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EPSON Perfection 4870 PHOTO Scanner Review: There Is No Limit to Perfection! (page 4)

Category: Other

by Sergey Samarin

[ 05/25/2004 | 12:17 PM ]

Design Features

The EPSON Perfection 4870 meticulously follows the design of the previous top model, not only in the case shape, but also in the color scheme. The case is made of stiff plastic with decorative insertions of dark Plexiglas. There are locks for protecting moving parts during transportation: one of them, a big cap with a slit, is at the left panel of the case. It’s quite difficult to rotate it to unblock without a tool (like a coin, for example). The second lock is under the hood, protecting the integrated slide-adapter. All locks are wrapped in stickers that warn you about the need to unblock before use. The interface connectors are also hidden beneath such stickers that remind you about installing the scanner software before attaching the device to the computer. You had better do as they say because otherwise you’d be running the risk of damaging the device’s mechanics or spend more time for installation.

Transportation locks

The power button and the programmable button for launching your favorite scanning program are placed on the scanner’s front panel next to the scanner’s activity LED and an indicator of the slide-adapter status.

The scanner’s bed has rulers around the perimeter with dimensions of standard formats of the original. Note that although the edges of the bed are slanted to the glass (for easier extraction of the original), they have a gap in some places where a photograph may accidentally get into. I have recently had a look at the EPSON GT-15000 scanner whose bed has no such problems at all and can be set as an example for this class of devices.

Interface connectors

Like the Perfection 3200, this scanner is equipped with two high-speed interface connectors: USB 2.0 Hi-Speed and IEEE1394a (FireWire). As usual, you only receive a USB cable with the device and have to buy a FireWire one separately.

The availability of two connectors certainly allows for an easy connection to any modern computer, but you shouldn’t be misled to think that the EPSON Perfection 4870 can be attached to two computer systems at a time. This scanner is intended for individual use and comes without any communication adapters.