The Epson TWAIN Pro driver provides a selection of preview window sizes, as well as a new Densitometer that is interactive with the mouse cursor and eyedropper function. This adds much to the easy cropping and simple automatic or manual image adjustment controls provided by the driver interface. From the Configuration button you can also access preferences. This allows specific color management profile selection to configure the operation to a particular system.

Using The Epson Expression 1680 Pro
Upon receiving a scanner from Epson, I immediately connected it and installed the software. My next task was to use the IT-8 color references supplied with SilverFast to calibrate the scanner for both reflective and transparency scanning. Both the LaserSoft SilverFast and Epson TWAIN Pro software provide a Color Management System dialog to identify and select the profiles to use for the scanner and output, including the color space designation that is consistent with the CMS setup in the full version of Photoshop 5.5 or 6.0.

I started with a selection of 120 and 4x5 black and white silver-based film images. This was partly to satisfy a serious personal interest and curiosity, and to test the Expression 1680’s ability to make sharp scans at full hardware resolution. If you recall, I had a minor reservation about Epson’s earlier 1600 model in this regard. Considering that the Expression 1680 will very likely be paired with one of Epson’s 13" wide printers, I made all of my test scans (except 35mm film) at an image size of 13" wide by 300dpi. Using 24-bit output this results in a 50MB plus RGB file or about 17MB for 8-bit gray scale). Both drivers--the Epson TWAIN Pro and SilverFast--support output at the scanners’ bit depth of 16-bit gray scale and 48-bit RGB color.

B&W Scan Tip
I came upon a problem when doing some of my black and white films scans. It was most evident in images with a relatively short density scale, particularly portraits and figures against a black background. In darker, smooth tone gradations the final adjusted scan image contained some posterization, sharp tone breaks that should have been smooth. This resulted in 16 to 8-bit scans of black and white film using both SilverFast and Epson TWAIN Pro. As a result, I changed my approach and scanned my black and white films as if they were positive images and selected 16-bit output instead of 8 bit.

My test scans of a variety of 35mm film images produced very clean, accurate color, and good image sharpness with the scan resolution set to make a 10" long image on a 8.5x11" paper.

Then, I opened the negative, high-bit image in Photoshop 6.0, I used the Levels dialog to optimize the gamut and adjust the midpoint (on-screen brightness) to a perceptual level that years of wet darkroom printing had taught me "looked" like a good negative. I then Inverted this image to a positive, and again used the Levels dialog to fine-tune the optimization of the gamut. If necessary, I also adjusted Curves to increase the image contrast, which affected some levels of tone relationships in the picture.

These results were uniformly excellent, just about the best scans I’ve made with any scanner of black and white silver-based film. Out of about 65 scans of a wide range of subjects and negative characteristics there was only one image with which I was not satisfied, and I believe that was due as much to the original photography as the scanning. I also reported this problem to both LaserSoft and Epson. In both instances they were interested in a resolution, and I promised to provide some samples to assist in finding a fix for this minor software problem.

Color Scans
I then called upon my friend and colleague, James Chen, and asked if he had some color he would like scanned. I knew that his architectural and interior photography would provide some challenging subjects. I was not disappointed. He chose some interior images of the creations of a renowned designer that were indeed challenging. Some were original transparencies, some duplicate transparencies, and some color negatives. I scanned each image and accommodated the different sizes to get an image size to make a print 13" wide at 300dpi.

All of the scans were made using SilverFast Ai 5 to adjust the pre-scan. This resulted in an image open in Photoshop 6.0 that was very close to the values in the transparencies. One of the negatives, a fairly old Ektacolor, resulted in a particularly fine scan. I then made a few minor editing adjustments, mostly to fine-tune the image gamut using Levels, and then made a test print with my Epson Stylus Photo 1270 printer. The print images, I believe, were very accurate and were high quality representations of the original film images.

During the years I was in Hollywood I made countless portraits with a 645 medium format camera. The Epson Expression 1680 Pro scanned this portrait negative and preserved all of the tone values exactly for a 13x19" Epson Stylus Photo 1270 print. I would have been hard pressed to match the quality in my "wet" darkroom at the time the photo was taken.

