SilverFast Support (or lack of)

[Stephen]

Has anyone managed to get any decent support from LaserSoft SilverFast?

If so please let me into the secret of getting good support from them.

Recently got a Plustek 7500i film scanner that came with the SilverFast SE
Plus software to operate it along with QuickScan software. Now the QuickScan
software works perfectly on all settings proving that the scanner isn't
faulty. However the SilverFast software doesn't work correctly and not at
all when doing multiscan or multiple exposure settings.

The problem is that during these processes the SilverFast software will
either hang or produce red or green coloured cast bands of varying widths
and with a position shift at the bottom of the scan. This results in the
final images having red or green coloured ghosting shadows to them. Doing a
single pass scan is a lottery whether the software will hang or produce the
coloured cast banding.

Now getting well fed up with the support from LaserSoft as when I post the
problem on their website I get an email back telling me to upgrade to the
latest version of their software and the latest drivers for the scanner.
This I've done but when email them back stating this with log files and
example images it all goes quiet. If post again to the website I just get
the same comment to upgrade to latest version and drivers. I did post to the
Forums on their website with the result that they pulled the posting and
personally replied to me again to upgrade drivers and software version. I've
yet again replied to the email but again its gone very quiet. Arrrrgh!

To say that I'm less than impressed by the lack of support from LaserSoft
SilverFast is an understatement. To put it bluntly its total crap!

The trouble is that without the software the film scanner is just an
expensive door stop.

 

[Ralf R. Radermacher]

To say that I'm less than impressed by the lack of support from LaserSoft
SilverFast is an understatement. To put it bluntly its total crap!

Nothing new under the sun, it seems. Still as rotten as it used to be
over a decade ago, when I gave up on them and switched to Vuescan.
Haven't looked back, since.

The trouble is that without the software the film scanner is just an
expensive door stop.

The Vuescan website claims your scanner is supported, provided you
install the Windows drivers first. As you're using MS OE as a
newsreader, I take it you're working under Windows.

Ralf

 

[Stephen]

Try telephoning them directly.

Thanks for the suggestion Doug but that's something that will be very
expensive. Its ok telephoning them if you're in the US or Germany as then
its within the same Country. However, if like me, someone is in the UK it
means a very expensive international phone call especially as the UK appears
to have some of the most expensive charging for everything compared to the
rest of the world.

 

[Stephen]

Nothing new under the sun, it seems. Still as rotten as it used to be
over a decade ago, when I gave up on them and switched to Vuescan.
Haven't looked back, since.


The Vuescan website claims your scanner is supported, provided you
install the Windows drivers first. As you're using MS OE as a
newsreader, I take it you're working under Windows.

Thanks Ralf for the reply and I'll look into Vuescan, but as a last resort.

However I've not given up on SilverFast yet as a matter of principal. This
is due to the fact that I've actually paid (within the price of the scanner)
for this software so don't see why they should get away with selling me
something that won't work.

Now I don't know anything about programming but have made an educated guess
that the problem lies within the SilverFast software and probably something
to do with the processing of the RAW data from the scan. If it was a faulty
scanner then it would also effect the Plustek QuickScan software but this
doesn't have a problem.

Even Microsoft give a better service for support than LaserSoft do!!

 

[pshaw]

you might try skype ... i suspect its only a few cents a minute ...

steve

 

[Graber]

Has anyone managed to get any decent support from LaserSoft SilverFast?

If so please let me into the secret of getting good support from them.

Seems as if someone managed to get satisfying support:
http://blog.silverfast.com/a-cake-for-our-customer-service-and-support-team/

I won't give up, maybe you just have had bad luck.

martin

 

[Ralf R. Radermacher]

Seems as if someone managed to get satisfying support:
http://blog.silverfast.com/a-cake-for-our-customer-service-and-support-team/

Do you happen to know any of those satisfied customers or are they just
as real as the Tchibo coffee expert or Herr Kaiser from the
Hamburg-Mannheimer insurance company?

"Papier ist geduldig"... Paper is indulgent. So are computer screens. Do
note that this is a Lasersoft propaganda site.

Ralf

 

[Ralf R. Radermacher]

I've found your support request in our trouble ticket system.

