Rating: 
Summary: Scanner is great
Review: I am a new scanner owner, but the Espson seems to be everything I need. I scanned several photos and posted them to internet pages fairly easily, the quality of the scans is great.My two complaints are: 1) There is no on-off switch. When you plug it in, the scan bulb turns on for 15 minutes and then goes into sleep mode. To really turn it off, you have to unplug it. 2) Some glitches in the software that comes with it. "Copy" function would not send to one of my printers. Email to Epson tech support said "That's a problem with software, you have to contact them." Email to them went unanswered. Overall, though, I am pleased with my choice.
Rating:
Summary: some software difficulties
Review: The scanner itself is the best option in this price range. The Epson software is sound, but the included package from newsoft, inc. is pretty terrible. I still have not received satisfaction from that comapany. The "one-touch" capabilitites that their application "Smart Panel" is supposed to make possible would be nice had I received a working copy. Once installed, that application either freezes my machine, or does nothing when I select the scan for creativity option. The real disappointment came when I contacted them for a solution. I have sent multiple e-mails and received no response. When I telephoned them, I got a pre-recorded message informing me that I had better chances of getting satisfaction online. HA! It's a good thing I don't need their software, or I would have probably returned the unit. If you already own Photoshop, do not bother with the PhotoDeluxe application that is included with the unit. Stick to Photoshop, and set up all your scans manually, and this unit is great!
Rating: 
Summary: Almost Perfect
Review: I am a novice when it comes to understanding computers and its related jargon, however, I do find them fun to use. The Epson 1240U Photo very definitely falls into the "fun" category. It was simple to set-up and the directions in the documentation could not have made it easier. I sanned my first picture within a short time after receiving the scanner. I scanned some slides the next day. One was printed and given to my daughter as it was a photo of her first haircut. Although I have had the scanner for a couple of weeks I am only scratching the surface. I've saved copies to floppies and just yesterday burned a CD-R. My intent is to archive several hundred slides and photos on CD's before the pictures totally deteriorate. The lack of an on/off switch, although not a problem, just makes it necessary to go through the process of unplugging the scanner. This is not a real problem in that the 1240U has a sleep mode and doesn't require unplugging until I am turning the whole system off. I am sure there are better and more expensive scanners, but this fits my bill. Also, the price from ... was better than any retailer or internet price. What else can be said, price and performance are almost perfect for the novice like me.
Rating: 
Summary: 1240U works good But!
Review: I’m running Windows 2000 with a P4 and 512 mega bites of ram. I had major problem with a UMAX that I bought less then a year ago. I was not happy to spend another $130.00 or so on a new scanner. I need a scanner for my business and home so I picked up an Epson 1240U Scanner and shot my UMAX. No, I sold it.... Installing the UMAX software for Windows 2000 ... big time. I work with computers all day long with my business. There is no reason for a UMAX to create software that has a work around that requires a tech support person to help you. The UMAX harware is good The Epson was not too difficult to install. Please read the manual. The first time I did not. Lets say I don’t care to talk about the mistakes I made. (READ) I noticed two problems with the Epson. The small problem first. I like an update wizard for new firmware. The biggie was the ability to save a scanned image directly to my hard drive. I have to send out the image though the Internet and receive it via my E-Mail. ... All other functions seem to work well. The Scanner does a very good job of scanning to my printer and sending off E-Mails.
Rating:
Summary: Should have known better......
Review: After reading reviews about installation problems, I should have known better. It took several hours to install and even though the Epson patch fixed the scan/copy function I still had occasional error messages. It had debris under the scan bed just like many other customers complained of which is unacceptable. On the other hand, the scans were very crisp and sharp. HOWEVER, all scans of photos were noticably darker than original. I could not for the life of me fix this problem. Even my poorly rated HP4200C took better scans without having to edit the photos. Will send it back in morning. I will not purchase another Epson product.