My next tests included many more 35mm film images, including many slides, more than I usually scan with a flat-bed. From this sample I found that this newest Epson Expression did a much better job scanning 35mm images than any affordable flat-bed I have worked with so far. I was particularly impressed that scanning to a 10" long by 300dpi image file resulted in very good prints on 8.5x11 photo paper. Even very fine detail in the slide was captured and reproduced crisply in the test prints I made. In the course of my test work I also scanned a few prints and documents. I also found that the TextBridge OCR was efficient and accurate. It was apparent that the Epson TWAIN Pro driver interface has been improved. It now provides a magnified thumbnail of the image pre-scan of wherever the cursor is on screen. This assists in the precise placement of the eyedroppers to select highlight and shadow points. It is backed up with before and after "Densitometer" readouts. However, I would personally prefer a histogram display instead of numeric readouts to provide a graphic representation of the image gamut as a better guide to adjustment.

I particularly appreciated the physical film handling with this Epson scanner. They have provided well-designed film holders for 35mm, 120, and 4x5 film sizes. They are both efficient to use and support the film evenly to obtain good focus and sharpness and eliminate any fear of a Newton ring resulting from the film’s contact with the glass of the scan surface. This feature is made effective by the Expression’s dual focus, which automatically adjusts the scanner’s lens to focus 0.25mm above the scan area glass surface when the software is adjusted to film scanning. This dual focus advantage was particularly evident when scanning slides that exhibited quite a bit of film curvature within the mount, causing parts of the image to be scanned slightly out of focus. The uneven focus was resolved by remounting the slides in Wess Plastic mounts, which hold the film flatter.

Evaluation And Recommendations
The Epson 1680 seems made for photographers who have film images in several, if not all, format sizes, and who may not have been able to afford a high-priced, professional scanner. Considering that 13" wide ink jet printers have become the largest size in the affordable category as well, the Expression 1680 Pro is an ideal match. All of the scans I made to evaluate the 1680, save those of 35mm slides and negatives, were test printed on 13x19 paper with the Epson Stylus Photo 1270 printer. In many cases the image quality was better, than I got in the old days from my wet darkroom or from a photo lab.

I deliberately chose a number of black and white negatives to scan that contained fine detail that was barely discernable from the grain in the negative. In every instance the resulting scans reproduced that fine detail without any trace of scanner artifacts and resulted in very crisply defined 13x19" prints.

The Epson Expression 1680 Pro is also exceptional in the diversity of accompanying software. The Epson TWAIN Pro driver is very efficient and easy to use, providing appropriate access to the full range of the scanner’s capabilities. It could even handle small office tasks such as document scanning, using your scanner and printer as a copier, or connecting to MS Office and using it as a means to send a fax of a document. Epson’s inclusion of the full version of LaserSoft SilverFast Ai 5 provides what I have found to be the most effective tool for obtaining precisely and finely adjusted scans of all kinds of photographic images.

In addition, the inclusion of IT-8 targets and SilverFast’s utility to custom calibrate and profile the scanner for both reflective and transparency scanning is invaluable. It is especially so with the included Monaco EZ Color (CMS) color management software, which adds monitor calibration and profiling as well as custom printer profiling. This results in a completely and precisely color managed imaging computer system. Added to this is Adobe Photoshop LE. All of the above provides any photographer with a computer and printer with a complete beginning package to do digital darkroom imaging at a professional quality level.

Epson has directed much research and development specifically targeted to products that support the digital darkroom. The Epson Expression 1680 Pro is another example of this effort, one that brings a new level of photographic scanning to the digital darkroom enthusiast. Being a member of that club, and having as yet not purchased a scanner for doing my medium and large format film, this new Epson product will get my nod. I’ll be placing my order soon.

For more information, call (800) 463-7766, or visit their web site at: www.epson.com

Technical Specifications
Type: Flat-bed single pass color scanner
Resolution: 1600x3200dpi maximum hardware resolution with Micro Step Drive
Maximum Interpolated Resolution: 12,800x12,800dpi
Scan Depth: 48 bit (16 bit per RGB channel)
Dynamic Range: 3.6 D-max
Focus: Dual level
Sensor: Color CCD 6-line, 1600dpi line sensor (40,800 pixel)
Light Source: Xenon gas cold cathode fluorescent lamp
Scan Area: 8.5x11.7"
Interface: USB and SCSI 2, FireWire extra cost option
Compatibility: Windows 95, 98, NT 4.0, 2000, ME: Macintosh OS 8 through 9X
Dimensions: 13.07x22.13x5.24" (without film scanner accessory)
Weight: 18.7 lbs
Package Prices: Special Edition $799, Artist $899, Pro $1149 (this report), Pro FireWire $1399