Epson PERFECTION 4990 Quick Guide

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Epson Perfection 4990 Series

Quick Guide

Scanner Features

Scanning and Restoring Photos

Scanning Film

Scanning Text

Tips and Troubleshooting

Guide rapide

Fonctions du scanner

Numérisation et restauration de photos

Numérisation de films

Numérisation de texte

Astuces et résolution de problèmes

Copyright Notice

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
otherwise, without the prior written permission of Seiko Epson Corporation. The information
contained herein is designed only for use with this Epson product. Epson is not responsible for any
use of this information as applied to other equipment.

Neither Seiko Epson Corporation nor its affiliates shall be liable to the purchaser of this product or
third parties for damages, losses, costs, or expenses incurred by purchaser or third parties as a result
of: accident, misuse, or abuse of this product or unauthorized modifications, repairs, or alterations to
this product, or (excluding the U.S.) failure to strictly comply with Seiko Epson Corporation’s
operating and maintenance instructions.

Seiko Epson Corporation shall not be liable for any damages or problems arising from the use of any
options or any consumable products other than those designated as Original Epson Products or
Epson Approved Products by Seiko Epson Corporation.

Responsible Use of Copyrighted Materials

Digital cameras, scanners, and ink jet printers, like conventional photocopiers and cameras, can be
misused by improper copying or printing of copyrighted material. While some countries’ laws
permit limited copying of copyrighted material in certain circumstances, those circumstances may
not be as broad as some people assume. Epson encourages each user to be responsible and respectful
of the copyright laws when using digital cameras, scanners, and ink jet printers.

Trademarks

Epson is a registered trademark of Seiko Epson Corporation. Perfection is a registered trademark and
Easy Photo Fix is a trademark of Epson America, Inc.

DIGITAL ICE and Kodachrome are trademarks of Kodak.

General Notice: Other product names used herein are for identification purposes only and may be
trademarks of their respective owners. Epson disclaims any and all rights in those marks.

© 2004 Epson America, Inc. 9/04

2

Scanner Features

Whether you are scanning a recent photo or a faded photo from the past, your

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Epson
possible scan:

■ DIGITAL ICE

■ Easy Photo Fix

These features are described below. For
instructions on using these features, see “Scanning and
Restoring Photos” on page 5 and “Scanning Film” on page 6.
You can also scan pages of type and turn them into editable
text as described on page 10.

DIGITAL ICE Technology

Your scanner includes both DIGITAL ICE Technology for Photo Prints and for
Film. The DIGITAL ICE (Image Correction and Enhancement) technology is
built into the Perfection 4990 scanner and works along with the included
DIGITAL ICE software. This combination of hardware and software lets you
scan, correct, and restore your photos in one easy step, without any compromise in
image quality.

Perfection® 4990 scanner includes these features so you can get the best

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Technology

™

With DIGITAL ICE for Photo Prints, your scanner examines your photo for
defects on the surface, such as scratches, tears, and cracks. It does this by shining a
second light source on your photo and storing information about the shadows
these defects create in a separate data space. It then uses this information to
remove the defects from your scanned image so you don’t have to remove them
yourself.

DIGITAL ICE for Film uses a different method to automatically remove
scratches, dust, and fingerprints from your scanned image. During the typical
scanning process, information is gathered using red, green, and blue channels.
With DIGITAL ICE for Film, an additional infrared channel collects the defect
information for correction.

The results are truly amazing. Though it takes a bit longer to scan with DIGITAL
ICE Technology, the end results will save you time. The majority of the
painstaking work of removing scanned defects is done for you. Final touch-ups
can still be done in Adobe

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Photoshop.®

Scanner Features 3

Here are some examples of scan times with and without DIGITAL ICE
Technology over a FireWire

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connection. Your scan times may vary, depending on

your computer system, connection, and the amount of defect correction needed.

Scan time without
DIGITAL ICE

Original photo Resolution

4 × 6 photo 300 dpi 9 seconds 1 minute, 55 seconds

35mm slide 2400 dpi 51 seconds 7 minutes, 58 seconds

35mm negative 2400 dpi 1 minute, 7 seconds 9 minutes, 6 seconds

Note:

When using DIGITAL ICE Technology to scan printed photos, select a resolution
between 50 and 1200 dpi. Note that DIGITAL ICE Technology does not detect tape or
fingerprints or marks from pens or markers because these appear as part of the image
and not as surface defects. DIGITAL ICE Technology should not be used to scan printed
items like magazines.

DIGITAL ICE Technology supports color and chromogenic (dye-based) black and white
film. For best results, do not use with conventional black and white negative film or
Kodachrome

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film.

Technology

Scan time with
DIGITAL ICE
Technology

Epson Easy Photo Fix

With just one click, you can use Easy Photo Fix to restore the color of faded
photos, negatives, and slides; remove dust from slides and negatives; or reduce film
grain in your scans. The three elements of Easy Photo Fix are described below:

■ Color Restoration

Restores faded photographs, slides, and negatives. Removes the blue hue from
underwater photos.

■ Dust Removal

Removes dust from slides and negatives, including black and white negative
film and Kodachrome film.

■ Grain Reduction

Reduces the grain pattern on film. Use when scanning high-speed film or
underexposed images in Professional Mode.

4 Scanner Features

Scanning and Restoring Photos

Selecting Software Settings in EPSON Scan

The following example uses Adobe Photoshop Elements and EPSON Scan. If you
are using another software application, your steps may be different.

1. Start Adobe Photoshop Elements:
In Windows,

Adobe Photoshop Elements.

On a Macintosh,
Applications folder) and double-click the

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click Start > Programs or All Programs >

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open the Adobe Photoshop Elements folder (in your

Photoshop Elements icon.

2. Select

File > Import > EPSON

Perfection 4990

.

3. In EPSON Scan, choose Home Mode
or Professional Mode. You see a screen
similar to this:

4. Click the

Preview button at the

bottom of the screen. Your photo
appears in the Preview window.

5. Click the button to select the image
area to be scanned. Adjust the marquee
if necessary.

6. Select the

Restoration

Digital ICE or Color

checkbox (in Professional
Mode, scroll to the bottom of the
screen):

■ If your photo is dirty, scratched, creased, or torn, select Digital ICE.

■ If the colors in your photo are faded, select Color Restoration.

Note:

You can select both settings, if necessary.

7. Click the Scan button.

After your photo is scanned, you can make more adjustments in Photoshop
Elements or save your file.

Scanning and Restoring Photos 5

Scanning Film

Your scanner includes four film holders and a film area guide. Each film holder
allows you to scan multiple images at once, and the film area guide allows you to
scan up to 8 × 10 inch film. You can scan up to twenty-four 35mm filmstrip
images, eight 35mm slides, three 120/220 (6 × 12 cm) film images, two 4 × 5 film
images, or film and contact sheets up to 8 × 10 inches.

Note:

For instructions on scanning 8 × 10 inch transparencies, see the on-screen
Reference Guide.

Using the Film Holders

To scan film, you’ll need to remove the reflective document mat and place the film
in a holder.

1. Make sure the transparency unit cable is connected to the option interface
connector on the back of the scanner. (If it is not connected, turn off the
scanner, connect the transparency unit cable, then turn the scanner back on.)

2. Lift the scanner lid all the way up and pull
the reflective document mat up and off of
the scanner lid, as shown.

6 Scanning Film