Customer Ratings & Reviews

This is a review for the ES-300W Wireless Portable Duplex Document Scanner that I received free of charge to do a beta test and review. Feb 2, 2017 21:54:26 After testing the Epson 300W Scanner, I've found it works...well enough... It has some great features, but they may not have been executed properly; it is very compact and perfect for traveling, but has several issues that I encountered during my tests and daily usage (test image/pdf gallery at the end). Before we lay out all the issues of the scanner, in what seems more like a crucifixion, let's first start with what is good about the scanner. ## The Good ## 1. Very quick scanning, it shoots through a stack of single-sided papers at 300DPI very fast and accurately. It was faster than my works Brother Workforce all-in-one 2. Built-in OCR PDF export, the built-in OCR scanning software is amazingly fast and accurate (only on desktop). 3. Very accurate automated rotation, adjusting, hole punch removal, and deskew, among other good settings. * The scanner was amazing at rotating and deskewing all scans automatically and only had issues 3 times where the paper was too dark or hand written. It correctly flipped picture, papers, business cards, ID cards and everything else I scanned. 4. The card slot, I love the quick card slot idea and when it worked, it was a nice touch (more on it below). * Card slot would be more useful if it was accessible while the cover was closed. 5. The settings, this scanner has so many settings on a PC it's amazing and they work pretty beautifully and quick. * Magazine/Newspaper mode & image stitching were not tested. 6. It's tiny, this thing really is portable (see pics) 7. Battery life is great. * Charged it and tested it out 2 weeks and I scanned several items during the testing; it still has power and still in my work bag. 8. Great image quality, it goes up to 1200DPI and looks great. 9. Small files created at higher DPI, even with 600DPI it created small image file sizes and PDFs. 10. Effortless double-sided scanning. * There are 2 scanning plates inside, making double-sided scanning just one step instead of 2 like other portable scanners I've tried. ## The Bad (very bad) ## The first issue is the wireless setup. 1. There is no way to setup the scanner without the PC or smartphone app companion; there's no WPS button on the device for easy configuration. 2. Using the smartphone app is overly convoluted, gaudy and glitchy with too many steps required; use manually switch to turn on AP, connect to es-300w direct AP and search for the scanner, then go through setup and manually add WiFi info, then manually turn the switch to WiFi mode and search again for the scanner. This is the procedure you need to do every time you need to switch networks. * this setup is ridiculously tedious and prone to errors. 3. The apps failed numerous times to find the scanner during setup. Big Issue #2 is the card slot: 1. The built-in card slot for business cards and plastic cards doesn't work for intended use. * Via the phone app it accepted no business cards (except 1 time) and "jammed." * Via Desktop the few times it actually worked to scan via the slot, it refused 5 business cards. * Only worked on 1 of my 5 plastic cards, American driver licenses; didn't accept old school ID cards, work ID or credit card. * For best results, you're required to set the size/type to auto and not business card or plastic card Scanning issues: 1. The business card setting with the card slot using my phone doesn't work. It scans but doesn't fit any business cards tested (American and Japanese). * Cards were cut off (last 1/4), but plastic card setting size worked for business cards but had issues (noted below) 2. WiFi scanning from phone and desktop have long delays between scans and settings, but DirectAP and USB were quicker. 3. Plastic card settings were the proper dimensions for business cards, but the cards (via the card slot) always shifted slightly causing the image to be missing part of the card. * Proper scanning with card slot requires auto size to be set and auto fix document skew. 4. Didn't work well on longer pieces of paper (within max allowed). Door knob flyer gets cut off at 11" every time, no matter what setting used. 5. Paper jams, the scanner jammed constantly; almost every business card in the card slot caused a jammed, long papers, thin papers, and multiple types of plastic cards, also caused jams. 6. Feed sensor is glitchy. Ever other scan attempt prompted me, saying there was nothing in the scanner (there was) and it would error out and make me start all over again. 7. You have to put documents in backward, instead of face up and natural feeling, you have to put them in facing down and it's not a natural feeling. 8. You can't have the phone app open if you're trying to use the desktop scan application. Phone application: 1. Missing half the settings that the PC has like OCR. 2. UI has a very old look and feel (like it's 5 years behind). PC Scanning: 1. No reference material for what certain options do, so you have to be versed in terminology or quick with Google. Image quality: 1. Anything under 300DPI looked pretty horrible. Another item to note, the scanner is missing built-in cloud connection and storage. For a compact travel scanner, you would think it would have scanning to cloud network built-in or onboard storage so you can scan on the go quickly and have it saved without the need to have a phone or PC available. !!! REVIEW VERDICT: I would not purchase this scanner as it is for the suggested retail price, but if it was on sale for $100 I might. !!! Scanning test examples can be linked if requested.

