Off-Topic Forum

I have an Epson V37 scanner. I've had it for maybe 5 years.  Lately when I do a scan, a semi-white strip runs down the entire side of the scan.  This happens whether the lid is open or closed.  Is this a scan that my scanner is going bad? Is there a way to fix this? Fortunately I can still scan cards but it takes some correction in Photoscape.

You may have some debris stuck to the scan bar. 

YES, that is the sign of a scanner is going bad. If you keep scanning, it may go away, or it may get worse. It varies. (It may also get worse and THEN go away) 

I'm on scanner #4, for a while this one was putting lines in the middle column, then it switched to the right column, then the left...really frustrating, but I adapted by scanning 6 cards at a time until it went away. It did, after about a month. Knock on wood, it hasn't done it in any column recently. 

With that said I will probably get a new one next year sometime. Hopefully this one will keep working properly and I won't have to for a long while.

I worked on copy machines and most scanners are just a copier that sent the print to the computor.   Yes it  has some dirt on the inside.  It can be cleaned or it does go away some times or it gets bigger.  I spent many hour just cleaning copiers.

I suggest stocking up. I use 4 scanners, depends what cardroom I'm in.... 

Getting 5 years from a scanner without any issues is great. Scanners are so finicky now,  you shift them too hard and there are scanners out there, even top of the line units, that will crap out.

Shoot, sounds like I'm stuck.  I'll try cleaning it as well.

My Epson Perfection v39 scanner got that visible white line going stright down the d*mn middle and i have to put cards to either side of it.  Have only had it since last Christmas. Also, something was wrong with its insides because when I lay cards flush for scanning, they are still off by 0.2 pixels and i have to re-align in an image program.  I want an Epson v600 but they cost too much here. 

Just a suggestion here...

I bought a Canon MG6820 in June 2017. It cost me about $50 shipped to my house. It has been awesome for me so far. Not a single problem after a year and a half. I mostly use it for scanning cards and printing shipping labels. There are newer versions of the MG6800 series and they have newer MG Series as well. Just thought I'd mention it to you guys.