At a budget-friendly $120, the Epson Perfection V39 II delivers excellent photo scanning quality. PCMag and TechGearLab reviewers praised the vibrant, accurate scans of both photos and text, with resolution topping out at 4800 dpi. Automatic multiple photo recognition works out of the box and setup is easy, which suits digitizing family photos and documents. The software is clunky, though, and the flatbed design makes long text documents slow going, which limits it for heavy text scanning. Casual users who want reliable photo digitization rather than high-volume document scanning are the right audience.
Full review
4800 dpi from a USB-powered flatbed
Optical resolution tops out at 4800 dpi, more than enough to digitize prints without visible grain and enough to get usable enlargements from small originals. PCMag found the scans of documents, receipts and photos consistently clean, and TechGearLab reached the same conclusion on photo quality. The whole unit runs off the USB cable at 2.5 watts, so there is no power brick and no second outlet to find.
1.8 pages per minute, with no feeder
There is no automatic document feeder and the rated speed is 1.8 pages per minute, so every page is placed, closed, scanned and swapped by hand. TechGearLab is explicit that this makes it a poor tool for long text documents. For a stack of receipts once a month it is fine; for digitizing a filing cabinet it is the wrong machine, and a sheetfed scanner will finish in a fraction of the time.
The lid lifts off for books
The lid detaches completely, which lets a bound book or a sketchbook sit face-down on the glass without the hinge fighting it. Andersonology, scanning family photographs for archival storage, prefers the flatbed format over a feeder or a wand precisely because nothing pulls on a fragile print. The scanner is also small, 9.9 inches square and 1.5 inches thick, with a kickstand that stands it upright when it is not in use.
ScanSmart handles capture better than editing
Epson's ScanSmart software captures well, and its automatic detection of several photos on the glass, saved out as separate files, is the feature that saves the most time on a box of prints. Editing is where it shows its age: TechGearLab got decent results from the enhancement tools without finding the interface friendly, and Apple Tech Talk hit an unexplained problem with the print function driven from the scan button.
The scan area stops short of the glass edge
The usable scan area does not reach the edge of the glass, so an original placed flush into the corner loses a thin border. It takes a couple of sessions to learn where the real margin sits, and Andersonology flags it as the thing that catches new owners out. Connection is USB-A to Micro USB, with drivers for Windows and Mac only; there is no wireless option and no mobile app.
Strengths
- +Excellent photo scan quality with vibrant colors that match originals
- +Easy setup and user-friendly operation with automatic multiple photo recognition
- +Relatively inexpensive at $120 MSRP
- +High resolution of 4800 dpi sufficient for detailed photo digitization
- +Good black and white text scanning with defined edges and contrast
Watch-outs
- −Software can be clunky and not user-friendly for editing
- −Very slow for long text document scanning due to flatbed design
How it compares
The Epson Perfection V39 II offers the best photo scanning quality among the group, rivaling the Epson FastFoto FF-680W but at a much lower price point. While it's slower than the Ricoh iX2500 for documents and lacks flatbed scanning like the Brother DS-940DW, it provides excellent value for casual users who prioritize accurate color reproduction over speed. Unlike the Brother ADS-4900W, it doesn't support wireless networking, but it's more budget-friendly and easier to set up.
Rating sources
“I think its important to note that I have taken courses on archival preservation while pursuing my library science degree, so my perspective differs somewhat from a typical consumer.”
“The bottom line is that neither the Perfection V39 II Scanner, nor the Epson ScanSmart application had any major issue.”
Our 4.2 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
