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I first noticed the Epson Stylus Scan 2500 while I was perusing the pages of the Apple Store, shopping for my iMac. I wanted a USB scanner, and I wanted to finally break down and actually buy a printer of my own. Hey, I've been strictly a web guy for a few years now, and the HP Deskwriter (I) has been sent out to the pasture known lovingly as "el lugar donde usted parquea los coches", only we have no coaches, and they wouldn't fit any better than the van that stands guard outside the door. but I digress... After a couple weeks of salivating over it (The Saran Wrap is holding until I find someone who makes skins for the new Pro Keyboard) I finally got the visit from my favorite friends in purple. And after Barney and Tinky Winky went home, FedEX showed up. The first thing I did after carefully removing each of the 137 pieces of tape that secured my new toy from rattling itself apart as it zig-zagged the world toward big g was to plug it into the wall, install the ink cartridges and see how well it would copy things I shouldn't be copying. Well, it turns out that while our friend Mister 2500 is quite a nice machine, without any calibration it tends to oversaturate to the point where any copies are plainly identifiableas such. Because it is basically a color copier that connects to your computer via USB, it also sports the full range of small copier controls along the front. These are rather limited, so any color adjustments to your copies will necessitate a three-step (scan, adjust, print) process, but anyone familiar with image editiing tools shouldn't have much trouble. I've been using Epson scanners almost exclusively for a while now, and let me say that I was surprised by the 2500, not that the quality was good, but that is closely rivalled that of the more expensive Expression series I've become accustomed, at least at the resolutions I tried: 72 - 300dpi. Desk space is at a premium at big g media, and this is another area that the 2500 is really a winner. Its all-in-one form factor really saves on real estate, saving room for a couple of... shall we say, less appreciated... peripherals that may be reviewed here soon. The best part of the Stylus Scan 2500 is its great value. It recently took a price drop to an MSRP of $299, so it approximates the cost of purchasing a scanner and inkjet separately, and you get all the space and convenience benefits as well. There is also a "Pro" model available that extends the copying convenience one step further by adding a document feeder. This one is availablesome places for as little as $399. Ever the gadget-hound, I immediately thought, "Hey, how come I can't get one with a transparency adapter?" But I suppose for such a great price, I should just shut up and smile. You'll smile too when you get one of your own. Epson Stylus Scan 2500 |
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