Epson Scan cutting 4x5 scans into strips

[spike42]

For years I have used an Epson V700 to scan 4x5 negatives in one pass with no issue. Now it has suddenly and inexplicably started slicing the image into three vertical strips that have to be stitched together. I didn't change any settings and haven't installed any updates. I have tried rebooting everything, resetting Epson scan, and uninstalling and reinstalling both the scanner drivers and Epson Scan, several times. I can't find any sign online of anyone else ever having experienced this.

Has anyone seen this happen, and if so how did you fix it?

[djdister]

When you are seeing the initial scan in Preview mode, you need to switch from "Thumbnail" view to "Normal" view by clicking on the appropriate tab of the Preview display.

This is where you need to switch the preview mode from Normal to Thumbnail or vice versa:

[spike42]

Hi, thanks for the reply. I have always used "Thumbnail" view. Previously, this mode would use the film holder to find the edges of the image and crop it down automatically, but this has stopped working. Do you know what could have changed?

It might also be worth mentioning that this is still working normally for all other film sizes, only the 4x5 is having this problem.

[Alan Klein]

It seems that the scanner holes of your 4x5 holder appear like a 35mm strip holder. There are little sensors at the top of the glass toward the hinge that determine which film holder is lying on the glass. It looks like the sensors might be dirty. Try cleaning them off. You can see where these are by looking at the top of each type of (holder). There should be little holes that code the holders that let light through to the sensors, so the scanner knows which holder type you're using. Also, clean the holes in the holder so they are not blocked with dust or dirt.

[djdister]

It seems that the scanner holes of your 4x5 holder appear like a 35mm strip holder. There are little sensors at the top of the glass toward the hinge that determine which film holder is lying on the glass. It looks like the sensors might be dirty. Try cleaning them off. You can see where these are by looking at the top of each type of sensor. There should be little holes that code the holders that let light through to the sensors, so the scanner knows which holder type you're using. Also, clean the holes in the holder so they are not blocked with dust or dirt.

I'm with Alan. If its not the "Normal/Thumbnail" setting then it could be something is blocking the tiny hole pattern that identifies the 4x5 holder near the large notch at the top of the holder.

[spike42]

Thank you both for the advice. It's these holes, correct? If so, they appeared clean, but I gave them a blast of air duster just in case. Same issue :\


Also, what I'm seeing isn't exactly like the strips djdister posted in their screenshot. I'm attaching a screenshot of what I'm seeing as well. (Please excuse the terrible photo I'm trying to scan)

[djdister]

I switched over to my 4x5 film holder but could not reproduce the problem you have. Here is the normal 4x5 thumbnail view:



But, here is another way to do it. In the Preview panel, switch over to Normal instead of Thumbnail view. You should see two unbounded images in the preview scan:



Then manually draw the marquee (see below) around one of the images and then do the scan for that area.

[spike42]

Yeah, that's the way I've started doing it, I just wish I could do it the easy way again. Out of curiosity, could I see a picture of the dots on your film holder? Just to compare the pattern.

[spike42]

Oh nevermind, I see it in the screenshot. Looks the same. Although my holder only has space for one negative, which is odd.

[djdister]

Yeah, that's the way I've started doing it, I just wish I could do it the easy way again. Out of curiosity, could I see a picture of the dots on your film holder? Just to compare the pattern.

The 4x5 film holder that came with my v750 Pro holds 2 negs, which is not too bad. Other than that, the dot pattern seems to be identical.


However, my 4x5 film holder does NOT have the two long open areas (circled in red) that yours appears to have. What are those for? Do your other film holders have those narrow openings in them as well?