[clue-tech] Anybody using an Epson scanner?

[Matt Gushee]

Hi, all--

I am looking for a good quality, reasonably priced *photo* scanner that
works with Linux.

Ha-ha! It appears the options are extremely limited, indeed almost
nonexistent. However, the Epson Perfection 4490 looks like a
possibility. It's gotten fairly good reviews and can be had for $129.
The catch is that the normal frontend programs (XSane & friends) don't
work with it. You have to use the 3rd-party program ImageScan! (AKA
iscan), developed by Avasys Corporation (http://avasys.jp/). And on
their web site they show test results for a variety of Linux distros,
and according to their chart different scanners work with different
distros ... it seems kind of random, really. Also, and not too
surprisingly, my distro, Arch Linux, isn't one of the ones they test.

So here's what I'm wondering: if anyone is using an Epson scanner with
iscan, do you have any idea what characteristics of the system determine
whether a particular scanner will work or not? I suppose I could buy the
thing and then return it if I can't make it work, but that's such a
PITA. I'd rather have some idea of what I'm getting into.

Oh, BTW, I have contacted Avasys with this question, but from various
info on their site it appears that communicating with users isn't a high
priority for them, so I might have to wait quite a while for a response.

Thanks for any insights!

-- 
Matt Gushee
matt at gushee.net