Epson Perfection 3170 Photo Scanner

Delivering fine 3,200 x 6,400 dpi resolution and 48-bit scanning, the 3170 Photo offers phenomenal clarity and detail, whatever the task at hand. It even includes Hi-Speed USB 2.0 connectivity for Windows and Macintosh systems, plus a convenient built-in 35mm slide/filmstrip and medium-format adapter. Scan a negative or slide and give new life to moments from the past.

Easy Photo Fix Technology

The powerful bundled software suite includes Epson's exclusive Easy Photo Fix as well as Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, giving you the ability to perform one-touch color restoration to restores faded photos, slides, and negatives. Easy Photo Fix even provides a dust-removal function for optimal scanning of slides and negatives.

Adapters for 35mm film, slides, and medium format

What's in the Box
Epson Perfection 3170 photo scanner, 3-by-9-inch transparency adapter (built into scanner lid), three film holders (35mm slides, 35mm filmstrips, and medium format), CD-ROM with Epson scan software, productivity software, and electronic reference guide, CD-ROM with Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, a USB 2.0/1.1 cable, an AC adapter and power cable, and a scanner setup poster

Product Description
The Epson Perfection 3170 Photo scanner offers powerful, one-touch color restoration and remarkable image quality. With leading-edge technology, this high-value performer instantly restores faded photos, slides and negatives. Innovative Epson Easy Photo Fix technology, exclusively from Epson, even provides an incredible dust removal function for optimal scanning of slides and negatives.This product makes restoring images a snap, with three levels of control, including fully automated scanning and two advanced modes with individual setting selections.For added versatility, the Epson Perfection 3170 Photo includes a built-in 35mm slide/film strip and medium format adapter. Scan in a negative or slide and give new life to moments from the past. This product delivers all these convenient features, plus 3200 x 6400 dpi resolution for fine detail and professional results.With convenient PC and Macintosh compatibility, it offers multiple connectivity options, including hi-speed USB 2.0. Add the optional automatic document feeder for quick, easy scanning of multiple-page originals. Or, use this product with an Epson ink jet printer for extraordinary reprints and enlargements.With all this, plus a full suite of photo software titles, the Epson Perfection 3170 Photo offers a complete photo imaging solution - at a truly incredible value.

First of all, it doesn't come with a manual. Yes, it does come with a quick setup pamphlet with a basic "get started" guide, but if you're like me and absolutely HATE sitting there at the computer reading the operating manual, you'll be just as ticked off as I am about this. I'm one of the few who actually likes to get the manual for whatever I buy and sit down and read it first before setting the thing up. You have to wait till the software is installed and the scanner is set up before you can actually see how the complete system and software work.
The other problem I've found with this scanner is that when you scan a negative in the "thumbnail" mode (which is supposed to recognize the negative and preview it in a full page format), the negatives almost always get severely cropped. I scanned a picture of my parents wedding day and both the top of their heads were chopped off. After going into the annoying help file, I found that Epson says that it's normal for some negatives to get cropped severely if the background is very light. Just this alone almost made me pack this back up and ship it back to Amazon ... but then after digging around the help files endlessly, I found that you can scan the negative in a "full preview" mode (which actually will scan the negative, template, and anything else on the glass), and draw a marquee around the negative which will give you the full image. After finally figuring this out, I've found that the scanning quality of the negative is outstanding! I can't believe the quality of the pictures I can print from a negative that was taken over 60 years ago!

If those few negatives are minor to you, I think you'll find this to be an excellent all around scanner. Picture quality is fantastic and the software that comes with it works well. I'm very happy (now that I've figured it out) that I made this purchase and would highly recommend it.


