Document Recognition I have an Epson Perfection 2580 Scanner. I know it uses auto document recognition. Is there a setting to change what it is recognizing? I am trying to scan a color postcard I created. It recognizes it as text line/art rather than a color document and shows it in black and white rather than the true colors. It is largely text but when I scan something else with some pictures with a lot of text it sees it as a color document. I have scanned color certificates and they came out in color. I need this card to come out in color. I tried several similar cards with the same black & white results. I hope someone can help.

The first thing to try: a new USB cable and a different port. (If you are using a hub, try directly connecting to the computer). What does the device manager say about the scanner? (In Windows, access from the Control Panel > Hardware. Exact directions depend on the OS version.)

Check the transport lock on the bottom of the scanner - do not put the scanner on its side when you check the lock.

Make sure the scanner was on and had already warmed up (stopped blinking) before you tried to start the scanner software (either by the buttons or from the scanner). You may want to reboot the computer (in case the computer thinks one program has locked access to the scanner).

I hope this helps.

Cindy Wells
(scanners require two-way communication with the computer and a bad cable will stop the scan even when the computer sees the scanner and the software installed without a problem.)

In order to scan to word so a document is editable you need to use Optical Character Recognition Software (OCR). You can download free ocr software from www.simpleocr.com Use that software and then either export once scanned to Word or Save as a Word document in the OCR application.

The only way you're going to know if it's the scanner or the driver for sure is to install it on say an XP machine and see what results you get. If it's still dark, it's the scanner, if not, it's the driver.

Go to the display properties of your computer and change the resolution.

Goodluck.

sherlyn c.

i dont have the cd for install the scaner (epson-2580 photo) please help me. thank.

To scan a document for editing purposes, you will need OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software. OCR software is not included with your model.
OCR software interprets the scanned document for editing purposes. The Epson driver alone only scans documents as image files and is not capable of this interpretation.
Some reputable OCR software programs on the market are:
Omni Page Pro
ABBYY FineReader Pro
Presto! OCR 4.0
Please understand that Epson has NOT tested our products with these programs. They do not know if these programs are TWAIN compliant and will import directly from our scanners. I recommend that you contact these companies for full compatibility information if you are interested.

Single scan printers can be difficult in this manner.\

Consider using the OCR (optical character recognition) software that came with your scanner.

Basically the part of the software that asks you what you are scanning (picture, document, newspaper) and make sure to select document. This will enable the character recognition which will convert the scanned picture into a document that you can configure to go into Microsoft Word or Notepad or whatever. If you have multiple pages, it MIGHT give you the option to scan more than one page at a sitting. then again, it may not. In which case you might be kicking yourself for not purchasing the scanner with the auto feed attachment! Once you have made your scanned document in your word processor - READ THROUGH IT! may have converted characters incorrectly - like an "S" may be now a "$" it happens - and it will happen. When done, attach complete document to email and BOOM done.

Either this or use a fax machine :)

hope i helped!
Ryan

For some unknown reason ,it decided to work!!!!!!!!!!!!

You may want to try using Laser Fiche. This scanning software allows you to select "Duplex" which allows you to scan double sided document

Please do the following to scan slides or negatives in manual mode of the Epson TWAIN:
For scanning transparencies in HOME mode - for EPSON SCAN models, not Epson Twain/Manual mode models.
1) In the program you are working from, begin the scanning process. If working in FULL AUTO MODE as the scan begins click PAUSE or CANCEL, then change "Full Auto Mode" to "Home Mode".
2) You will now see all Epson Scan settings displayed. If the scanner has not previewed automatically, click the large preview button to get a visual of what is on the scanner.
3) Ensure the settings on the Epson Scan are correct for what you wish to scan. For example, the DOCUMENT TYPE for transparencies must be either "Color negative film", "B&W Negative Film" or "Positive film"*.
* FILM here indicates that the item being scanned is transparent to light; this setting is also used for slide scanning. Positive indicates that the image is in true colors (ie the grass is green and sky is blue), whereas negative indicates reversed colors, as produced in some photo finishing processes.)
If the DOCUMENT SOURCE is set for a flatbed related option, ie PHOTO, the scanner is looking for reflective items and will not activate the backlight in the transparency unit. If the DOCUMENT TYPES for "FILM" are greyed out or cannot be selected, close the Epson Scan, reseat the power/communication cable connecting the base of the scanner to the transparency unit, then reopen Epson Scan and try again.
NOTE for PROFESSIONAL MODE users: DOCUMENT TYPE should read TRANSPARENCY for film scans.
4) Ensure the other scanner settings are correct for the type of scan you are doing. For example:
IMAGE TYPE should be color photo for all positive or negative color transparencies, or BLACK AND WHITE PHOTO for monochrome transparencies.
DESTINATION is unimportant, however you should select a RESOLUTION appropriate to what you plan to do with the scans. (There are no hard and fast rules for DPI. As a general guideline, if you are saving scans at original size, a resolution ranging from 400-600 DPI should capture enough information to faithfully record the image. If the slide or negative will be enlarged, you will need to increase this DPI accordingly. We have no means to calculate what your exact needs will be in this situation; you will need to experiment and view the output to gauge the appropriate input DPI from the scanner.)
PREVIEW. If your scanner is doing a THUMBNAIL PREVIEW, the slides will automatically preview and appear in boxes on the left side. Here, you can select or deselect the slides you wish to scan.
If you recieve a message that the scanner could not find the film, or you see in the preview that part of the scan is cut off, click the down arrow next to the large PREVIEW button and click NORMAL, then PREVIEW again. In NORMAL PREVIEW mode, the scanner will capture all information on the flatbed; you will then have to manually marquee or crop the slides you wish to scan. Use the left mouse button (click, hold, drag) to lasso one slide inside a box made of dotted lines, then click scan. Only the selected area will scan. Repeat this process for as many slides or filmstrips are on the bed.
5) Click CLOSE once scanning is complete. The images will now transfer to the application in use.