Epson Perfection 3170 vs. 4180

i'm trying to decide between these two scanners and have a few
questions. i plan on scanning prints, slides, and possibly negatives.

1. is the 4180 considerably faster overall than the 3170? Epson
advertises the 4180 as having Hi-Speed USB 2.0 vs "standard" USB 2.0
for the 3170. would this make any appreciable difference in scan
speeds, especially for slides? i plan on scanning quite a few slides
and a little extra speed would help.

note: the 2480 & 2580 models are also advertised as having Hi-speed
USB 2.0.

2. i want to archive some old prints i have. what is the best
resolution to scan prints in case i may want to later blow up a 4x6
into an 8.5x11? i plan on using the png file format.

3. what resolution should i scan slides at? again i may blow some up
to 8.5x11.

4. any recommendations for software in addition to what i have below?

Arcsoft Camera Suite
Adobe Photoshop Elements (software purchased separately)
Canon PhotoRecord
Canon Easy-PhotoPrint, Photo-Stitch, and ZoomBrowserEX

thanks for your comments...

The 4180 has a $50 rebate.

"Aquilonious" <aquilonious@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:4f29559e.0409150954.4553743c@posting.google.com...
> i'm trying to decide between these two scanners and have a few
> questions. i plan on scanning prints, slides, and possibly negatives.
>
> 1. is the 4180 considerably faster overall than the 3170? Epson
> advertises the 4180 as having Hi-Speed USB 2.0 vs "standard" USB 2.0
> for the 3170. would this make any appreciable difference in scan
> speeds, especially for slides? i plan on scanning quite a few slides
> and a little extra speed would help.
>
> note: the 2480 & 2580 models are also advertised as having Hi-speed
> USB 2.0.
>
> 2. i want to archive some old prints i have. what is the best
> resolution to scan prints in case i may want to later blow up a 4x6
> into an 8.5x11? i plan on using the png file format.
>
> 3. what resolution should i scan slides at? again i may blow some up
> to 8.5x11.
>
> 4. any recommendations for software in addition to what i have below?
>
> Arcsoft Camera Suite
> Adobe Photoshop Elements (software purchased separately)
> Canon PhotoRecord
> Canon Easy-PhotoPrint, Photo-Stitch, and ZoomBrowserEX
>
> thanks for your comments...

The 3170 has a $25 rebate at Newegg.

after rebates the 4180 is still $50 more expensive.

"Charlie Klatzkin" <klatzkin@dsg-inc.com> wrote in message news:<2KudnbS-lOh7CNXcRVn-qw@comcast.com>...
> The 4180 has a $50 rebate.
>
> "Aquilonious" <aquilonious@yahoo.com> wrote in message
> news:4f29559e.0409150954.4553743c@posting.google.com...
> > i'm trying to decide between these two scanners and have a few
> > questions. i plan on scanning prints, slides, and possibly negatives.
> >
> > 1. is the 4180 considerably faster overall than the 3170? Epson
> > advertises the 4180 as having Hi-Speed USB 2.0 vs "standard" USB 2.0
> > for the 3170. would this make any appreciable difference in scan
> > speeds, especially for slides? i plan on scanning quite a few slides
> > and a little extra speed would help.
> >
> > note: the 2480 & 2580 models are also advertised as having Hi-speed
> > USB 2.0.
> >
> > 2. i want to archive some old prints i have. what is the best
> > resolution to scan prints in case i may want to later blow up a 4x6
> > into an 8.5x11? i plan on using the png file format.
> >
> > 3. what resolution should i scan slides at? again i may blow some up
> > to 8.5x11.
> >
> > 4. any recommendations for software in addition to what i have below?
> >
> > Arcsoft Camera Suite
> > Adobe Photoshop Elements (software purchased separately)
> > Canon PhotoRecord
> > Canon Easy-PhotoPrint, Photo-Stitch, and ZoomBrowserEX
> >
> > thanks for your comments...