Rating:
Summary: Overall better scanner than the Canon 1240U
Review: After returning the Canon Canoscan N1220U I bought recently because of a loose USB port on the back and because of unsatisfying slightly fuzzy scans at high resolutions, I went and bought the Epson Perfection 1240U for cheaper than the Canon. Both scanners have similar technical specifications such as scanning resolutions as high as 1200x2400 but the Epson Perfection 1240U produce higher quality images. The colors are slightly more vibrant and the quality of the scan is sharper and clearer even at high resolutions which is better in the end if you plan on doing lots of retouching or other detail-oriented graphics work. Though the Epson doesn't have a design as stylish as the slim Canon, it is a quieter. The Canoscan 1220U has a small annoying buzzing sound during previews but becomes quiet during the actual scans. The Epson is overall pretty close to silent and faster. I found myself having less time to wait for the scans to come out (though both machines are not slow by any means). Unlike the experiences of some other reviewers, I had no problems with dust on the scanner inside. The Epson has a lid that comes off for you to fit bulgy items while the Canon only has a cover that rises up to 1 in. So forget trying to scan a dictionary on the Canon! (but who would want to do that anyways...) As a graphic/web designer on my spare time, I also tend to scan small objects such as necklaces, motherboard circuitry... etc and the focus of the Epson on such 3D items is better too. When I scanned the back of an old hard drive, the Canon 1240U produced fuzzy edges and unclear electronic circuits while the Epson gave close to photographic image clarity. Though the Epson is better overall, it is not deprived of some little annoyances (that you can live with though). The buttons of the Epson can not be redirected to other applications if you don't install the Epson Smart Panel software. But even with that installed, it will only allow you to customize the main scan button. I haven't found a way to reconfigure the 2 other buttons. The Canon has only one button but its own panel allows you to customize all the panel buttons to your likings. The lack of a power button on the Epson could have been an additional benefit but it doesn't bother me too much either. The Epson Perfection goes into some sort of stand-by mode after a few minutes to avoid using too much energy. Finally, the Epson doesn't have as good softwares included as the Canon N1220U. The Textbridge OCR (which doesn't recognize colors or pictures in articles at all) of the Epson is not nearly as good as the Canon's Omnipage pro. I haven't figured out a good way to capture editable text with the Epson yet. Maybe I'll have to go buy an good OCR software now. Canon also includes Photoshop LE while Epson only offers it with the Perfection 1240 PHOTO. On the basic Perfection 1240U, you get Adobe Photodeluxe which is surely more user-friendly for families but not as powerful for Photoshop/Fireworks accustomed people. But if you already own a quality image editor (Photoshop, Fireworks ...etc), you won't find the lack of good software on the Epson a hinderance to your creativity. I also didn't like how I couldn't turn-off the automatic "load at start up" Epson Smart Panel. I like to keep control of what loads when Windows start up and only the Canon allowed me to do that. Overall, the Epson is better in terms of quality pictures. If you are a design focused person or prefer portability, you'll enjoy the sleak shape and light weight of the Canon 1220U. But for me, the versatibility of the Epson takes over the Canon. In the future, if you even want to scan negatives, you can buy the add-on for the Epson Pefection but you can't do that with the Canon N1220U.
Rating: 
Summary: Epson Perfection 1240U Color Flatbed Scanner by Epson
Review: Excellent scanner, very happy with image quality. No problems, except the Xerox software supplied with the scanner is quite [bad]. Takes many a click through to many pages to do what, for example, Cannon software can do on one page, really simply.. Would get 5 stars otherwise.
Rating: 
Summary: Very Disappointed
Review: I bought this product because it claimed to copy as well as scan. Well, after two hours on the phone, twelve emails and four reinstallations, it still does not work. The inadequate software is not made by Epson, so Epson just refers you to another company ("not our problem!"). I have downloaded the patch, which only makes things worse. In short, this machine does not do what it advertizes. I would not recommend it until Epson fixes the multiple bugs in the system.
Rating:
Summary: Fast with good color
Review: Got frustrated with the speed of my Microtek E-6 so I bought the Epson 1240U. Very fast, very good colors but one annoyance is it's inability to scan edge to edge on the bed. Otherwise a very good scanner for the price.
