Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50 (document scanner)

Pros: Front panel control buttons, TWAIN and ISIS drivers, LCD display, fast scanning and solid feel to its construction

Cons: Driver issues that show no sign of ever being fixed by Epson and frustrating tech. support and RMA process ruin what could be a great scanner

Summary: I ordered several of these for my workplace, to use with our document management system. Initially, everyone loved them -- but we've encountered a lot of problems over time. First off, when I scan color documents into our system (using either the ISIS or the TWAIN driver), the resulting TIFF files wind up saved with a corrupt byte in their headers. They still display just fine in the software, but printing them to a color-capable printer results in nothing but a page full of multi-colored garbage or a solid black block.

Second, one of the GTS-50's broke after only 60 days of use or so. Every page scanned in would come out in shades of blue, and it jammed up very regularly. I had to call long distance (no toll free number) for support and to request an RMA. The non-native English speaking support rep. on the line made me jump through lots of hoops before agreeing to exchange it, and after all that? The replacement scanner I received was clearly old and used. Yes, it worked -- but the case had big scratches in it and so forth. I'd expect another NEW product for a return only 2 months old!

Another issues we've been having with the GTS-50's is with sleep mode. If one of the PCs enters sleep, the driver doesn't seem to be able to re-establish a connection with the scanner when it wakes back up. You have to reboot the machine to get the scanner to work again.

I already own a Fujitsu S1500M on my Mac at home, and while my first impression was that the GTS-50 was a better product? I'm reconsidering that opinion now. The Fujitsu only uses proprietary drivers, and you have to buy a specific version for either PC or Mac -- but it's been working just fine for me for well over a year now.