You haven't possibly found a few of my requests from about ten to six
years ago, as well? Those numerous instances where I have never had the
promised return calls.

Don't bother. The scanners I was using then have long been sold and I
haven't used any of your software for many years.

With the benefit of hindsight, I can say that giving up on you lot has
been of great benefit to my budget, my nerves and, above all, my scan
quality. Come to think of it, I should almost thank you for putting me
off.

I can assure, those customers are real, as well as the comments.

Oh, sure...

Ralf

 

[Stephen]

You haven't possibly found a few of my requests from about ten to six
years ago, as well? Those numerous instances where I have never had the
promised return calls.

Don't bother. The scanners I was using then have long been sold and I
haven't used any of your software for many years.

With the benefit of hindsight, I can say that giving up on you lot has
been of great benefit to my budget, my nerves and, above all, my scan
quality. Come to think of it, I should almost thank you for putting me
off.


Oh, sure...

I found it was very strange that when someone (not putting any names here)
from LaserSoft did reply to me they claimed my request had indeed been
replied to stating a single date. Yes, that was one of them but there was
also more and up to then they'd been no replies to any follow ups I'd posted
to them with the, unfortunately, negative results of what they'd suggested.

Although to their credit after strongly criticising them I did get quite a
prompt reply to the problem.

 

[Stephen]

Has anyone managed to get any decent support from LaserSoft SilverFast?
...

Yeah, you did, didn't you ?
I've found your support request in our trouble ticket system.
Mr. Lübker has provided support on Aug 4 (one day after your posting
here),
and you have led back the problem to a hardware issue yourself.


Yes Christian I did indeed get a reply the day after posting this but you
didn't mention that my very first request (of several!) for support was on
25 July. Had I got an earlier reply to my follow up information reporting
the results of what your colleages suggested, I could have identified the
problem earlier.

But having said this I was still grateful for the assistance as needed to
investigate all possibilities of a resolution to the problem and Plustek had
incorrectly informed me it was a software problem. It seems Plustek gave me
the wrong information and found their support to be very lacking despite
them replying promptly.

As a matter of interest the problems only occur when scanning at 7200dpi but
with both transparencies and negatives. The original faulty film scanner,
Plustek 7500i, has been replaced but the same fault is worse on the
replacement plus the power push button switch is sticking and the right hand
film carrier flap keeps jamming. It doesn't say much for Plustek's quality
control! This one will be returned for replacement too!

Has anyone else had these problems with the Plustek film scanners?


Stephen


<snipped>

 

[Massimo]

Hello,

Yeah, you did, didn't you ?
I've found your support request in our trouble ticket system.
Mr. Lübker has provided support on Aug 4 (one day after your posting
here),
and you have led back the problem to a hardware issue yourself.


Yes Christian I did indeed get a reply the day after posting this but you
didn't mention that my very first request (of several!) for support was on
25 July. Had I got an earlier reply to my follow up information reporting
the results of what your colleages suggested, I could have identified the
problem earlier.

But having said this I was still grateful for the assistance as needed to
investigate all possibilities of a resolution to the problem and Plustek had
incorrectly informed me it was a software problem. It seems Plustek gave me
the wrong information and found their support to be very lacking despite
them replying promptly.

As a matter of interest the problems only occur when scanning at 7200dpi but
with both transparencies and negatives. The original faulty film scanner,
Plustek 7500i, has been replaced but the same fault is worse on the
replacement plus the power push button switch is sticking and the right hand
film carrier flap keeps jamming. It doesn't say much for Plustek's quality
control! This one will be returned for replacement too!

Juste lurking I wonder why you bought a Plustek as that brand is
obviously a B-quality brand. Googling on 'Plustek' and 'scanner' will
surely learn you more about the quality of their scanners.

My first scanner was a Mikrotec. My second is a Canon. They both did
what they were expected to do. Epson, Canon, perhaps Mikrotec, HP (but
their software is less) make good scanners. So...

Has anyone else had these problems with the Plustek film scanners?


Stephen


<snipped>

Massimo

 

[Silicon Sam]

Hello,

Juste lurking I wonder why you bought a Plustek as that brand is
obviously a B-quality brand. Googling on 'Plustek' and 'scanner' will
surely learn you more about the quality of their scanners.

