Epson Perfection 4870 HELP please

[Rosemary]

I hope I can explain the problem good enough, until yesterday, the
scanner worked great. I noticed a red blinking light, and it has been hit
and miss on scanning film, mostly miss now. Even though the preview
sometimes looks OK, when I scan I get all black.
Sometimes the preview is even bad, grainy, funny colors etc. I have
done the lock thing, powered down and on etc. Updated drivers, I have XP
Pro. I have the film adapter in right.
I have scanned over a hundred negatives, and now I can't get it to work
properly.
I appreciate your help.
Rosemary

 

[-]

You have taken the insert out of the lid, right?

Doug

 

[Rosemary]

yep. I got one good scan yesterday then it went back to not doing right
again. Red blinking light. Epson says I probably need to take it and have
it service.
Rosemary

 

[Chris Brown]

I hope I can explain the problem good enough, until yesterday, the
scanner worked great. I noticed a red blinking light, and it has been hit
and miss on scanning film, mostly miss now. Even though the preview
sometimes looks OK, when I scan I get all black.

Mine does this occasionally. It seems to be due to the scanner not being
able to read the calibration marks at the top of the transparency holder.

Wipe the underside of the holder (where the white squares are), the scanner
glass and the lid-glass at the rear part of the scanner thoroughly, and see
if that makes the problem go away. It does for me.

 

[CSM1]

I hope I can explain the problem good enough, until yesterday, the
scanner worked great. I noticed a red blinking light, and it has been hit
and miss on scanning film, mostly miss now. Even though the preview
sometimes looks OK, when I scan I get all black.
Sometimes the preview is even bad, grainy, funny colors etc. I have
done the lock thing, powered down and on etc. Updated drivers, I have XP
Pro. I have the film adapter in right.
I have scanned over a hundred negatives, and now I can't get it to work
properly.
I appreciate your help.
Rosemary

Maybe the scanner died.

 

[Rosemary]

I hope I can explain the problem good enough, until yesterday, the

Mine does this occasionally. It seems to be due to the scanner not being
able to read the calibration marks at the top of the transparency holder.

Wipe the underside of the holder (where the white squares are), the
scanner
glass and the lid-glass at the rear part of the scanner thoroughly, and
see
if that makes the problem go away. It does for me.

Can we send picture files to group, I can then show the results of what the
scnner does?
Rosemary

 

[Dances With Crows]

Mine does this occasionally. It seems to be due to the scanner not
being able to read the calibration marks at the top of the
transparency holder.

Wipe the underside of the holder (where the white squares are), the
scanner glass and the lid-glass at the rear part of the scanner
thoroughly, and see if that makes the problem go away. It does for

Can we send picture files to [the] [news]group? I can then show the
results of what the [scanner] does.

It is considered very, very rude to send encoded binaries to newsgroups
that don't have "binaries" in their names. If you have some images
you'd like people to look at, take those images, post them to your
webspace, and follow up with a URL that points to where you posted them.

Most ISPs provide their customers with 5-10M of webspace. Check your
ISP's documentation for directions on how to upload stuff to that space.
Once you've uploaded things, other people should be able to access them
with URLs like http://my.isp.com/~username/filename.jpg . Replace
my.isp.com with the URL of your ISP, replace username with the username
you use at your ISP, replace filename.jpg with the name of the file(s)
you uploaded.

If you don't *have* webspace, you should probably ask if people would
mind receiving large attachments via e-mail. A couple of people will
probably then contact you off-group and say they wouldn't mind, and then
those people will look at the images you send them. Maybe they'll be
able to see something useful, maybe not. Me, I think your scanner's
just suffered some sort of hardware failure that's difficult or
impossible to repair, but ICBW. HTH anyway,

 

[Rosemary]

It is considered very, very rude to send encoded binaries to newsgroups
that don't have "binaries" in their names. If you have some images
you'd like people to look at, take those images, post them to your
webspace, and follow up with a URL that points to where you posted them.

That is why I asked, I am not a big newsgroup user, dont know the big rules.

Most ISPs provide their customers with 5-10M of webspace. Check your
ISP's documentation for directions on how to upload stuff to that space.
Once you've uploaded things, other people should be able to access them
with URLs like http://my.isp.com/~username/filename.jpg . Replace
my.isp.com with the URL of your ISP, replace username with the username
you use at your ISP, replace filename.jpg with the name of the file(s)
you uploaded.

