Plustek ePhoto Z300 Review

Scan Quality

The Plustek ePhoto Z300 proved to be a below-average performer in our scan quality tests. When scanning black and white documents and receipts, I found the text quality to be sharp enough, with just a little blurring when zoomed in, although all dark colors were significantly lightened in the scanning process. Still, the results were legible and usable.

In our photo scanning quality tests, the Plustek maintained poor color accuracy, adding a tint of blue, and consistently produced scans with a notable increase in graininess. Between text documents, receipts, and photos, this model failed to impress our team, and its quality trailed most average scanners we've tested.

Speed

Speed matters if you value your time, and a faster scanner will handle tasks more quickly, allowing you to move on to more important things than feeding the documents through. Unfortunately, the Plustek ePhoto Z300 is a very slow scanner. Slow scanning speeds and the lack of automatic double-sided scanning (duplex) will leave you feeding large jobs, one page or photo at a time.

In our single-page test, each scanner is tasked with scanning a single sheet double-sided document at the 600 DPI color setting, using the duplex setting when available. The lack of a duplex feature on the Plustek ePhoto Z300 forced us to manually feed the document, resulting in a process that took 92 seconds. By comparison, the fastest scanners completed the task in as little as 7 seconds.

In our 10-page black and white document tests, the Plustek ePhoto Z300 completed the task in 455 seconds, and again, the process required manual feeding. For manual duplex scanning, which required feeding each document through twice, a 10-page process took us 930 seconds total. At an average of less than one page per minute, the Plustek is not a fast scanner. In fact, it's painfully slow. I wouldn't even consider it adequate for small tasks if you care about productivity and time.

Software

Perfect optical character recognition (OCR) simply doesn't exist yet, and while some above-average models we've tested have come exceptionally close, the Plustek ePhoto Z300 is more of an average model.

Optical character recognition turns printed documents and even handwritten ones into digitized documents and is an incredibly useful tool. OCR is by default on the Plustek and does a decent job of recognition with a low error rate. It accurately digitized words, only missing a couple in our test, and occasionally combined words.

User Friendliness

I rated the user-friendliness of each scanner, specifically evaluating the setup and user interface, and the Plustek proved to be about average.

Setup on a PC is performed via a CD, although a tutorial exists if you are a PC user and don't have an optical drive. Mac users are able to download drivers and software via the manufacturer's website. The user interface is non-existent. It lacks a screen, settings, or buttons. While not very robust, it does make the scanning process simple — you simply feed a photo or document one at a time.

Should You Buy the Plustek ePhoto Z300?

Slow speeds and lower-quality scans compared to its peers left our team wanting a lot more from the Plustek ePhoto Z300. As such, I can't recommend this model when there are so many other great options that offer better performance at a similar price point.

What Other Scanners Should You Consider?

The Plustek ePhoto Z300 is possibly the least capable scanner that we've tested. While it had a lot of promise, based on extensive product comparisons and reviews, it simply did not perform at the level I had hoped. For a portable device capable of taking on the go, check out the Epson WorkForce ES-60W. Not only is it portable, but it outperforms the Plustek and is a hair cheaper. Of course, if you're seeking the best scanning performance and aren't encumbered by budget, then look no further than the Canon ImageFORMULA R40. It offers exceptional performance and is fast enough to make quick work of any scanning tasks.