Epson v550 and Linux

[zeitoun]

Has anybody any experience with scanning with Epson v550 under Linux ?

For the moment, using the Epson driver, I have only been able to scan whole strips of negatives, and have to resort to zooming in onto individual negatives for scanning them, one by one. Also, I can only save as TIFF files, as the JPEG option does not appear...

Would Vuescan be a better choice than Epson Scan ? (I was quite satisfied with the Epson software under Windows 10, but my computer died on me and I heard the Epson software is quite erratic under Windows 11 which is what comes with most new computers. I would also really like to migrate to Linux away from Microsoft !

Thanks in advance for any help.

Paul

 

[zane0777]

I have a V600 scanner running flawlessly under Ubuntu 22.04 using Vuescan. I assume a V550 would work as well, but check the user support forums for your particular linux distribution.

 

[zeitoun]

Thank you for your prompt response, zane0777. I have downloaded Vuescan but was wary about installing it. Your input is highly appreciated. As I said in my original message, I would LOVE to move away from Microsoft (and from its other GAFA acolytes !)

 

[zane0777]

Microsoft has wasted too many hours of my life with their crappy wares - I'll never go back. Vuescan is a fine product, very actively supported and I was happy to pay for lifetime updates.

 

[zeitoun]

Same here. You express my feeling much more eloquently than I know how to ! Thanks.

 

[Darthfeeble]

I question your wanting to scan and save as jpeg, compression reduces quality and scanned film is tough enough to get clear images via home scanning as it is.

 

[zeitoun]

Steve (I follow your suggestion !),
I use the scanning mostly to have quick access to the pictures, and to share via email... JPEG seems to me to be sufficient for that purpose. TIFF files are quite a bit heavier than JPEGs...I will, however, keep in mind your suggestion for when I need higher quality (less compression).

 

[Darthfeeble]

For your purposes the jpeg is perfect. I scan to have printable files, then if there's one that is good enough (rare in my case) to share I will make a jpeg from that.

 

[zeitoun]

Thanks, Steve, you comfort me in my ignorance (in my case too, "good enough" pictures are rare events !).

 

[JeffS7444]

I haven't been able to get Epson Scan to work under W11 at all, though the driver is functional (and required, in order to use Silverfast AI Studio)

Have previously had good scanning results with xSANE under one flavor of *nix or another. But I hadn't been aware that Epson themselves had ventured into Linux software development, apparently recently as 2022. It's possible that some of the Epson code has already made it into SANE, so I'd give that a try first, via official software repository for your particular Linux distro.

But installing .deb or .rpm binaries from other random sources can be problematic, especially if the system they were compiled on differs significantly from the one you are using.

 

[zeitoun]

Thank you Jeff for your warnings. I willl let my computer tech install VueScan as Linus is brand new to me... Thanks again.