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Photograph: Rick Rizner
Epson Perfection 3490 Photo
| Scan quality (color/monochrome) | Very Good/Good |
| Performance | Very Good |
| Average 1200-dpi color scan speed | 36 seconds per document |
| Average 300-dpi BW scan speed | 23 seconds per document |
| Features | Very Good |
| Max optical resolution | 3200 by 6400 |
| Scan area (inches) | 8.5 by 11.7 |
| Color depth | 48 bits internal; 48 bits external |
| Connection interface(s) | USB 2.0 port |
| Removable lid | Yes |
| Transparency adapter | Built-in; up to 1.29 by 6.37 inches |
| Automatic document feeder | Optional $149 photo and business card feeder |
| Bundled software | ABBYY Fine Reader Sprint OCR, ArcSoft PhotoImpression, Epson Creativity Suite, NewSoft Bizcard |
| Overall ease of use | Very Good |
| Installation | Outstanding |
| Design | Outstanding |
| Documentation | Very good |
| Support quality score | Good |
| Support policies | One-year warranty; free, unlimited, 12-hour weekday toll-call support |
Epson Perfection 3490 Photo
Perfection 3490 Photo Review, by Richard Jantz October 5, 2005
The Epson Perfection 3490 Photo is the best bargain among value scanners we've reviewed lately. With its winning combination of great image quality, reasonable performance, versatile features, and a very affordable $99 cost, the 3490 is an excellent choice for the average user who wants a scanner that provides the most value for the best price.
In addition to scanning photos and paper documents, the 3490 can also batch-scan up to four 35mm negatives or three 35mm slides at once, using its built-in transparency adapter. It also comes with sturdy templates for holding the film securely in place while scanning. With its high optical resolution of 3600 dpi, the 3490 should satisfy most users who want to make enlargements from small originals, such as 35mm slides or negatives.
The 3490's scanned images looked solid in our on-screen and print tests, with good color accuracy and crisp details. It received excellent scores for its accurate reproduction of the color, brightness, and sharp details in a 4-by-5-inch color photo, scanned at 100 dpi and judged both on a monitor and in print. It also scored high marks for its scan of a 2-by-2-inch color photo at its maximum resolution (3600 dpi) and color depth (48 bit).
That said, the 3490's scores were only slightly better than average in most of our speed tests conducted using its Hi-Speed USB 2.0 interface. Although it was one of the fastest in scanning a 2-by-2-inch color photo at 1200 dpi (completing the task in about 36 seconds, compared with the Canon CanoScan 9950F's first-place score of about 29 seconds), the 3490's other scores were more middling in comparison with other recently tested scanners. For example, it took about 34 seconds to scan a full-page color document at 300 dpi.
Like earlier Epson scanners, the 3490 has easy push buttons that quickly launch common tasks (scanning, copying, e-mailing, and PDF creation), and it also boasts the versatile Epson Scan driver, which offers a trio of operating modes for novices and veterans. For example, if you choose the 3490's Full Auto mode, it recognizes the type of image (such as a color print or film negative) and then scans and saves the image for you. With its Professional mode you can access the full range of scan options for manual control, and with its Home mode you get a comfortable mix of both automatic and manual options.
The included scanning software also provides several easy-to-use image enhancement features for dust removal and grain reduction (for film scans only, and with three different levels of strength) and color restoration (for both photo and film scans). In informal tests, these features did a nice job of restoring several faded prints and slides to their original glory. However, determining the best settings for image enhancement generally requires several practice scans. In some tests, for instance, we found that using the full-strength "Dust Removal: High" setting also obliterated some image details (such as facial lines) along with unwanted specks.
An optional $149 automatic feeder handles multiple photo prints up to 4 by 6 inches, as well as business cards.
Upshot: Though it's not the fastest scanner around, the dual-purpose Epson Perfection 3490 delivers high-quality photo and film scans at a relatively low price.
Richard Jantz
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User Reviews
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User Reviews From Around the Web
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Reviewed by: JasioB
Strengths: good scan quality
Weaknesses: dust on the glass inside the scanner after two years
Overall: For me not acceptable is that after two years i have to clean the glass inside the scanner. This "dust" inside get from the electronic inside!
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Reviewed by: joshduncan
Strengths: Good quality color slide scans
Weaknesses: A little noisy
Overall: The scanner works great. It is a little slow and somewhat noisy, but it does a fine job of scanning documents and is head and shoulders above my old scanner for ease of use and color slide scan quality. The "quick scan" buttons for PDF and email are very convenient.
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Reviewed by: Sinistron
Strengths: -Quick warm-up and scan times-Film-scanning accessory-Excellent software
Weaknesses: -None
Overall: I've owned this scanner for the past two months and I have absolutely no complaints. As a graphic artist and a student, it handles all my tasks with dependable ease and speed. One of the scanner's best features is the customizability of the scan settings provided by the included, free software.I heard about this scanner through a website that was reviewing the year's best scanners for the best prices. The Epson Perfection 3490 was at the top of their list, and for good reason too.
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Reviewed by: msanto
Strengths: Low price, good feature set (includes scan to PDF)
Weaknesses: None so far
Overall: Easy to install, seems to work well (so far). There are more feature-filled scanners, but this scanner comes with an excellent price, and really, all the features I need.
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Reviewed by: terenceng
Strengths: ClarityEasy to set-up
Weaknesses: Lack of power button
Overall: The scanner was easy to set up right out of the box. I have only used it for document scanning and simple images but the quality is great for the price. It also comes with a plastic template for scanning photos and negatives that I have not tried but I think it should do well.The only bad thing is that it does not have a power switch or button and so I have to unplug the mains when I am not using it. A bit of a bother boy not a big deal
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