargain price.

I decided it was time to go through the old photo albums and digitize them. I had a nice Canon wireless scanner that was fine, quick, and made things easy, insert the photo and the rollers pulled it though and scanned. But after about 30 or 45 minutes it started having issues keeping things pulling STRAIGHT. So suddenly one side would grab better and it would skew some during the scan, pulling it crooked then half way though. Nothing worked to fix it, so I figured that one was now just a receipt scanner, and I needed a real one again for photos.This one was one of the top results in my google searches, so I figured I'd give it a try. I know the only difference between this and the one just below it was the software it came with. and I was not sure what I'd use it for long term, so I opted for the slightly more expensive version with a more complete software package.Scanning old docs and photos has been pretty much flawless. About the only issue I have is sometimes getting the auto crop right on scans where I have 4 to 6 photos on the glass. Usually it works, but sometimes it just doesn't quite get it right, and two of them end up together. It's rare enough that it doesn't bother me. Generally it just offers up to save each one individually so I do not have to scan everything one at a time. And it auto-numbers them, so in the albums for family, for example, I just point it to the folder, tell it to name them FAMILY and all the photos are named family _#### in order. And the next batch just continues with the next available number. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.Results seem good as well. I compared it to the Canon wireless before it started pulling things crooked, and these look better, colors are more correct, and a better contrast bewteen them. Definitely more like the photo than the other scanner.Came with the USB cable, and that's the ONLY reason I'm taking a star off. This should've been USB C. USB C has been out for a while now, there was no need to use a Micro USB plug that's over 16 years old now. Most people like me have been replacing items with the older style plugs so they could declutter and get rid of the old cables. Had this come with USB-C, it would've been an easy 5 star product.