I bought this scanner to use while on the road. Sometimes it works & sometimes it doesn’t! When it will connect it’s awesome & saves me so much time. But lots of times I keep trying to get it connected & it never does connect & that does nothing but waste a whole lotta time!!

This is a review for the ES-300W Wireless Portable Duplex Document Scanner that I received free of charge to do a beta test and review. To provide some background, I own a lot of computer equipment, flash my routers' firmware, build my own servers, have owned many scanners, both Epson and Canon; in few words, I'm fluent in tech. The scanner is pretty obvious to unpack and open up. I quickly downloaded the software from the Epson site facing the same, usual dread I always encounter with scanners: it installed many pieces of software on your computer and I was left to ponder whether I did really need those to operate the scanner. For a Mac, it was Document Capture, Epson Scan 2, EpsonNet Config, EPSON Software Updater, Epson Scan 2 Utility, User Guide and Uninstaller, and - optional - also ABBYY FineReader Sprint and Presto! BizCard 7. I hardly used the quick install guide, just when in doubt making sure it was on USB mode rather than Wi-Fi, and opted to experiment quickly with over the wire config. Scanning pages in AFD (autofeed document) mode was really fast using Document Capture. There was no jam and scan quality was more than sufficient even at low res. You can trigger the start of the scan on either scanner or comp side, or by inserting pages. It was also very easy to create scanning configs that automatically uploaded the doc to the Cloud (Good Drive in my case but there are other possibilities). It is worth mentioning though that Cloud uploads require your comp to be up as a temporary scan is first created on your comp, then uploaded, and then removed (I believe this is configurable if you want to retain a local copy). Going wireless was a bit of a pain. I started in wired mode with the intent to set the wireless config, and then go wireless. Well it does not work that way and embarrassingly I had to read the manual. You first place the scanner in AP mode, set your comp to connect to the scanner's Wi-Fi, use then EpsonNet Config to configure the wireless, switch the scanner to Wi-Fi mode, reconnect your comp to your Wi-Fi, and then are able to discover your scanner. One comment about the manual: instructions were laid out over multiple pages. Somehow, I open the manual from one of the apps which directed to a web page. No need to tell you I was unable to read the next page when connected to the scanner's Wi-Fi :-(. Another thing you need to be aware of is you need to use a different software, Epson Scan 2, when scanning in wireless mode; Document Capture just does not work. Another thing you need to be aware of is that such a small scanner does not have any display. It means you do not have the ability to select a destination computer for scan over Wi-Fi like you could on much larger scanners. This means that not only your comp is up and running, but Epson Scan 2 is also ready. Unlike on USB mode, you need to trigger the scan from within Epson Scan 2. I intend on creating a small virtual machine with the Epson software and driver loaded, have Epson Scan 2 up and running there, and have the house guest connect to it for them to scan docs as needed to a common Cloud account. It will prevent them to have to install the all software package and config everything, meanwhile they’ll benefit of the scanner portability. It I was to summarize my impressions of the Epson ES-300W scanner, I'd say the following. The scanner is solid, simple, battery operated, and can go wireless, thus portable. It is a bit bigger than I'd wished for to bring on a trip and scan my expense receipts while traveling. It scans quickly and the output documents exhibit the same solid quality Epson has got us used to. I just dislike the software and this for few reasons: 1) I don’t understand why config and utilization is not available under one roof, 2) I don’t understand why I have to deal with 2 similar yet different scanning software packages depending on usage mode (USB or Wi-Fi), 3) the overall design and UX is way, way dated and it shows. In fairness, I think it is the plight of many scanner manufacturers; maybe they all OEM the software from the same shop.

