Epson V700 fogging

[steamer]

I've got a GT-X900 which is the Japanese model of the V700. The glass plate is slightly fogged on the inside. The screws are covered by plugs and I can't figure out how to remove the glass to clean it. Can anyone explain how to remove the glass for cleaning?

[Pherdinand]

I removed those four plugs and took the screws out.
I could NOT remove the plastic plugs without leaving a mark on them. (I guess that's exactly the idea of Epson!) Eventually i had to use a very sharp paper-cutter knife edge to pick them out from the hole. But the warranty period on mine is gone anyway, so i did not mind.

Be sure to cover the scanner with something after taking the glass off, in order to avoid dust etc settling inside.

I cleaned it with a soft cloth and a tiny drop of isopropanol on it - the fog did not come off easily with plain water and i didnt want to rub it hard - and then a dry soft cloth. Do not push too hard.
If you keep it in the correct angle, you can see easily if it is clean already.

[Pherdinand]

By the way - cleaning it makes a LOT of difference in the shadow areas (shadow on slide film...or highlight on negative) where the speckles can be seen at higher magnification, or the contrast drops at lower mag.

[steamer]

Thanks Pherdinand, I'll give it a try this weekend.

[xvvvz]

Here is a link to a page I put up that has exploded diagrams of that scanner model and a few others in case it helps:

http://www.betterscanning.com/scanning/dismantling.html

Other people have posted they were able to remove the caps by using duct tape applied to the top of the caps. Apparently it did not leave any marks.

Doug

[palec]

Thank you for the tips, mine is fogged, too.

[jan normandale]

I've heard this is a great flatbed, however this is the first I've heard of this issue. How are you liking this scanner and are there other issues that have come up besides the fogging.

[Pherdinand]

All flatbeds fog after some time of using them. It's due to the plastic components inside that are outgassing, and the result precipitating on the scanner glass.
They should be made in a way that allows easy cleaning.

[steamer]

Doug Thanks for the tips and your web pages.

Jan I like it fine, the fogging is pretty slight, can't be seen without the light on and looking just so, had a worse problem with my old canon but it had easily accessible screws.

Performance wise, it does a decent job at a reasonable price, dust control is always a hassle, but not really the scanner's fault. all the stuff in my gallery and flickr has been scanned with the Epson

[jan normandale]

pherd, if I'd thought I would have realized that ... memo to self, Think more!

steamer, I took classes on one last nite. It sure seems good but the fogging thing made me ask. It does a fine job on BW which seems to be where I'm headed. Developing and scanning BW is miles easier and costs less than colour. Thanks for the feedback

[steamer]

The tape is the hot tip for removing the plugs to get at the screws that hold the glass in place. The plugs all popped right out, so it should be no sweat to clean inside of the glass.

[Pherdinand]

The tape idea is indeed great, too bad it came a few months too late for me!
I should also think more

The other issue with the v700 is, but probably thi sis software related, when I turn it on, and is connected to computer, it looks like it's on already after 2 seconds, but it's NOT. If i start epsonscan right away, it crashes (Mac OSx tiger). I have to wait for 10-15 seconds after turn-on; then the scanner makes a short whining noise, and then it IS indeed turned on.
Just a minor hiccup.

[palec]

I've just cleaned the scanner glass. It's not perfectly clean even though I've done the procedure twice, but much better than before. I've used this step-by-step instructions: http://www.clubsnap.com/forums/showp...76&postcount=4
and used strong tape to remove the taps.

Now I get a little bit more of shadow detail from negatives due to absent fog.

Pherdinand, I have to wait for the "sound" on Leopard, too. The scanner is just not ready, software does not crash, just pops an error when I'm too quick.

[spiderfrank]

v500 and iMac: I have to wait, but only a few seconds, I think 3 or 4, not 10... And the system doesn't crash: only a window saying the scanner is not ready yet.