EpsonExpression 12000XL-GA Flatbed Scanner

I work as a professional artist, and this beast is exactly what I've been looking for. It has a great image area size, perfect for those of us who work on bigger pictures, and the scanning time is lightning fast. The software (included both as a physical disk and a downloadable link right from the website) it very robust with a massive range of color adjustment options. This scanner gives you so much control over exactly how your image looks, you could spend hours scanning the same pic, re-tweaking the colors every time, and not have two scans look exactly alike. This is the best scanner I've ever used and I couldn't be happier.

This is a professional grade scanner and the price might scare off amateurs. It can scan large documents with very high resolution. Of course, such scans generate very large scan files. I prefer to scan with high resolution (800+ dpi) and archive the original scan on removable hard drives or online. One technique I use for documents that are even larger than the scanner's area is to scan in pieces at higher resolution and join them to original size at high resolution. This can strain the computer's capability to manage so much data, so sometimes it is necessary to make a compromise that users will have to decide based on experience.

I collect animation art that I scan to put in my online gallery etc. Most of the pieces won't fit on a standard A4 / US Legal sized scanner so this unit's large size is great for me. The 12000XL makes clear, bright, scans of my images. It's surprisingly quick at 300dpi.If you need large-format scanning, I highly recommend this scanner. I bought this one to upgrade an Epson 10000XL that still works and served me well for several years.As you'd expect this scanner is large and heavy -- you'll want to plan a space for it in advance. It does have a small, fairly loud, high-pitched fan that runs when it's active, which may bother some users. The fan shuts off when the scanner goes into power save.The scanner itself rates five stars but the software bundle is worth a warning and causes me to knock off one star. At the low end Epson provides a very simple "Epson Scan" utility that has almost no options -- it's usable for undemanding document scans at best. There's theoretically a plugin to scan directly into Photoshop but it's so slow as to be useless.The other choice is a bundled copy of a commercial application called SilverFast AI, which is extremely powerful but counter-intuitive to the point of perversity. Nothing this program does makes any sense in the traditional GUI application paradigm. If you want to use SilverFast, read the instruction book thoroughly (really!) and be prepared to spend lots of time on trial and error.Many of SilverFast's functions overlap Photoshop's, so if your target is Photoshop you'll need to decide which tool you want to do the work. I currently use SilverFast to scan but with a customized, stripped-down workflow that includes only the tools I want. It took me hours of tinkering to get to a setup I like but now I am quite happy with it -- I scan to TIFF using SilverFast and then drag the TIFF image(s) into Photoshop to create layered PSDs.Despite the software I strongly recommend this scanner. You can get high productivity and excellent results with the SilverFast / 12000XL combination, just be prepared to put in some time struggling and experimenting as you learn how to make it do what you want.

A terrible experience with a defective product.I needed a high definition scanner for my work, so I purchased this scanner hoping it would fit my needs.Right away, I could tell there was a problem with the USB port. It's a major design flaw that there is only one USB port on the scanner, and when I tried to hook it up to my laptop, it would not connect.I called Epson tech support-- they refused to admit it could be a problem with their product, and insisted I was using faulty cables (even though I was using the cable that came with the scanner). I purchased new cables and adapters. The scanner worked briefly, and I was able to scan a few documents. But then of course it stopped connecting again. The problem was clearly with the scanner's USB port.The scanner worked on-and-off for a couple weeks before it failed to connect entirely, causing me to miss deadlines.I continued to call Epson and explain the problem, and the tech support continued to give me the same "it's the cables, it's your laptop" excuses, refusing to admit their scanner came broken. I tried multiple cables and laptops, and once again, it was very clear that the the scanner's USB port was the problem.I'm still trying to work out the issue to an uncooperative Epson. It's been a nightmare. Terrible customer service, terrible scanner design, and a deeply frustrating, expensive experience that has dented both my bank account and my work schedule.I will never buy overpriced, poorly-made Epson products again.

I don't know if this is the best out on the market currently but I love this beast. Large format and the resolution is awesome.I've scanned reflective media and for the most part, this handles it easily. The exception being media which reflects directly versus scattered.Requires desk space but you already know that.I don't think there's much to add to this review. If you're thinking about this model, you probably already know why and are just trying to find something to convince you one way or the other. You won't regret this one. I have only one complaint: when you power it on, it turns a fan on letting you know it means business.