There are lots of discussions on the forum about the Epson V550/V600 scanners, but the scanners (and the forum posts) are quite old at this point. Are these still the best options for scanning slabs? Has anything better come out since then? From what I’ve read it’s hard to find CCD scanners these days. Since these particular printers have been discontinued, they are increasingly harder to find…
Here are some prices that I’ve been able to find on the market today (shipping included):
V600 - $675 new on Amazon
V600 - $558 new on eBay
V600 - $500 used on Amazon
V600 - $340 used on eBay
V550 - $775 new on Amazon
V550 - $380 used on Amazon
V550 - $260 used on eBay
These prices seem pretty steep for a 7+ year old printer, but they may be our only option…
Since I upgraded to a V600 I can and will absolutely recommend it to anyone looking for a scanner to scan raw cards and/or slabs. I don’t know what else is available that can compete with it although, I’m so happy with the results I wouldn’t bother changing.
I picked mine up from FB marketplace second hand for a fraction of a new price tag. It’s the exact item someone will buy to complete a task and sell on in like new condition.
Shameless plug, 99% of the images in my collection thread is with a V600 if you want to see examples.
I really like my V600 and I got a really good deal on it through Best Buy a few years ago. Had no idea they’re now discontinued and selling for $500-600
I highly recommend the V600 if you’re scanning for a business purpose. At $675 its hard to justify for personal usage in my opinion.
Heres a scan from mine done in less than ideal conditions (bright room, blanket over open scanner)
After years of having one on my wishlist, I recently found an Epson v550 on fb marketplace for the Aussie equivalent of ~$150-200 USD. From my understanding, it is essentially identical scanning hardware to the v600, with the difference between them lying in a handful of peripheral features.
I’ve only just started messing around with it but the early results are fantastic without me having to change any settings
I have a v600 and am very happy with it. I am of the opinion that it has paid for itself by getting me slightly higher sale prices over the years.
Because I don’t know about everyone else, but a good clean scan gives me more confidence as a buyer. So when all else is equal I preferentially choose and bid on cards that have nicer scans.
But like everything there’s diminishing returns. So there may be cheaper options that get the same results, and I doubt even better hardware (than the V600) is necessary.
I bought my V550 for ~$150 on ebay used, I think it’s an awesome machine and has great photo quality. Sorry I can’t add to discussing if there are better options, but it’s hard to say if the available improvement is worth the high price tag.
u could get the v800 or w/e equivalent for less than half price from japan before the whole tariff thing
as a side note pretty sure epson is getting out of this business which is why all the prices have been increasing so prolly better to pick up one of these sooner than later coz pretty sure i paid like 50 bux for my v600 way back after those dell amex credits
The differences in image quality between the V550 and V600 are only really going to be seen when using them for their initial purpose; very small film scans. For raw or graded cards they are both workhorses. I only have experience using the V600 and will always recommend it to anyone at all looking for a flatbed scanner, but if you can find a solid used deal on either model today I would probably buy one sooner than later.
I love my V600. 10/10 would recommend. I consider myself a tech laggard, but the V600 purchase was easily one of the best that I’ve made for the enjoyment of my collection.
I got a V600 for $350 earlier this year off Amazon. It has worked quite well. A bit slow is my only complaint.
If you scan on a frame, or align slabs consistently, you can write a simple Imagemagick script to automatically crop the images in a directory for you. Saves a lot of time.
I’ve been looking at these for years, hoping to find a great deal, but the price has always been too high for me. From what I’ve seen from many of the users here though, it seems worth it. The scans look great
I’m currently using a CIS scanner that I bought new for £20. It’s fine for single cards, but useless for slabs and similar items
These days, I usually just take a photo with my phone and edit the image on my computer. I’d still really love to get a proper Epson scanner one day though
