EPSON

Scan Quality Problems

The Edges of Your Document Are Not Scanned

Move the document about 3 mm (0.12 inch) away from the horizontal and vertical edges of the document table to avoid cropping.

You See Only a Few Dots in Your Scanned Image

Make sure the document or photo is placed on the scanner’s document table with the side to be scanned facing down. See Placing Documents or Photos for details.
When scanning with the Black&White setting in Home or Professional Mode, change the Threshold setting. See Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for instructions.

A Line of Dots Always Appears in Your Scanned Images

The document table or transparency unit window may be dusty or scratched. Clean the document table and transparency unit window as described in Cleaning the Scanner. If you still have the problem, contact your dealer.
If you are using the optional ADF, you may need to clean or replace the paper path guide. See Cleaning and Replacing the Paper Path Guide for instructions.

Straight Lines in Your Image Come Out Crooked

Make sure the document lies perfectly straight on the document table. Align the vertical and horizontal lines with the scales at the top and side of the document table.

Your Image Is Distorted or Blurred

Make sure the document or photo lies flat on the document table. Also make sure your document or photo is not wrinkled or warped.
Caution:
Do not place heavy objects on the document table glass and do not press the glass with too much force.
Make sure you do not move the document or photo, or your scanner while scanning.
Make sure the scanner is placed on a flat, stable surface.
Select Unsharp Mask in Epson Scan’s Professional Mode window. See Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for documents and photos or Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for film and slides.
Adjust the Auto Exposure setting in Epson Scan’s Professional Mode window. See Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for documents and photos or Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for film and slides.
You can also select Color Control and Continuous auto exposure in the Configuration window, or select the Color tab and click the Recommended Value button to return the Auto Exposure setting to the default. See Epson Scan Help for details.
Increase the Resolution setting. See Selecting the Scan Resolution for instructions.

Colors Are Patchy or Distorted at the Edges of Your Image

If your document is very thick or curled at the edges, cover the edges with paper to block external light as you scan.

Your Scanned Image Is Too Dark

Change the Display Gamma setting to match your output device, such as a monitor or printer, in the Epson Scan Configuration window. See Epson Scan Help for details.
If your original is too dark, try using the Backlight Correction feature. See Fixing Backlit Photos for instructions.
Adjust the Auto Exposure setting in Epson Scan’s Professional Mode window. See Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for photos or Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for film and slides.
You can also select Color Control and Continuous auto exposure in the Configuration window, or select the Color tab and click the Recommended Value button to return the Auto Exposure setting to the default. See Epson Scan Help for details.
Check the Brightness setting in Epson Scan’s Home or Professional Mode (see Epson Scan Help). Or adjust the brightness using the Histogram in Professional Mode (see Epson Scan Help).
Check the brightness and contrast settings of your computer monitor.

An Image on the Back of Your Original Appears in Your Scanned Image

If your original is printed on thin paper, images on the back may be visible to the scanner and appear in your scanned image. Try scanning the original with a piece of black paper placed on the back of it. Also make sure the Document Type and Image Type settings are correct for your original. See Selecting Basic Settings for details.

Ripple Patterns Appear in Your Scanned Image

A ripple or cross-hatch pattern (called moiré) may appear in a scanned image of a printed document. It is caused by interference from the differing pitches in the scanner’s screen and the halftone screen in your original.
Original image
Descreening applied
Select the Descreening checkbox in Epson Scan’s Home or Professional Mode window. In Professional Mode, select an appropriate Screen Ruling for the Descreening and deselect the Unsharp Mask setting. See Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for instructions.
Select a lower Resolution setting. See Selecting the Scan Resolution for instructions.
Note:
You cannot remove ripple patterns when you are scanning film or monochrome images, or scanning using a resolution higher than 601 dpi.

Characters Are Not Recognized Well When Converted into Editable Text (OCR)

Make sure the document lies perfectly straight on the document table. Align the vertical and horizontal lines with the scales at the top and side of the document table.
In Home Mode, select Black&White as the Image Type setting. In Professional Mode, click the + next to Image Type and select None for the B&W Option setting. Then try adjusting the Threshold setting. See Converting Scanned Documents Into Editable Text for instructions.
Check your OCR software manual to see if there are any settings you can adjust in your OCR software.

Scanned Colors Differ From the Original Colors

Change the Image Type setting in Epson Scan’s Home or Professional Mode. See Selecting Basic Settings for instructions. Select different combinations of this setting and the others mentioned below.
Change the Display Gamma setting to match your output device, such as a monitor or printer, in the Epson Scan Configuration window. See Epson Scan Help for details.
Adjust the Auto Exposure setting in Epson Scan’s Professional Mode. Also try selecting a different Tone Correction setting. See Adjusting the Color and Other Image Settings for instructions.
Try selecting the following settings in the Configuration window: Color Control, Continuous auto exposure, and Recommended Value (on the Color tab). Also try turning off the Fast Preview setting. See Epson Scan Help for details.
Make sure to enable the Embed ICC Profile setting. To access this setting, click the Customize button and then the File Save Settings button if you are scanning in Full Auto Mode, or the  File Save Settings button to the right of the Scan button if you are scanning in Home or Professional Mode. The File Save Settings window appears. Select JPEG or TIFF as the Type setting, then click Options. (If you started Epson Scan from a program like Adobe Photoshop Elements, this button does not appear.)
Check the color matching and color management capabilities of your computer, display adapter, and software. Some computers can change the palette of colors on your screen. See your software and hardware manuals for details.
Use the color management system for your computer: ICM for Windows or ColorSync for Mac OS X. With Windows, add a color profile that matches your monitor to improve on-screen color matching. (Exact color matching is very difficult. Check your software and monitor documentation for information on color matching and calibration.)
Printed colors can never exactly match the colors on your monitor because printers and monitors use different color systems: monitors use RGB (red, green, and blue) and printers typically use CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black).

You Have Trouble Adjusting the Scan Area in the Thumbnail Preview

Create a marquee or adjust the existing marquee to select the area you want to scan. See one of these sections for instructions.
Documents or photos: Adjusting the Scan Area (Marquee)
Film or slides: Adjusting the Scan Area (Marquee)
In the Configuration window, adjust the thumbnail cropping area using the Thumbnail Cropping Area slider. See Epson Scan Help for details.
Switch to the normal preview type (if available) and preview your image again. See one of these sections for instructions.
Documents or photos: Previewing and Adjusting the Scan Area
Film or slides: Previewing and Adjusting the Scan Area