Epson scan under Lion with image capture

I have a Perfection 2480 and I use Image Capture. Connect the scanner and power it up. Check it appears in the Sys Prefs >> Print & Scan. Run Software Update to make sure you have the correct drivers.

I just tried a sampel scan at 150 dpi and found similar results to yours. My scanner is an Epson Perfection 34990 Photo. Luckily, I can still run Epson Scan for my scanner under Lion. There are indeed quite significant file size differences.

I also tried Image Capture under Snow Leopard. The scanned file sizes were similar to those for Lion. It is not Lion that is causing the large file sizes then.

The best I can offer you is a suggestion that you file a report with Apple at http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html. You may also want to contact Epson about the matter.

Let's not forget that the entire reason for the jpg format is to compress the size of the file. I have just taken a random pdf file at 3.8MB, opened it and saved it as a high quality jpg, which came out at 186K!

A jpeg file will always be several times smaller than the same file stored as a pdf.

Boullederose wrote:

A sudden increase in file size by around 2000% is a problem!

in disk space

backup

price of your data on a server

slow your system, usage...

A 10 years old Epson software doing a better job than a brand new OS is a shock!

First, let me say I understand your issues and can empathise with them. On reflection, however, the file size problem you are experiencing with Image Capture is not really new or unique to Image Capture. The Apple forums are filled with users complaining about the huge file sizes the Save as PDF… creates with Word and other programs. The Epson Scan software is doing something different--for good or bad--than the Apple supplied software.

Keep in mind that you are still using a 10 year old scanner with Lion. That in and of itself is quite amazing. You obviously are not using a 10 year old computer and I would be very surprised if you are using 10 year old hard disks for storage.

Perhaps you should try third party scanner software such as VueScan or keep an older computer around for scanning purposes that can run the Epson software. If neither of these is a workable solution, perhaps it is time to look at getting a new scanner. You would almost certainly get faster scans with improved resolution and a scan file size that is closer to what the 10 year old Epson software produces.

Message was edited by: Matt Broughton

g'day matt

how the heck did you get the 'epson scan' app to run in Lion? i can't get it to work since i upgraded to lion

cheers

stephenjl wrote:

how the heck did you get the 'epson scan' app to run in Lion? i can't get it to work since i upgraded to lion

I either used the install disk that came with the sanner or used the latest scan driver from the Epson site. It's going to depend on whether the software for you particular scanner will install and run on Lion.

Boullederose wrote:

The first scan I made with image capture at 150dpi appeared usable.

However the letter scanned was no longer white but slightly green and pink and the file size was at 3,8Meg!

A pdf at 150dpi for an A4 : 3,8M

A jpg at 150dpi for an A4 : 549Kb

A pdf at 96dpi for an A4 : 1,5M

A jpg at 96dpi for an A4 : 209Kb

...

I use Image Capture in Lion all the time for scanning with my Epson Artisan 810. A TIP:

Be sure you select KIND: A-TEXT and then you can select 300 dpi.

A sample PDF scan at these settings for A4 was only 127 KB! While I could not scan directly to JPG, using Preview to EXPORT this PDF to JPG resulted in a file size of only 443 KB!

I think you are using the Black & White or Color settings which WILL substantially increase file size and are ONLY needed if you have graphics in your letters. Without graphics, ALWAYS use the A-TEXT setting and 300 dpi.