If you don't *have* webspace, you should probably ask if people would
mind receiving large attachments via e-mail. A couple of people will
probably then contact you off-group and say they wouldn't mind, and then
those people will look at the images you send them. Maybe they'll be
able to see something useful, maybe not. Me, I think your scanner's
just suffered some sort of hardware failure that's difficult or
impossible to repair, but ICBW. HTH anyway,

I sure hope it isn't impossible to fix. I spent more on this scanner than
any other. Don't even remember if it is over a year or not since I got it. I
know it has not been long.
Thanks .
Rosemary

 

[Chris Brown]

Can we send picture files to group, I can then show the results of what the
scnner does?

Please don't - it's not a binary group.

However, rest assured that what you have described sounds *exactly* like
what mine does when it has trouble reading the calibration marks. Clean the
top of the film holder and the glass at the back of the scanner (both parts)
thoroughly, preferably with a microfibre cloth. Also, try one of the
different film holders and see if that makes a difference.

It's possible that you have a defective scanner, but I get the same problem,
and cleaning it fixes it.

 

[Rosemary]

However, rest assured that what you have described sounds *exactly* like

what mine does when it has trouble reading the calibration marks. Clean
the
top of the film holder and the glass at the back of the scanner (both
parts)
thoroughly, preferably with a microfibre cloth. Also, try one of the
different film holders and see if that makes a difference.

It's possible that you have a defective scanner, but I get the same
problem,
and cleaning it fixes it.

I have cleaned it, but will try a different film holder. Then I guess I will
take it in to be serviced.
Thanks ,
Rosemary

 

[-]

The red blinking light sound more serious. If you look in the user's guide
I think it mentions what the flashing light combination needs.
Unfortunately, yours may just say it needs servicing. You have checked the
locks on both the scanner base and the light lid, right? Click them on and
off a few times just to make sure.

Sorry that we can't be of more help.

Doug

 

[Rosemary]

The red blinking light sound more serious. If you look in the user's
guide I think it mentions what the flashing light combination needs.
Unfortunately, yours may just say it needs servicing. You have checked
the locks on both the scanner base and the light lid, right? Click them
on and off a few times just to make sure.

Sorry that we can't be of more help.

Doug
--
Doug's "MF Film Holder" for batch scanning "strips" of 120/220 medium
format film:
http://home.earthlink.net/~dougfisher/holder/mainintro.html

Thanks Doug for trying to help. Yes I did the lock clicking on and off. I
guess I will take it in for servicg. . I have to go about 30 miles to drop
it off.

Rosemary

 

[false_dmitrii]

Thanks Doug for trying to help. Yes I did the lock clicking on and off. I
guess I will take it in for servicg. . I have to go about 30 miles to drop
it off.

The dark, grainy scans do sound like a calibration or exposure problem,
especially if they take longer than usual (do they?). The problem is
only with film scans, right? Is the lamp in the lid turning on every
time you scan film? It should glow brightly even in its parked
position. Maybe the bulb isn't connected properly. Or maybe the wire
from the lid to the scanner body isn't plugged in quite right. You
could try lifting the lid during a problem scan to see whether the lamp
is fully lit and in motion.

If the problem turns out to be located in the lid, maybe Epson can just
replace the lid for you. Though I wouldn't bet on it.

false_dmitrii

 

[false_dmitrii]

The dark, grainy scans do sound like a calibration or exposure problem,
especially if they take longer than usual (do they?). The problem is

<snip>

For that matter, are you certain you're placing the film holder in the
correct position? If the gap in the holder is pointed away from the
lid hinges, the light can't shine through and the calibration will
fail.

false_dmitrii

 

[Rosemary]

<snip>

For that matter, are you certain you're placing the film holder in the
correct position? If the gap in the holder is pointed away from the
lid hinges, the light can't shine through and the calibration will
fail.

false_dmitrii

Yes I am sure I am replacing the film holder in right position, I have
scanned over 100's so far, but the light thing may be a problem. The
preview came out ok today, but still when I get to the real scan it is all
black. Thanks so much for your in put.
Thanks again,
Rosemary