Well I finally accumulated enough crap under my platen glass to actually be able to scan some of it depending where on the bed I scan. So it's time to do surgery....
I found the Yahoo Groups PDF and am intimidated. Any words of wisdom? Anyone around Rochester experienced with this already?
I think I have enough $ to get an Epson 700 if all else fails....
I'm right there with you. My 4990 needs the same treatment.
If it doesn't work out, this will be a good excuse to jump from 1600 to 2300 spi actual resolution.
However, the 700's suffer from the same problem, and people have reported that they arrive in a condition which merits the same cleaning.
Me too.
I had a 4990 a couple of years ago. I cleaned a couple of times, I just took all the screws out, took it apart and cleaned it with a lens cloth and lens cleaner. The main thing is work in as dust free environment as possible and have a strong light source handy so you can check your work. I didn't find anything hard about it, you just need to be methodical.
I just did it in a few minutes. Four screws, the two under the top lid mounting pins and two under those dumb plastic caps (destroyed). Also cleaned the top cover in about two minutes. Just have the right small Phillips head screwdriver... didn't have to mess with any cables, just flipped the platen over and Windexed it clean. Nothing fancy or hard, I have no idea why that guy did a six-page PDF How-To when it was so darn obvious. I only kick myself for not doing it sooner but the instructions were scary.... Test scan looks much cleaner than before!
I always had the impression, not at all based on actual experience or anything valid, that the Epson 700 and 750 were merely the 4990 in a nicer chassis. Is the actual sensor different or what is responsible for the improvement?
I've cleaned both a 2450 and a 4490. It is a straightforward operation. Remove the screws and the halves separate. I kept the orientation the same as it would be while scanning (I didn't flip the scanner over). I cleaned it with lens cleaner and wipes.
At this point I need to mention that when you break yours while cleaning it, it isn't my fault!
Good to know how easy it is; that tutorial made it look pretty involoved. I have needed to clean mine for several years now- lots of buildup that made dust spotting skies a tedious chore.
Brian Vuillemenot
Strange. I would have thought that the dust on the underside of the platen would have been so far out of the plane of focus that it would not be imaged in the scan. I see some dust already on my newer V750 but can't find any of it imaged on my scanned images.
My dust must be more transparent than most other dust!
Nate Potter, Austin TX.
It's also a haze...
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