Connecting Epson Expression 636 SCSI scanner to Mac Pro

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Level 1

104 points

Connecting Epson Expression 636 SCSI scanner to Mac Pro

I have an Epson Expression 636 scanner currently connected to a G4 867 Mirror Door via SCSI card.

The G4 uses 64-bit, 33MHz PCI, so as far as I can I tell, no go for installing into the Mac Pro, which uses PCI Express 2.0 x16 or PCI Express 2.0 x4.

I also don't think anyone makes a SCSI card for PCI Express 2 (not SCSI 2).

The scanner does also have a parallel port as well as a small 15 pin port (labeled "option") that I am not familiar with.
It's a great scanner and don't even know if the Silverfast software will work for it, but I'd like to clear my office of an entire computer that only gets used for the scanner!

Any thoughts or suggestions would be great.
TIA

Message was edited by: Kurt Triffet

G5 2.7, G4 867 Mirror door, iMac G5 20" 1.25GB, G3 iBook, MacBook 2.4, Mac OS X (10.5.7), A couple iPhones - a few deleted posts during the '08 iPhone debacle :-)

Posted on Jul 9, 2010 8:24 AM

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Answer 1

Kurt Triffet Author

Level 1

104 points

Jul 9, 2010 8:52 AM in response to Kurt Triffet

Just to clarify, it's a Centronics CN50 port on the scanner.
The "option" port appears to be a DB25

thx

null

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Answer 2

Jul 9, 2010 7:44 PM in response to Kurt Triffet

The "option" port appears to be a DB25

The Option port is for a document feeder or transparency unit, not for connection to your computer.

You can connect via FireWire if you use a FireWire to SCSI adapter
<http://www.ratocsystems.com/english/products/FR1SX.html>
You will also need a SCSI cable with the correct connectors to match the adapter and scanner, and SCSI terminators.

The scanner is supported by VueScan
<http://www.hamrick.com/vuescan/epson expression636.html>

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Answer 3

Kurt Triffet Author

Level 1

104 points

Jul 9, 2010 7:56 PM in response to Malcolm Rayfield

Great info, but why would I need a SCSI cable if I use this SCSI to Firewire adapter?

Also, this is "Ultra SCSI" but 50 pin. Any different from the regular 50 pin Centronics on mine now?

All those past (and now obsolete) SCSI incarnations have blurred my memory 😉.

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Answer 4

Jul 9, 2010 8:29 PM in response to Kurt Triffet

Just a thought, even today's low-end scanners have better specs and capabilities than a scanner that came out nearly 15 years ago. And they cost about the same price as a new card or adapter. AND you won't have to struggle with a mish-mash of third party hardware and software.

Edit: AND they typically are USB bus powered so there is one less cord to deal with. 😉

Message was edited by: Martin Pace

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Answer 5

Jul 9, 2010 8:38 PM in response to Kurt Triffet

Great info, but why would I need a SCSI cable if I use this SCSI to Firewire adapter?

Also, this is "Ultra SCSI" but 50 pin. Any different from the regular 50 pin Centronics on mine now?

The FireWire to SCSI adapter has a HD (High Density) connector, so you will need a cable or adapter to the standard (Centronics) connector on the scanner. You will also need a terminator for the second scanner SCSI connector unless the scanner has a setting for internal termination.

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Answer 6

Kurt Triffet Author

Level 1

104 points

Jul 10, 2010 8:35 AM in response to Martin Pace

You guys have been very helpful. I am realizing that the jury-rigging the old vs. buying a new scanner would probably be close to a wash, price-wise, after factoring in the additional cabling. The 636 did do full A4 size, and its scans were as good as any drum scans from years before. I'll buckle down & do my homework on this!

Message was edited by: Kurt Triffet

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Answer 7

Aug 20, 2010 1:30 AM in response to Martin Pace

Martin Pace wrote:
Just a thought, even today's low-end scanners have better specs and capabilities than a scanner that came out nearly 15 years ago. And they cost about the same price as a new card or adapter.

Hah! A good tabloid-size scanner cannot be replaced by anything costing below $3,000 these days!

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Answer 8

Aug 20, 2010 8:20 AM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

Martin Pace wrote:
...even today's low-end scanners...

Yes, but can you get a scanner that is better than an Epson Expression 636 for less than $3,000?

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Answer 9

Aug 20, 2010 9:49 AM in response to Martin Pace

The Epson Expression 10000XL- Photo Scanner happens to be on special promtion at the Epson site for $2,999.99.

http://www.epson.com/cgi-bin/Store/consumer/consDetail.jsp?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&oi d=46048262

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Answer 10

Aug 20, 2010 10:33 AM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

So you are saying the Epson Expression 636 (which came out about 15 years ago) is as good as the Epson Expression 10000XL?

My point was that he could get a new scanner that is more compatible with his computer that would do as good of a job as the 15 year old scanner that the OP was using. The Epson Expression 636 may have been top of the line in its day but it isn't anymore. If the OP needed a top-of-the-line professional grade scanner he probably would have upgraded long ago.

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Answer 11

Aug 20, 2010 10:51 AM in response to Martin Pace

Martin Pace wrote:
So you are saying the Epson Expression 636 (which came out about 15 years ago) is as good as the Epson Expression 10000XL?

Martin,

I have no idea how you come to such a bizarre conclusion.

Can you name another taboid-size scanner of comparable quality selling for less?

It seems to me that you're overlooking the key words here: "tabloid size".

A tabloid-size scanner for about the cost of a SCSI card?????

Please name one that does as good as job as his old scanner on tabloid-size art or photos and costs as little as a PC card.

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Answer 12

Aug 20, 2010 11:35 AM in response to Ramón G Castañeda

First off, the 636 is NOT tabloid size.

http://files.support.epson.com/pdf/exp636/exp636u1.pdf

Second, the 10000XL is not 15 years old.

Third, there are many consumer level scanners with specs better than the 636 which cost less than the adapters and software that were suggested above.

I now realize that your comment:

Hah! A good tabloid-size scanner cannot be replaced by anything costing below $3,000 these days!

has nothing to do with this thread and it was pointless answering it.

Message was edited by: Martin Pace

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Answer 13

Aug 20, 2010 8:57 PM in response to Martin Pace

Martin Pace wrote:
First off, the 636 is NOT tabloid size.

I didn't say it was. I may have assumed it—if I mistook A4 for A3 or whatever—but I never said it. 😉 What I had in mind was my own *Epson Expression 836XL*, which is a in fact a vintage tabloid-size scanner.

Second, the 10000XL is not 15 years old.

I didn't say it was either; quite the opposite. It is a currently available model that serves as a replacement for my aforementioned, older, discontinued *Epson Expression 836XL*

The original statement of yours I referenced was:

Martin Pace wrote:
Just a thought, even today's low-end scanners have better specs and capabilities than a scanner that came out nearly 15 years ago. And they cost about the same price as a new card or adapter.

What I was addressing is the fact that there are some excellent 15-year old scanners (such as my 836XL) that cannot be replaced that cheaply, in fact not by anything under $2,999.99 (i.e. below $3000).

Martin Pace wrote:
I now realize that your comment… …was pointless answering it.

I fully agree.

Sorry you got upset for nothing.

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