Scanner lines on Epson V800

[CharlesDAMorgan]

My Epson V800 is generally good enough, but it has recently started adding these lines to my scans, and whatever I do, cleaning etc, it just carries on doing it. Help gratefully appreciated - if nothing else so I can get it working and flog it to move to camera scanning. It's only 2 years old and has had a relatively easy life.

There is nothing on the negatives at all. A crop below to show the full gory detail.

 

[Highway 61]

Can be a defective condensator of the main lamp circuitry board.
If so, the lines will show up when you scan opaque documents too.
If not, the problem is similar but with the illuminating lamp in the scanner top cover (problem with a condensator or electrical contacts problems between the scanner main body and the scanner top cover).
Other possibility : the AC/DC power unit is going kaput.

 

[Pál_K]

Do you mean a capacitor problem? Old electrolytic capacitors can dry out or leak, but the V800 is a relatively new scanner.

I bought my V800 about three years ago and have rarely used it - perhaps infrequent use, such as with infrequently used flash units, may require capacitors to need to be "reformed" - - but usually that's for 20+ year old unused equipment.

Replacing capacitors isn't difficult - if that's the problem.

I haven't used my V800 for about 10 months, so I can't say if I have this problem; all was ok last April.

Only suggestion I have is to see if the lines disappear after about an hour or two of use. Or are the scans clear at first (first scan after power up) and then appear later?

 

[nickthetasmaniac]

Have you specifically cleaned the area of scanning glass closest to the lid hinge? This is the calibration area on Epsons. As far as I understand, Epson scanners calibrate before each scan, and if this area is dirty (even slightly) if will leave straight coloured lines on the scan. Happens semi-regularly on my V550. Very easy fix.

 

[Highway 61]

Do you mean a capacitor problem?

Yes, capacitor not "condensator", sorry for the dumb mistake (English isn't my mother tongue).

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Strange. You have light lines and dark lines. I'm guessing the sensor, it's a linear line that moves during the scan, one micro-sensor per pixel. In the line, dust blocks a pixel. Meanwhile, another pixel has failed, a so-called "hot pixel".

Clean to get the dust off sensor? What to do about stuck pixel.

 

[ColSebastianMoran]

Have you specifically cleaned the area of scanning glass closest to the lid hinge? This is the calibration area on Epsons. As far as I understand, Epson scanners calibrate before each scan, and if this area is dirty (even slightly) if will leave straight coloured lines on the scan. Happens semi-regularly on my V550. Very easy fix.

This might be right. Any block in this area messes things up badly.

 

[CharlesDAMorgan]

Thanks all - I've given the scanner glass an even more thorough clean, concentrating on the area nickthetasmaniac highlighted. A medium format scan came back absolutely fine.

So looks to be solved, probably my cleaning area (concentrating on the glass the negatives sit on) was not comprehensive enough. Thanks very much all, and thank heavens it's not new scanner time!

 

[David Hughes]

Yes, capacitor not "condensator", sorry for the dumb mistake (English isn't my mother tongue).

Not so dumb; people my age call them condensers but they do like to rename things from time to time. It's a form of exclusion, as I see it...


Regards, David


PS And we know what KT 66's are and what doesn't need matched pairs.

 

[Beemermark]

Strange. You have light lines and dark lines. I'm guessing the sensor, it's a linear line that moves during the scan, one micro-sensor per pixel. In the line, dust blocks a pixel. Meanwhile, another pixel has failed, a so-called "hot pixel".

Clean to get the dust off sensor? What to do about stuck pixel.

I had this problem a few years on my V700. The solution was to turn the scanner on it's side and tap it gently a few times. I wasn't the originator of the idea, read it online. V700 has worked fine ever since. Internal dust on the scanning sensor.