Fixing software updates by playing with hardware

The "Epson Perfection V600 Photo" is a fine scanner, but the software often fails it, and the user.

This is true after all the most recent updates have been applied, regardless of which scanning app is used.

The error is:

"Unable to send data. Check the connection to the scanner and try again. E583-B318"

It reports this error even while visibly communicating with the scanner, with various whirring and clicking as evidence.

Not so helpfully, the error prevents scanning from taking place, after which the scanning app terminates.

With a bit of oddball tinkering, I found a "fix". I'll use the transparency scanner as an example.

If you open the lid of the scanner, and try to scan, you get this error:

"Remove the document mat from the scanner."

But this is not a fatal error. Close the scanner lid, click "ok", and try your scan.

For me (hopefully others) the scanning then works continually, until I unplug the computer from the scanner, or quit the scanning app.

I'll let the reader draw their own conclusions about the level of investment Epson makes to assure software quality ...