Epson PERFECTION 4990 Reference 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

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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

3. If you are scanning film or negatives, open the cover, then slide the film into
the corresponding holder, with the film’s base side facing down. (If you are
scanning slides, go to step 6.)

4. Lock the film holder cover into place.

5. Place the film holder on the scanner as shown. Make sure the white triangle
on the holder points to the upper-right corner of the scanner.

Make sure the
calibration space at
the top is uncovered

Scanning Film 7

6. If you are scanning slides, place the holder on the scanner. Then place the
slides in the holder.

Make sure the
calibration space
at the top
is uncovered

7. Close the scanner cover.

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, click

Adobe Photoshop Elements.

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

2. Select

File > Import > EPSON Perfection 4990.

3. In Home Mode, select

Positive Film (for slides) or
Color Negative Film (for negatives)

as the Document Type.

In Professional Mode, select

Film(with Film Holder) as the

Document Type; then select a Film
Ty p e:

Positive Film (for slides), or

Color Negative Film or B&W
Negative Film

8 Scanning Film

Start > Programs or All Programs >

Adobe Photoshop Elements folder (in your

Photoshop Elements icon.

(for negatives).

4. Click the

Preview button at the

bottom of the screen.

Thumbnails of your images appear in
the Preview window:

5. Click the

All button to adjust all the

images at once or select a thumbnail
to adjust each image individually.

6. Select from the following Image Adjustment options:

■ Grain Reduction (available only in Professional

Mode)—Use with high-speed film or
underexposed images. Select the level of grain
reduction by clicking the button.

■ Color Restoration—Restores color to faded images.

■ Dust Removal (available only in Professional Mode)—Removes dust.

Select the level of dust removal by clicking the button.

■ Digital ICE—Removes scratches, dust, and fingerprints.

Note:

You cannot select Dust Removal and Digital ICE at the same time.

7. Click the Scan button.

After your images are scanned, you can make more adjustments in Photoshop
Elements or save your files.

Scanning Film 9

Scanning Text

If you have a page of text that you don’t want to retype, you can save time by

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scanning it using ABBYY

FineReader® Sprint to get an editable page of text.

Follow these steps:

1. Place your text page face down on the scanner glass and close the cover.

2. Start ABBYY FineReader Sprint:

In Windows, click

ABBYY FineReader 5.0 Sprint.

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

Start > Programs or All Programs >

ABBYY FineReader 5 Sprint Plus folder (in your

Launch FineReader 5 Sprint

icon.

3. If you’re using Macintosh, choose
menu. Select

4. Click the

EPSON Perfection 4990 as your scanner, then click OK.

Scan button. EPSON Scan starts.

Select Scanner from the Scan&Read

In Full Auto Mode, your document is automatically scanned.

In Home Mode, select

Text/Line Art

as the Document Type, then click the

Scan button. (If the Scan button is

grayed out, click the

Preview

button. After your document is
previewed, click

Scan.)

In Professional Mode, select

Reflective as the Document Type

Black & White as the Image

and
Type, then click the

Note:

If you’re in Home or Professional Mode,
select a resolution of 200 to 600 dpi.

Scan button.

5. When EPSON Scan is finished, click the Read button.

6. When file reading is finished, click the

7. Select a location and file name, then click

Save button.

Save.

10 Scanning Text

You now have a text file that you can edit.

For more information, see the ABBYY FineReader Sprint User’s Guide or Help:

■ In Windows, click Start > All Programs or Programs > ABBYY

FineReader Tools

■ On a Macintosh, select Help from the menu bar in the ABBYY FineReader

> ABBYY FineReader 5.0 Sprint User’s Guide.

program.

Tips and Troubleshooting

Tips for Best Results

■ Make sure your photo is as flat as possible.

■ Do not create a marquee (image area to be scanned) larger than your photo.

Otherwise DIGITAL ICE Technology may mistake the edges of your photo as
defects.

■ If DIGITAL ICE Technology doesn’t correct the tear or wrinkle in your

photo, place the photo at a slight angle and scan it again. You could also try
placing your photo in the opposite orientation (landscape or portrait).

■ DIGITAL ICE Technology requires more system resources than regular

scanning. If you get an error message, you may need to clear some hard drive
space.

■ Do not include the film holder when creating a marquee. If the scanning

region includes the frame holder edges, the image may not be accurately
analyzed and corrected.

■ Make sure the calibration space on the film holder is clean and uncovered.

■ If you set the Grain Reduction level to High, you may reduce the sharpness

of your image.

■ If you have dust on your film, you can use the Dust Removal setting instead

of the

Digital ICE setting for faster scanning.

■ In Full Auto Mode, you can let the software automatically set the scanning

resolution (dpi) for your scan or you can set the resolution yourself. For even
more options, use Home or Professional Mode instead.

Tips and Troubleshooting 11

Saving Custom Settings

If there are certain settings you use often—for example, you need to scan images in
grayscale at 300 dpi—you can create your own custom settings and recall them at
any time.

Follow these steps to create custom settings:

1. Start EPSON Scan and select

Professional Mode.

2. Select your settings.

3. Click the

Save button.

The setting number appears in the Name box. Each time you save, the setting
number increases by one.

Tip:

To make it easier to remember your custom settings, write down the type of scan or
settings that correspond to the setting number.

The next time you need to scan with the same settings, simply select your custom
settings from the Name box. You can save up to 30 custom settings.

Using EPSON Scan for Quick Scanning

For quick scans, you can use EPSON Scan in stand-alone mode. You can start
EPSON Scan by pressing the ] Start button or start it from your computer, as
follows:

■ Windows: Click Start > Programs or All Programs > EPSON Scan >

EPSON Scan.

■ Macintosh: Double-click the EPSON Scan icon in the Applications folder.

12 Tips and Troubleshooting