Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

The reason why I am writing this review is because I am extremely not happy with the Epson software. And, it is all about one function - Auto Cropping/Auto Trimming. A function that can ruin your day. And, it has a much bigger impact than you think. So, last year, out of the box, I started scanning hundreds of old color photos. In the process, I started noticing that the edges were trimmed. Well, I wanted original sizes not trimmed sizes. I kept doing re-runs. And, the same images kept getting trimmed. They were not white edges but colored. At the time, I did a workaround by placing a colored paper as backdrop and placed photos at the center of the machine. Now, instead of being efficient, I had to adjust/rotate each photo and manually trimming each photo. What a great way to waste time! With this horrible auto cropping function in mind, every time I bring out this machine, I feel a burden. I couldn't stand this Auto Cropping function anymore. So, I started to research for a solution online. (I am somewhat a tech savvy guy. I look for solutions online all the time.) There were only two pieces of information in regards to solving the Auto Crop issue. Both were from Epson website. First piece, it was so vague, it doesn't even tell you where to get to the settings. (Well, the solution is just a general solution guide. It doesn't refer to a specific software model.) Second piece, the solution guide was so outdated, the current software has the Auto Crop function hidden and set to "ON" and greyed out. Why would settings be greyed out in "Professional Mode"? Why can't I turn Auto Cropping off? Ain't I supposed to take full control in this mode? I started playing around with the setting and tried to see if I could bring the function out of the grey. The only way to bring this function out of the grey was to bring up the "Preview" window. Without this window staying up, the software will default it to auto trimming on. Even when the "Preview" window is up, you still have to manually turn Auto Trim off. Now, there is a way to turn off Auto Trim. So, what's the big issue? The big issue is - Without turning on your computer and bringing the "Preview" window up, anything that you scan will be cropped. That is including the express 'Scan' button on the physical machine. Instead of bringing you efficiency, this scanner requires you to modify settings to get original sized scans. Don't expect to get original sized scans if you are using "Full Auto Mode", "Home Mode" or "Office Mode". This setting can only be found in "Professional Mode". How terrible is the Auto Trimming function on a 8.5x11, black & white document scan? For me, it can trim as much as 1/2" from edges. At times, my texts can be lining up against the scanned edges. The only good thing I can say about this scanner is the Auto Color correction function. It really does an amazing job. It is able to bring a pitch black photo back in colors with clarities. Do I recommend buying this scanner? No, because I don't see a value in efficiency if I have to memorize and to change settings every time I want to make a document scan.