Epson perfection film strip light?

P

Paul Heslop

This is quite a simple one, is it best to leave the lid/light plugged
into the body or to unplug it? Also, o the lights fail quickly or are
they long lasting? I haven't had the scanner long and the instructions
are sketchy on details like this.
 
?

-

This is quite a simple one, is it best to leave the lid/light plugged
into the body or to unplug it?

I have never heard of any negative effects from leaving it plugged into the
body. I would be more worried about somehow wearing out or breaking the
connection socket by plugging and unplugging the cable all the time.

Just one person's opinion...

Doug
 
P

Paul Heslop

- said:
I have never heard of any negative effects from leaving it plugged into the
body. I would be more worried about somehow wearing out or breaking the
connection socket by plugging and unplugging the cable all the time.

Just one person's opinion...

Doug
--
And a very valid one Doug, the very thought crossed my mind, which is
one of the reasons I asked :O)
 
T

theo

the connector appears to be a mini-DIN, similar to the PS/2. So,
extrapolating from my experience with the Epson 2480LE, the possibility
for damage would be in shoving the male plug too forcefully and ripping
the tack away from the female jack inside the base, thinking to feel a
click or detent when the connectors have engaged. But with the standard
light lid and the multi photo feeder settop, one must swap out the cords.
Regards,
Theo
 
P

Paul Heslop

theo said:
the connector appears to be a mini-DIN, similar to the PS/2. So,
extrapolating from my experience with the Epson 2480LE, the possibility
for damage would be in shoving the male plug too forcefully and ripping
the tack away from the female jack inside the base, thinking to feel a
click or detent when the connectors have engaged. But with the standard
light lid and the multi photo feeder settop, one must swap out the cords.
Regards,
Theo

I have the 3490 and it only has the light socket as far as I can tell,
no auto feeder or option for it.
 
D

Don

This is quite a simple one, is it best to leave the lid/light plugged
into the body or to unplug it? Also, o the lights fail quickly or are
they long lasting? I haven't had the scanner long and the instructions
are sketchy on details like this.

I'm not familiar with Epsons but it depends on whether the light is
under software control or not.

In other words, if you can turn the light off after you plug it in,
then it's a good idea to leave it plugged in.

But if the light stays on all the time (as is the case with my
flatbed, for example) then it will rapidly reduce the bulb's life.

Conventional light bulbs not only eventually burn out but - more
importantly - drift over time changing their spectral characteristics
even during regular use, let alone if they are left on all the time.

On a tangent, that was my main reason for choosing a film scanner with
an LED light source. LEDs don't drift over time, need no warm-up and
last "forever". LEDs will outlive both the scanner and the owner! ;o)

Don.
 
P

Paul Heslop

Don said:
I'm not familiar with Epsons but it depends on whether the light is
under software control or not.

In other words, if you can turn the light off after you plug it in,
then it's a good idea to leave it plugged in.

But if the light stays on all the time (as is the case with my
flatbed, for example) then it will rapidly reduce the bulb's life.

Conventional light bulbs not only eventually burn out but - more
importantly - drift over time changing their spectral characteristics
even during regular use, let alone if they are left on all the time.

On a tangent, that was my main reason for choosing a film scanner with
an LED light source. LEDs don't drift over time, need no warm-up and
last "forever". LEDs will outlive both the scanner and the owner! ;o)

Don.

I don't know enough about it. It is a flat bed with the light in the
lid but that's all I know. I am unable to find anything on it in the
booklets/guides or on the web so I assume it's not something you can
replace yourself anyway
 
O

One4All

Don said:
On a tangent, that was my main reason for choosing a film scanner with
an LED light source. LEDs don't drift over time, need no warm-up and
last "forever".

I have an Epson Perfection 4870 and have been wondering if I should let
it warm up for 30 min. or so before scanning. Neither the print manual
nor online help mention this. I used to have an Agfa Arcus II that I
had to let warm up. Any thoughts appreciated.
 
?

-

I have an Epson Perfection 4870 and have been wondering if I should let
it warm up for 30 min. or so before scanning. Neither the print manual
nor online help mention this. I used to have an Agfa Arcus II that I
had to let warm up. Any thoughts appreciated.