This is a review for the ES-300W Wireless Portable Duplex Document Scanner that I received free of charge to do a beta test and review. To begin with let’s address the positive aspects of this scanner. First off, initial setup isn’t too difficult via USB (wifi is a different story, see below) and the quick start guide is pretty clear for setup. As for scanning, it scans very quickly especially at lower DPI and can also handle fairly sizeable stacks of paper (~20 pages or so). It also handles a wide variety of paper widths and types as I have used it for standard 8.5”x11” paper pages and 4”x6” photos. The quality of the scanned images/pictures even at lower (200 dpi) is really quite nice for both color and black/white pages. Additionally, it also does an excellent job of scanning cards of various thickness from business cards to driver’s licenses. There are also a significant amount of customization available when combined with the Epson documentscan desktop application. Now for the cons. While this scanner is technically portable is has a couple of issues here. It is fairly heavy at almost 3 lbs and shape makes it a little bulky as instead of longer and thinner Epson has decided to go with shorter and thicker which make for issues when packing it. The other major con is the setup, especially the wifi. Scanning via usb is the simplest way to scan documents with this scanner and I had little issue with this, the problems begin when trying to use it’s wireless capabilities. I had zero luck getting the scanner set up via WPS, while I am not entirely sure it’s not router’s fault, I kept on getting the same error every time I tried to set it up via WPS. I did manage to get the AP wireless connection to go work after some effort. While it is possible to get the scanner to work via AP wifi, the Epson DocumentScan app is quite frustrating.

One of the first things that I really liked about this scanner was its size and compact nature. As something I will use on the go, it’s important to me not to take up more room than is necessary. It collapses down, latches shut securely and is ready to provide me with hours of scanning without being the size of a bus. One thing I did find challenging was the initial setup of the wireless connection to my laptop. It would not connect to my wireless network initially, even after several attempts, so instead I had to restart the scanner setup and the second time it connected flawlessly on the first try. Once I did, my phone, laptop and PC had no issues at all. The software setup and updates were very simple, it was just that issue of wireless connectivity. Something else that I noticed right away after scanning a few pictures, was that there was a nice precise white border around all the photo’s that were scanned in. Cosmetically, I found that to be a very nice touch as it made the photos stand out and look more crisp. Documents scanned are also of great quality and I have to say, I’m going to get a ton of use out of this little thing as I have records that I have to keep on a daily basis for my job. To know that I will be able to scan something in right there in the parking lot of whatever location I am in and send it right to my Boss will be a tremendous benefit. No more doing it at home when I just want to relax. If you want a good quality scanner that you can be completely mobile with, this is the way to go. This is a review for the ES-300W Wireless Portable Duplex Document Scanner that I received free of charge to do a beta test and review.

“This is a review for the ES-300W Wireless Portable Duplex Document Scanner that I received free of charge to do a beta test and review.” This is my review of the Epson ES-300W wireless duplex document scanner. Upon arrival of the scanner I found the packaging to be well designed and well protected. All items were neatly packaged and easy to unpack. First let me state that this is my first wireless scanner I have owned. I like to look and feel of the product and have high hopes of its performance. Upon beginning the setup, I found that setting up the wireless connection is not as easy as pushing a button. After several attempts I was not successful with the connection. As I explore the troubleshooting process I think that the issue may be with my network. I moved on to the wires USB connection and found that part of be simple and was connected in just a few minutes. I am not sure what the issue is with the wireless connection. I have requested help from Epson and expect a fast solution to this issue. I do have other Epson products and have had great success with their customer service. The performance of the scanner is amazing. I have scanner several documents and the speed and quality is very impressive. I find myself looking for things to scan. If you are looking for a quality scammer that is fast and can handle several sheets at a time this is the one for you.