Epson Perfection 1260 Photo Scanner

This is my first scanner but it has been a pleasure. It has never caused any trouble and has always done what I asked. Sometimes I struggle to get the 35mm adapter to work (the optional attachment) but other than that, this scanner has proved to be a very good purchase.

I installed this scanner onto my system and I use a HP printer. Everything seemed to work until I began trying to make a copy. The scanner would not let me make a copy. I tried every technique imaginable. I read the help files, read the manual and still nothing. I thought there was something wrong with the scanner so I decided to phone epson tech support as my last resort. I couldnt believe what I was told. I was told in order for my printer to work I had to install a ghost printer driver for an Epson printer so the software would work and let me have the option of copying a document. Why on Gods earth would I have to install an Epson Driver when I had a HP printer. To make this frustrating story short Epson has pulled a fast one and made their scanner proprietary meaning it will only work if their printer is set as the default printer. Doesnt seem like a big deal does it? Try printing a document using your printer and you will find it wont print because the default printer is a ghost printer. So what you have to do each and everytime you print you have to go to the device manager and switch between your printer and the epson ghost printer as your default. Tech support told me they dont have a fix for this problem. Wow what a pain. If I am scanning the default printer is the Epson ghost. But to print this I have to change in the program to my printer so I can get my copy as requested from the scanner. But you cant forget to switch the default printer in the device manager when you are printing from any windows program or the internet. I took it back!! I dont have the time or the patience to deal with Epsons way of doing business. Think about it, you would think a scanner is to work on its own merits but Epson has made it only able to work without grief if you own one of their printers. Thanks but no thanks. Back to HP for me.

I could not install this scanner in my new computer. There were problems with the software with windows XP. The bundeled photo editing software that came with it was the only part that did install; did not need it as I have much better ones now. The drivers and the smart scan function would not install. After many tries and several frustrating days, I returned it to the place I bought it on advice from some other experts in computer science.I cannot recommend this to anyone as one other person rated here, It is a dog. I then bought an HP unit that installed easily with no problems and it works great. My advice is to spend a few extra bucks and avoid the hours of frustration that I had.

One Saturday morning my old scanner bit the dust. I needed a scanner that weekend, so some research, store visits and reading were required. I finally narrowed my choice to this model and a Canon that didnt do photo negatives. The rebate on this model swayed me along with the capability (although will I use it?) of doing negatives. Well, lets sum it up by saying that after 10 frustrating days, I took it back and got the Canon. Functionally, the 1260 worked fine...quiet and quick. But the software was [horrible]. The Epson Control Panel had text that showed up in different fonts if it showed up at all (I had to constantly open the help file to see what a panel should look like and to figure out what the buttons and text boxes should say). Also, although some functions worked fine, I was unable to save a scanned file as a TIF or BMP and have it import with any quality into PageMaker. My old ...scanner did this just fine at 200 dpi for the size I needed. Anyway, I contacted the help sites for the scanner and a separate site for the software (even though its got Canons name all over it, they dont support it), and after 9 days had heard nothing from either of them. Think twice before you purchase this dog. In fact with that type of customer service, maybe Canon isnt a good choice at all.

I have had this scanner for about three years - use it moderately, but a lot at the moment. It has always done what is said it would, never any hang ups or errors and the Smart Panel equally seems to do what it says. Apart from the long warmup time, not a bad buy (although not obsolete) Those with problems may well have configuration difficulties or whatever.

I have never had so much difficulty with an Epson product. It arrived in good condition, but the Twain software would Not install from the supplied CD. I tried it both on a windows and a Mac, with the same result. The Epson support site is a maze of screens that continually loops and returns you to the first Screen. It’s pretty frustrating by the fifth time you enter your serial number. Phone calls were not answered and an emails to Epson support were ignored.

Please do yourself a favor and dont purchase this scanner. It is by far the WORST scanner Ive ever owned. I think my scsi scanner from the early 90s was better, at least it worked. Epson also is notorius for providing terrible support for their products and as far as I can tell no longer provides an updated driver for the 1260 model on their site. You need the full driver to scan slides.

I just love this little photo scanner. It is great for slides as well and is fast and very easy to use. The instructions can be a little difficult but you can work through them. Open the reference and instructions with your internet browser. It is just perfect!

I got this as part of a special offer with my Mac G4. I have been using scanners for almost 20 years, and this is *the worst* I have ever had the misfortune to be stuck with. There is no off button; the only way to shut it off (and prevent its big green light from illuminating the room) is to unplug it; if it has one-touch copying, I have never succeeded in getting it to work; the software is terrible -- at least fifty per cent of the time it stops making copies for no apparent reason; I use Adobe Photoshops twain acquire function to avoid having to use the software which comes with this thing, but -- again -- half the time it does not work; it is not working now although it worked fine two days ago with the same connection and the same software. DO NOT waste any time or money on this thing. Even if you receive it for free, dont bother with it -- it will waste so much of your time that you may just grab it and throw it against a wall or something else valuable. I give it one star because it *does* work every once in a while. That is the only good thing I have to say about this piece of junk.

When my HP Scanjet 3200C refused to work with Windows XP on my new computer, I decided to try the Epson Perfection 1260. The installing the scanner drivers were extremely easy. I didnt bother with the additional software since I have Photoshop 7. After quickly getting the scanner up and running, I noticed problems. When pictures or color documents were scanned, they were usually a bit blurry. Sometimes they had a red line going through them, however, I didnt think much of it. I pretty much used the scanner for line art. That however should have been a warning sign as the quality of photos, magazine articles and covers I scanned seemed to get progressively worse. To make them look clear, I often had to clean up the lines in Photoshop. Then came the final straw, when trying to scan a color drawing, the scan came out way too dim. Instead of a clear picture (or even a slightly blurred one) all I got was grayish fuzz. When I tried to scan a DVD cover as a test, all I got a lot of red and no color. All of this, and Ive only had it for a few months, moderately using it from time to time. All in all, Id say my money was wasted. So far Id say if youre looking for something easy to install and use, that also scans clean line art, then go for it. For anything and everything else, the low price isnt worth it.