I wondered about this too but I don't think it is possible, at least in a
practical way. The scanner light lid will go into sleep mode if it is not
used in an interval that is much less than 30 min. FWIW, the scanner does
go through a calibration routine at startup. You no doubt have experienced
the "waiting while warming up" (or whatever it says) pop-up. I guess you
could redo a preview every so often to keep the light from cycling off. I
would do some testing to see if it really is worth your time though before
you formalize this into your workflow.

Doug
 
G

George E. Cawthon

Paul said:
This is quite a simple one, is it best to leave the lid/light plugged
into the body or to unplug it? Also, o the lights fail quickly or are
they long lasting? I haven't had the scanner long and the instructions
are sketchy on details like this.

On my Epson Perfection 1650, I leave it plugged in
all the time since there is no reason to unplug
it. The transparency light (in the lid) comes on
only when you select a transparency as a source.
I plug my scanner power cord into a separate power
bar which I leave turned off except when I am
going to use the scanner, so the scanner doesn't
cycle on everytime I turn the computer on. Could
be the reason it still works just like new after
several years.
 
G

George E. Cawthon

- said:
I wondered about this too but I don't think it is possible, at least in a
practical way. The scanner light lid will go into sleep mode if it is not
used in an interval that is much less than 30 min. FWIW, the scanner does
go through a calibration routine at startup. You no doubt have experienced
the "waiting while warming up" (or whatever it says) pop-up. I guess you
could redo a preview every so often to keep the light from cycling off. I
would do some testing to see if it really is worth your time though before
you formalize this into your workflow.

Doug

I think you are working out a solution to a
nonexistent problem.
 
P

Paul Heslop

George E. Cawthon said:
On my Epson Perfection 1650, I leave it plugged in
all the time since there is no reason to unplug
it. The transparency light (in the lid) comes on
only when you select a transparency as a source.
I plug my scanner power cord into a separate power
bar which I leave turned off except when I am
going to use the scanner, so the scanner doesn't
cycle on everytime I turn the computer on. Could
be the reason it still works just like new after
several years.

Thanks George. Yeah, I did that with my old scanner but it was a pain
so I wanted one I could basically leave switched on (All my electrical
leads are tucked away behind stuff)

I did wonder if the light only came on when that white board was
removed.
 
D

Don

I don't know enough about it. It is a flat bed with the light in the
lid but that's all I know. I am unable to find anything on it in the
booklets/guides or on the web so I assume it's not something you can
replace yourself anyway

It really depends on the software. A couple of tests to try...

Do *not* run the scanning software that comes with the scanner, but
just plug the lid in. Does the light in the lid come on? If it does
*not*, that's good because at least it means it's not hardwired.

If it does come on, then try running the software and see if there is
a way to turn it off.

There is one complication with the above test and that's any scanner
programs which run at startup (they show up in the toolbar). These are
notorious for always keeping the lights on so you may have to disable
them. Usually, but not always, they are not really needed for the main
program, but are a "quick scan" accessories.

Of course, good scanner software will also implement a timer so if the
scanner is not used for a certain amount of time the lights are turned
off automatically.

Don.
 
D

Don

I have an Epson Perfection 4870 and have been wondering if I should let
it warm up for 30 min. or so before scanning. Neither the print manual
nor online help mention this. I used to have an Agfa Arcus II that I
had to let warm up. Any thoughts appreciated.

30 minutes is too much. Usually, it's less than a minute.

As I say, I'm not familiar with Epsons, but just as illustration my
flatbed's software automatically goes into "warming up" mode when the
scanner is turned on. Or, to be more precise, when I start the
supplied scanning software. The light comes on, the assembly shuffles
back and forth to make sure it's in the "home" position. While this is
happening a modal dialog pops up counting down the seconds needed for
warm up. This can be cancelled but I leave it on, of course.

Doesn't Epson have something similar? I mean, what happens when you
turn on the scanner on and run the supplied software?

Don.
 
P

Paul Heslop

Don said:
It really depends on the software. A couple of tests to try...

Do *not* run the scanning software that comes with the scanner, but
just plug the lid in. Does the light in the lid come on? If it does
*not*, that's good because at least it means it's not hardwired.