Rating:
Summary: Epson 1240U Scanner - Better Than Just A Home Use Scanner
Review: 1. The PROS - I have had my new scanner for approx. 3 weeks now, and am very satisfied with it. Installation was easy, quick, and presented no problems whatsoever, and that includes the software that came with it, although a bit time-consuming to install. The included transparency adapter/hardware appears to work fine for scanning in my 35mm negatives. However, I haven't had a chance to fully utilize and test this. The quality of the pictures and documents scanned far exceeded my expectations, and are a vast improvement over my old Umax 1200p Astra, which I considered a good scanner until I tried my new Epson. The USB connection substantially reduced the amount of memory and resources used by the scanner, speeding up my computer. And once I installed the NewSoft patch, correctly, which required two tries because the patch doesn't correctly install itself and directions for installation aren't fully detailed, the scanner and it's copy utility work fine with my HP 970cxi printer. 2. The Cons - There does seem to be a bug in the scanner, as I am unable to scan only a selected part/portion of a picture/doc. The scanner insists on scanning the entire picture/document, which is a problem I didn't have with my old scanner. However, I consider this more of an annoyance/inconvenience, as it is easy to edit the scanned picture/document to extract only the part you want with the software provided. The lack of an off/on button is also an annoyance, but my old Umax scanner didn't have one either. I am not thrilled with the software included with the Epson scanner. First off, because it is obsolete, meaning not the current versions. The included, and primitive/incomplete, Photoshop LE 5.0 is about worthless as a graphic's editor, etc., with the included PhotoDeluxe 4.0 being significantly better, altho far from ideal also. And although the pictures scanned into PhotoDeluxe 4.0 look really good, I should say exceptional quality, on my monitor, when I print them, the quality of the printed photo is not what I saw on my monitor. Whereas, with my old Umax, which came with PhotoDeluxe 2.0 & primative versions of Presto Pagemanager, etc., the situation was just the opposite...monitor screen quality was poor, and coloring not true and sharp, but after editing, the quality of the printed photos, with the exact same printer I'm currently using, was exceptional....better, in most cases, than the pics you get back from the developer of your film. Thus, it appears that the problem lies in the changes between PhotoDeluxe 2.0 & 4.0, and how each version sends the picture info to my printer; and/or with the NewSoft patch; not with the Epson scanner or my printer. I do like PhotoDeluxe 4.0, but will probably uninstall it, and re-install the 2.0 version to see if I get the same quality printouts I got with my old scanner. The printout quality of pictures using Photodeluxe 4.0 is good, they're just not quite as clear, sharp, and true as they were on my monitor screen subsequent to scanning them in with the Epson 1240UP. And it is difficult to edit a monitor screen picture that appears perfect, but doesn't print the same as what you see, so that the resulting printed photo is exactly the same as the high quality picture on my monitor. Whereas with my old scanner and PhotoDeluxe 2.0, the scanned screen picture was usually lower quality, thus, I could edit the quality of the picture on my monitor and get higher quality printouts than I was seeing on my monitor. 3. Bottom Line - My personal opinion is that the Epson 1240UP o is a very good scanner for home use and also for small business use, and I'm happy with my purchase, but it's not perfect. However, the imperfections are minor, with most due to the outdated, incomplete, and rather primitive, graphics software included with the scanner; and/or to the NewSoft patch required to enable Epson's scanner to work with non-Epson printers. If one can afford a really good graphics program, this Epson scanner would probably be equivalent to the quality of a costly professional scanner, but at a much lower price. Recommendation - If you buy this scanner, before you install it, go to the Epson website, read the FAQ's, and download the current driver. Then go to NewSoft's site and download the Epson patch if you don't have an Epson printer. Then follow Epson's instructions for installing the scanner, but instead of installing the driver and patch on their cd, install the current driver and patch you downloaded, then install the graphics software as directed...making sure all programs are shut down, except for explore and systemtray, before installing anything. I think, from my own installation experiences, that one of the reasons people are having problems with this scanner is either: (a) a failure to correctly install it, the current driver, the patch, and/or the software; and/or (b) the kind of computer, processor, monitor, graphics card, and printer they have. I have a 650mhz Athlon processor, 256mb's Ram, a Samsung 950p monitor, a Matrox Millenium Max G400 graphics card, HP 950cxi printer, and Windows 98SE...and both the Epson scanner and it's transparency unit seem to work fine on my system, with no installation or other serious problems whatsoever, except for the Newsoft patch installation which has to be installed to the correct Epson folder to work, which it doesn't do on it's own.
| 
