Plustek ePhoto Z300 Scanner Review

Features
Performance
Verdict
Specification

The Plustek ePhoto Z300 was announced late 2015. It has the footprint of a larger toaster and will scan documents and photos up to 8.5" x 11.7" (A4 / Letter), or your cash back receipts. It has a maximum scan resolution of 600 dpi. It is now available for around £150, but how does it perform?  

Plustek ePhoto Z300 installation and Bundled Software

As with many USB devices, the software should be installed from the CD before connecting the scanner. This is fairly straight forward, though checking on-line for updates could save installation time. The bundled software is Plustek ePhoto with NewSoft Presto! PageManager 9 Win/Mac, which has embedded Optical Character Recognition (OCR) which helps to convert scanned documents to searchable PDF. The scanner is also compatible with Hamrick's VueScan.

Plustek ePhoto Z300 Features

The light source is a row of LEDs. Colour input is 48-bit with an output of 24-bit. Greyscale input is 16-bit and output 8-bit. With a maximum resolution of 600 x 600 dpi, A4 scans take approximately 5 seconds. The process of scanning is considerably simpler when all you have to do is put the source into the slot. It is automatically detected and sucked through in seconds. Scans would be suitable for printing at not much more than their original size with a minimal amount of touching up.

Provided in the box is everything you need to get started, including an unexpected cleaning cloth. 

Key Features

• Continuous scanning (up to 10 images)
• Gentle roller system
• Auto-crop, auto de-skew
• One-touch sharing to social media sites
• 600x600dpi resolution LED scanner
• 48/24-bit colour, 16/8-bit greyscale
• 6x4inch photo - 2-second scanning speed
• A4 document - 5-second scanning speed
• USB2.0 connection

Plustek ePhoto Z300 Performance

The performance section is where we look at the image quality performance of the scanner. Additional sample photos and product shots are available in the Equipment Database, where you can add your own review, photos and product ratings.

Scanning times are very quick and aren’t an issue. It is possible to scan through prints or documents and achieve good results quite quickly. It is necessary to use the calibration sheet on first setup, and regularly clean the glass under the feed mechanism, as any contamination will result in lines appearing on the output. The OCR software appears confident and is as good as any other I have experience of.

Plustek ePhoto Z300 Sample Photos

Value For Money

The Plustek ePhoto Z300 is available for £169, which makes it reasonable value for money for this style of scanner, although some flatbed scanners are less. Alternatives include the Kodak i1150 A4 Colour Document Scanner at £300, the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Document Scanner for £353 and the Canon imageForumula DR-C225W Document Scanner for £300.

Plustek ePhoto Z300 Verdict

The Plustek ePhoto Z300 is very capable at scanning prints or documents and a most convenient means of digitising them. It offers another means of archiving receipts for your records. Flatbed scanners with lids may have more resolution but would be over-specified for the job at hand. I would recommend it if you frequently need to convert photos for digital purposes, as this is a tool of convenience which will make for good productivity.

The Plustek ePhoto Z300 is a very capable and quick scanner.

Plustek ePhoto Z300 Specifications

View Full Product Details