If it does come on, then try running the software and see if there is
a way to turn it off.

There is one complication with the above test and that's any scanner
programs which run at startup (they show up in the toolbar). These are
notorious for always keeping the lights on so you may have to disable
them. Usually, but not always, they are not really needed for the main
program, but are a "quick scan" accessories.

Of course, good scanner software will also implement a timer so if the
scanner is not used for a certain amount of time the lights are turned
off automatically.

Don.

Thanks george, I took off the white thing and the light wasn't on, so
i ran the software and it came on. As far as I am aware if you leave
it standing it is supposed to shut itself off, something I learned
while asking these questions :O)
 
O

One4All

Don said:
As I say, I'm not familiar with Epsons, but just as illustration my
flatbed's software automatically goes into "warming up" mode when the
scanner is turned on. Or, to be more precise, when I start the
supplied scanning software. The light comes on, the assembly shuffles
back and forth to make sure it's in the "home" position. While this is
happening a modal dialog pops up counting down the seconds needed for
warm up. This can be cancelled but I leave it on, of course.

Doesn't Epson have something similar? I mean, what happens when you
turn on the scanner on and run the supplied software?
When I turn on the scanner, it goes thru checking process & light in
lid goes on, then off. Light in base stays on. I've been scanning neg's
& chromes, so light in base irrelevant. When Epson Scan software is
opened, nothing changes in scanner. Light in lid comes on only when I
click Preview button; I don't plan to change that since Epson has
evidently engineered the scanner so that only a minute or so only
needed for adequate warm-up of lid light.

To answer a previous poster, inadequate warm-up of a scanner lamp has
serious consequences, so it's important to know whether or not the
scanner's manual says to do so. But, he's right re: the 4870. There is
no problem, but I just wanted to be sure, and this discussion has
helped.

I could have asked Epson, but responses are faster in this newsgroup.
 
B

Bart van der Wolf

30 min is probably unnecessarily long. You can test this by making
several (cropped) scans at regular intervals. At some point the scans
will be almost identical.

I tend to spend some time setting up the optimal exposure time (on
scanners that allow it) with VueScan, so that will give the scanner
lamp + electronics ample time to warm-up and stabilize (often within
minutes, perhaps depending somewhat on the ambient temperature).
I wondered about this too but I don't think it is possible, at least
in a practical way. The scanner light lid will go into sleep mode
if it is not used in an interval that is much less than 30 min.

Just do a prescan before it shuts off.
FWIW, the scanner does go through a calibration routine at startup.

Exactly, and because that calibration is based on the
(lamp+electronics) temperature at that moment, I switch off-and-on
after a while. This forces a new firmware calibration with my Epson,
so performance from there on is quite stable per session.

Bart
 
D

Djon

I have a 3200..got it before my Nikon V. It's quite good for 120, not
great for 35 (capable of decent 6X9 or maybe 8X10, but softness appears
beyond that, though that's not necessarily a limitation)..I use it with
Doug's anti-newton glass carrier, which does improve sharpeness and
perhaps even tone range.

1) The light is fluorescent, which means it's not likely to burn out in
your lifetime. The discontinued 5400 Minolta also has a fluorescent
lamp..I've followed posts on Minoltas, Nikons, and Epsons almost daily
for two years and never heard of a lamp burning out. Additionally,
fluorescents are very stable.

2) The 3200 won't scan until the lamp is warmed up...software informs
me of that.
3) Just fyi, Vuescan works very well with Epson...I use it because I
also use it with my Nikon...convenient to have both scanners work the
same. I don't think it's better than Epson's application, whereas it is
better than Nikon's in B&W.
4) I wouldn't plug and unplug the lid, simply because theres no reason
to do so...is there?

John
 
D

Don

Thanks george, I took off the white thing and the light wasn't on, so
i ran the software and it came on. As far as I am aware if you leave
it standing it is supposed to shut itself off, something I learned
while asking these questions :O)

That sounds very good! Perhaps, as a cherry on top, you can even
shorten the period it takes to turn itself off when not in use (if
there is such a setting in the software). That would further minimize
any side effects.

Don.
 

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