Removing the glass off flatbed scanners

[nathantw]

I was just thinking, hypothetically of course, that if we took the
glass of a flatbed scanner for an Epson V700 or V750 would our scans be
any sharper or better than with the glass? Of course a bridge will need
to be made so the film holders/wet mount don't fall through the hole. I
know the Microtek scanners have this "feature" but no other scanner
manufacturer has picked this up. What do you think?

 

[Ken Weitzel]

I was just thinking, hypothetically of course, that if we took the
glass of a flatbed scanner for an Epson V700 or V750 would our scans be
any sharper or better than with the glass? Of course a bridge will need
to be made so the film holders/wet mount don't fall through the hole. I
know the Microtek scanners have this "feature" but no other scanner
manufacturer has picked this up. What do you think?

Hi...

I respectfully think I wouldn't want one...

Without the "sealed as well as it can be" glass on top, the
mirrors and sensors would get just as dirty just as fast as our glass
does now, and would be virtually impossible to clean, wouldn't it?

Take care.

Ken

 

[nathantw]

Without the "sealed as well as it can be" glass on top, the

mirrors and sensors would get just as dirty just as fast as our glass
does now, and would be virtually impossible to clean, wouldn't it?

Wow, I never even thought of all that. I'm glad you said something.

 

[Noons]

Wow, I never even thought of all that. I'm glad you said something.

Exactly. However, I'd kill for a coated glass for my 4990: most
flatbed scanner images look "fuzzy" because of the terrible glare
of the glass bed. The scanning hardware is sharp, it's the glare
that lets it down in a big way. I'm told the new v750 has a coated
glass: maybe try to get a spare v750 glass from Epson service to
install on a v700 or 4990/4490? Dunno if anyone has tried,
but it'd probably help.

 

[Eddie]

Exactly. However, I'd kill for a coated glass for my 4990: most
flatbed scanner images look "fuzzy" because of the terrible glare
of the glass bed. The scanning hardware is sharp, it's the glare
that lets it down in a big way. I'm told the new v750 has a coated
glass: maybe try to get a spare v750 glass from Epson service to
install on a v700 or 4990/4490? Dunno if anyone has tried,
but it'd probably help.

It would, AT A PRICE!

Eddie

 

[tomm42]

Exactly. However, I'd kill for a coated glass for my 4990: most
flatbed scanner images look "fuzzy" because of the terrible glare
of the glass bed. The scanning hardware is sharp, it's the glare
that lets it down in a big way. I'm told the new v750 has a coated
glass: maybe try to get a spare v750 glass from Epson service to
install on a v700 or 4990/4490? Dunno if anyone has tried,
but it'd probably help.

The V700 is about the sharpest tranparency scanning flatbed I have
seen, but I haven't seen the V750. You might be better getting a V750
in the first place, Epson service is by the book, there is a question
of whether they would even do a conversion, then how much they would
charge.

Tom

 

[-]

I made a custom piece just like you mentioned for one of my Epson flatbeds
and tested it. Unfortunately, no real difference. The glass isn't the
problem. The scanner's optics system is the limiting factor.

Doug