A good and highly capable scanner   December 10, 2003
S. Sen (Carrollton, TX United States)
97 out of 98 found this review helpful

I bought this with a common expectation to have real good scans of my 4x6 photo prints. I was initially not fully happy with it's shadow-area performance, but after a bit of tinkering with settings I got the results I wanted.The scans are coming very good now.
My 2c advice for people who scrutinise scans deeply: decrease contrast 10-20%,increase brightness 5-15% for better shadow performance
It is very speedy and quiet.
The OCR s/w is really good.
The help system is only text-based(which is bad) and there is no toll-free # for tech support.
One of the things that I found after spending some time on net and with this scanner is, you may not need these 3200dpi etc resolution for scanning 4x6 photos.
12/18/03 - I tested Canon 5000F(2400dpi) and compared.
By default the epson scan has a higher contrast than Canon. This causes the scanner not to perform ably in dark areas,but the colors look punchy on first look.
On the other hand although the Canon captures greater detail under shadows by factory setting default, it adds a slight warm(reddish) tinge by default. The Canon build & s/w are worse(It's a much less sophisticated beast).It's much much slower & horribly Noisy.
Per my evaluation,this scanner is much more sophisticated and better value-for-money.


Excellent product and outstanding support   February 27, 2004
Karen Fine (San Diego, CA United States)
55 out of 56 found this review helpful

I would have given this four stars because of software conflicts, but their phone technical support was so above average that they deserve at least five stars. The bottom line is the scanner is terrific and works fine with XP. I had a problem with SMART PANEL not launching. After two hours on the phone with some very patient tech support people, it was determined that the TWAIN_32 folder in my C:drive had a folder for my digital camera AND one for the new scanner. They conflict with each other. Windows recognizes them as the same thing. All we had to do was put the camera folder on my desktop instead of the TWAIN_32 folder, and the Smart Panel finally worked 4.0. Unfortunately, if I want to use my camera, I have to switch the TWAIN_32 folder contents. Which is not Epson's fault. Either way, the scanner and software is terrific and incredibly easy to use. I highly recommend this scanner.


Hardware Great/Software Poor/Tech Support/Non Existent   February 4, 2004
77 out of 83 found this review helpful

Bought a 3170 in 12/04. Hardware works as advertized. However, could Not scan pictures larger than 4" x 5" at dpi greater than 1200. Sent E-mails to Epson, used their hard to find E-mail/Tech support form. After a detailed series of questions that should discourage most, found their system clocked out after 5 minutes of air time. Second time thru was successful in submitting a E-mail request. Results, no return from Epson. Tried 3 more times over a month. And YES they don't give a phone call in number!! No return ever!
Found a young sales rep in our area. He thought my questions were good enough for further investigation. He got the run around by higher ups for a month. Final his persistance paid off. Epson scanning software has a memory management problem. The recommended 512 Meg requirement is NOT enough. Their software does not do disk cache. As a result, you can have many gigs of hard disk space, but RAM will severely limit high resolution scans. For lower resolution scans or smaller areas, the system is fine. With the advent of scanners greater than 2000 dpi I suggest you verify that the system (HP, Epson, or whoever) will meet your needs for higher resolution scans and for the size area you want to scan.


Macintosh OSX 10.3.2 and the Epson 3170   February 8, 2004
barrikady (California)
35 out of 35 found this review helpful

The Epson 3170 is my second Epson scanner; the Epson 1250 PHOTO was my previous scanner. I like the software interface that Epson provides with the 1250, but the scanner is too slow and cumbersome in processing slides and negatives.

I purchased the 3170 because it can process 12 negatives or 4 slides in an automatic sequential manner. I have not been disappointed. The 3170 in conjunction with Adobe Photoshop Elements, which is included with the 3170, work very well together.

The scanner is a good value for the money, and it is an excellent choice for those people who have the need or desire to process slides or negatives/positives into a digital image.

A few caveats: The Epson Smart Panel software which shipped with the scanner is not compatable with OSX 10.3.x. I contacted the developer, and they provided me with a URL to download the latest version. The Epson Copy Utility software also needs to be updated. I downloaded the latest version from the Epson web site.