The Epson Expression 636 Artist 2 is marketed to graphics professionals, and its superior image quality--among the best we saw in this roundup--won't disappoint. The driver, though a bit cumbersome for newcomers, is powerful, and the software bundle is ample and well-chosen. This unit is our Editors' Choice for graphics professionals.

Setting up the scanner presented no problems. The Twain driver can be set up either for fast clicking and scanning or for taking advantage of its sophisticated manual functions and corrections. One welcome feature is closed-loop calibration (available with only five units we tested), which is one of the best ways to match colors between your scanner and your printer.

But where the Expression 636 really shines is in its industrial-strength SilverFast interface, which contains extensive and extremely precise tools for fine-tuning image quality and color. SilverFast isn't easy to use, but it can achieve results comparable to those of much more expensive scanners.

If you take the time to master the complex drivers, either one will reward you with superb scans. The Expression 636 produced the best on-screen images we saw: Photos were razor-sharp, colors were accurate and vibrant, and the scanner accurately captured faint skin blemishes on our test photo that other scanners missed. All scans were also exceptionally clean, virtually free of both electronic noise and dust. The scanner ranked second on our plain-paper jury tests, trailing only the Microtek ScanMaker 4. On our objective tests, the Expression 636's Resolution and Color Registration scores were both very good.

An excellent choice for production-level graphics applications, the Epson Expression 636 Artist 2 is fast, robust, and capable of very high-quality scans once you're comfortable using the driver.

Epson's powerful Expression 636 Artist 2 makes superb high-quality scans. It's our Editors' Choice for graphics professionals.





Recommended: Yes