The Epson FastFoto FF-680W is a ground-breaking photo scanner from Epson. Unlike flatbed scanners, this scanner is designed for the sole purpose of scanning a lot of high quality photos quickly. If you have boxes of photos you inherited from family members, you’re going to want to keep reading.
A few years ago my grandmother died, and she left behind an attic full of family photos and albums. I’m talking about thousands of photos here. My extended family all wanted copies, but I would never have time to go through all these photos and make copies. I also couldn’t scan the important ones on my flatbed scanner; it would literally take days.
Pro Tip: Never put old photos through the auto document feeder on your printer. It’ll jam, trust me.
This is where the Epson FastFoto FF-680W comes in. It’s a device designed to help you run through those boxes in a few hours. I ran through these photos quickly, set up a Drobox folder, and dumped all the pictures in my relatives laps. This allowed everyone to pick what they wanted. It also let my aunts and uncles rename pictures based on who was in them, in case I didn’t know who they were.
I’ll be
If you want to skip the review, click here to see the Epson FastFoto FF-680W, my choice for the best photo scanner of 2019.
Pros
Incredible Speed
Using my old flatbed scanner, I can probably scan a 4”x6” photo in one minute at 600 dpi. With the Epson FastFoto FF-680W, I can scan over thirty per minute at that resolution. I set aside a couple hours, put on a few Johnny Cash albums, and dropped a stack of photos in every minute or so. And I threw some treats at my dog because it’s funny when they bounce off his nose. All-in-all, not a bad way to kill a Sunday afternoon.
The Best Photo Scanner of 2019 Better Have Great Scan Quality, and the Epson FastFoto FF-680W Does for Sure
So, fast scanning means absolutely nothing if your photos look like crap. With the Epson FastFoto FF-680W this isn’t an issue. You can scan documents and photos from 300 to 1200 dpi, with the crisp blacks and colors you’ve come to expect from Epson.
Also, this printer includes OCR software with its software package, so you can edit your documents after scanning them. That software alone can go for well over one hundred dollars.
Space-Saving Design
I love how small the Epson FastFoto FF-680W is. Like me, most people purchase this scanner with the intention to scan a huge number of photos right away. After that, usage becomes much less frequent.
This scanner’s compact design and ability to fold in all the trays make it a great scanner to have in the corner of your desk or in a cabinet. It pops out quick when you need it and stows away when you don’t. Heck, I use mine as a bookend on my shelf. If it works, it works.
Cons
Better Refinance Your House
As I said above, this scanner is expensive. It is likely over twice as expensive as your printer, maybe even more expensive than your laptop.
This is the case where you need to place a value on your time. Yes, this scanner is expensive, but it’s probably less that what you make in a week from your job. Will your photos take days to scan? Then it’s probably worth the expense to save the time.
You can also pool some cash from your family or earn the cost back from scanning other’s photos. I did neither of those things, but I’ve heard of people placing an ad on Craigslist to digitize people’s photos for a fee, which could help pay for the scanner.
No Negatives or Slides
If you are a photographer, chances are you already have a good scanner for slides and negatives. Or, even more likely, you don’t use film anymore, because no one does. But, if you do scan those, don’t throw out your flatbed, because the Epson FastFoto FF-680W won’t help you here.
Epson FastFoto FF-680W Verdict – This is the Best Photo Scanner of 2019
While expensive, the Epson FastFoto FF-680W is well worth the investment. It is unmatched in terms of speed and equal in quality to the already outstanding Epson scanning standard. If you are in need of a photo scanner, this is what you are looking for.
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