Massimo

Same reason lots of people buy junk

$$$$$

I'd rather spend a little more, and be happy with my purchase,
rather than fight it the whole time I own it. But some never learn.

Spend a little more now, complain once. Try to go the cheapest
route, complain forever...

 

[Stephen]

Hello,


Juste lurking I wonder why you bought a Plustek as that brand is
obviously a B-quality brand. Googling on 'Plustek' and 'scanner' will
surely learn you more about the quality of their scanners.

My first scanner was a Mikrotec. My second is a Canon. They both did
what they were expected to do. Epson, Canon, perhaps Mikrotec, HP (but
their software is less) make good scanners. So...

Just had to retire the HP film scanner as its no longer supported by them.
No drivers or software released by HP for Vista so will definitely be none
for Windows 7. Typical of HP though when you buy their products they just
pull the plug and leave you high and dry.

Have a Canon flatbed scanner that's still being supported and appears to be
in the foreseeable future but they gave up on film scanners many years ago.


Stephen

 

[Stephen]

Hello,

Juste lurking I wonder why you bought a Plustek as that brand is
obviously a B-quality brand. Googling on 'Plustek' and 'scanner' will
surely learn you more about the quality of their scanners.

Massimo

Same reason lots of people buy junk

$$$$$

I'd rather spend a little more, and be happy with my purchase,
rather than fight it the whole time I own it. But some never learn.

Spend a little more now, complain once. Try to go the cheapest
route, complain forever...

I usually do spend a little more on products but in this case dedicated film
scanners are few and far between these days. So it wasn't a case of spending
a little more but several times more as, apart from some very cheap
offerings, Nikon seem to be the only other ones now in the market with the
dedicated film scanners.


Stephen

 

[Silicon Sam]

  Same reason lots of people buy junk

$$$$$

  I'd rather spend a little more, and be happy with my purchase,
rather than fight it the whole time I own it.  But some never learn.

  Spend a little more now, complain once.  Try to go the cheapest
route, complain forever...

I usually do spend a little more on products but in this case dedicated film
scanners are few and far between these days. So it wasn't a case of spending
a little more but several times more as, apart from some very cheap
offerings, Nikon seem to be the only other ones now in the market with the
dedicated film scanners.

Stephen

I found a used Nikon Coolscan V ED on Craigslist locally. Paid $250
for it I think. The price of them are crazy on ebay right now. I
still have that and an Epson V500. Love them both. I've had several
Coolscan scanners over the years. I got a Coolscan 2000 free off CL,
all it needed was a cleaning.

 

[Massimo]

Hello,

Same reason lots of people buy junk

$$$$$

I'd rather spend a little more, and be happy with my purchase,
rather than fight it the whole time I own it. But some never learn.

Spend a little more now, complain once. Try to go the cheapest
route, complain forever...

You are right.

Massimo

 

[Massimo]

Hello,

Hello,

Has anyone managed to get any decent support from LaserSoft SilverFast?
...

[CUT]
Juste lurking I wonder why you bought a Plustek as that brand is
obviously a B-quality brand. Googling on 'Plustek' and 'scanner' will
surely learn you more about the quality of their scanners.

My first scanner was a Mikrotec. My second is a Canon. They both did
what they were expected to do. Epson, Canon, perhaps Mikrotec, HP (but
their software is less) make good scanners. So...

Has anyone else had these problems with the Plustek film scanners?

Just had to retire the HP film scanner as its no longer supported by them.
No drivers or software released by HP for Vista so will definitely be none
for Windows 7. Typical of HP though when you buy their products they just
pull the plug and leave you high and dry.

I know about HP and (n)everlasting support. I own a HPDJ 5652 myself
and I like the thing but there is no real driver for it under Vista so
I cannot print both sides of the paper automatically anymore and that
was one of the reasons why I bought it.
For that reason and also because of the software for my Canon Camera
A630 not working well under Vista, I keep alive a second computer with
WinXP.

Have a Canon flatbed scanner that's still being supported and appears to be
in the foreseeable future but they gave up on film scanners many years ago.
Thats bad luck.

Stephen

Massimo