Epson GT-30000

Another odd feature is the ADF's insistence on ejecting the sheet even after conducting a basic preview scan. Since the sheet was no longer on the plate, trying to mark up a precise area on the preview for a final scan was pointless. If you want to scan localised areas of a document with custom colour settings, you'll need to lift up the ADF and place the document on the bed in the conventional fashion.

This approach also allows you to use the scanner for other tasks such as capturing photos. Results with the GT-30000 are good, certainly compared with digital copiers, but it's only just above average for capturing fine detail and wide tonal ranges.

As standard, the unit is hooked up to your PC using a SCSI cable with 50-pin or 68-pin connectors. No cable or adaptor plugs are included in the box. A FireWire interface is available as an upgrade for £195, which should add workgroup flexibility by daisy chaining the unit with other PCs. In either case, you'll need to provide your own SCSI and FireWire cards, as none are included with the scanner.

Epson's TWAIN driver is supplied in both local and network versions, and there's even the option to provide network access to the machine with a peer-to-peer or server-based approach, although the latter will require Epson's optional Network Image Express add-on.

The GT-30000 is an excellent scanner for fast document processing, although for colour work it isn't so impressive. Given the price, I'd hoped for better colour performance, but the GT-30000's main duty is a fast and versatile document processor and in this respect it's well worth the money.

Author: Alistair Dabbs