Epson DS-C480W

The Epson DS-C480W ($349) is the Wi-Fi-capable model in the company's new line of compact, sheetfed document scanners. While petite, it isn't quite as small as the Fujitsu Image Scanner fi-800R, our Editors' Choice honoree for front-desk document and card scanners, but it costs hundreds less. Like the Fujitsu (now wearing the Ricoh brand), the DS-C480W has no Ethernet support, but it's an appealing pick for environments with limited desk space where a Wi-Fi or USB connection is available.

Design: A Space-Saving Vertical Scanner

The new Epson DS-C family of compact document scanners consists of three models with the DS-C480W in the middle, though without the usual good-better-best price lineup. The DS-C480W has two features not found in the other models, Wi-Fi and a 2.4-inch color touch screen. All three models feature a new vertical-path scan process that eliminates the need for a desk-space-hogging output tray, and all measure just 4.9 by 11.7 by 4.2 inches (HWD) when closed.

The DS-C480W and the entry-level Epson DS-C330 ($269) share a speed rating of 30 simplex (one-sided) pages per minute (ppm) or 60 two-sided (duplex) images per minute (ipm, where each page side is counted as an image). The two scanners also have a peak daily duty cycle of 3,500 sheets. The $429 model DS-C490 has a more robust speed rating of 40ppm/80ipm and a 4,500-sheet peak daily duty cycle.

(Credit: Epson)

The DS-C480W weighs just 4.2 pounds. To scan standard-size (letter, legal, or A4) originals, business cards, or receipts shorter than 15.5 inches, you'll want to open up the input tray extension at the top of the unit, which Epson refers to as the scanner's vertical path position. This expands the device's dimensions, but mostly in height—to 11.5 by 11.7 by 7.9 inches (HWD).

Considering that many sheetfed scanners take double or triple their original desk space when opened to handle standard-size documents, the Epson is remarkably compact. How is that possible? The DS-C480W is able to output documents onto a support bracket that's essentially parallel to the input tray rather than onto your desk, similar to the Return Scan and U-Turn Scan features of the space-saving champ Fujitsu fi-800R.

Not every kind of document lends itself to Epson's version of this process. The DS-C480W's vertical path position can't handle longer documents (up to 220 inches), receipts over 15.5 inches, plastic cards, passports, booklets, postcards, or envelopes. For those, you'll need to tilt the scanner into its straight path position, in which documents exit onto your desk. In that more reclined attitude, the scanner measures 9.2 by 11.7 by 10.9 inches (HWD) and needs additional room in front for documents to fully exit the scanner.

(Credit: Epson)

Epson's is a nifty design for offices with limited desk space. The only downside is having to remember to shift the unit into its reclined position when handling long documents, cards, or booklets. If you never scan such materials, you can leave the scanner in its vertical path position. And for those times when you do need to switch to the straight path, it's just a matter of sliding a lever on the back of the unit to flip between the two modes.

Speeds and Feeds: Middle of the Pack

The Epson DS-C480W emphasizes compact size over high capacity or performance. Like the Fujitsu Image Scanner fi-800R, it has a modest 20-sheet automatic document feeder instead of the 50-sheet feeder found in typical entry-level desktop document scanners like the Epson DS-530 II and the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600. Moving up in capacity, the Brother ADS-3100 offers a 60-sheet and the Brother ADS-4300N an 80-sheet ADF.

As mentioned, the DS-C480W's peak daily duty cycle is also relatively low at 3,500 sheets, trailing the 4,000 of Epson's DS-530 II or the 4,500 sheets of the Fujitsu fi-800R. The Brother ADS-3100, Brother ADS-4300N, and Fujitsu iX1600 are each rated at a more substantial 6,000 sheets per day.

The DS-C480W's rated scanning speeds of 30ppm (simplex) and 60ipm (duplex) are also at the bottom of the ladder. The Epson DS-530 II is rated at 35ppm and 70ipm, while the two Brother and two Fujitsu scanners boast 40ppm and 80ipm, respectively.

(Credit: Epson)

On the positive side, the DS-C480W offers both Wi-Fi connectivity and a 2.4-inch color touch screen control panel. The Fujitsu fi-800R and the Brother ADS-3100 and ADS-4300N have neither of those features, while Epson's DS-530 II has a 2.4-inch touch screen but not Wi-Fi. Only the Fujitsu iX1600 can compete with both Wi-Fi support and a larger 4.3-inch color touch screen.

Software: Your Choice of Scan Apps

Setting up the Epson DS-C480W for use with a laptop or desktop PC is simple and straightforward. You can connect to your computer using the supplied USB 2.0 cable or over a Wi-Fi network. A folded Start Here sheet in the box provides a link to download the scanner's installation files. After installation, you'll have two main software programs, Document Capture Pro and Epson Scan 2.

The Document Capture Pro app is best suited to performing simple scans. By default, the scan mode is set to automatically detect and adjust to accommodate the size of each document; you can also choose manually from a variety of paper sizes from 2 inches square up to legal or A4 size. Two large icons let you quickly choose a single- or double-sided scan.

(Credit: Epson)

If there's a particular scanning routine that you perform repeatedly, you can set it up as a saved job within Document Capture Pro. A provided sample job is Scan to PDF, which automatically detects the document type, performs a simplex scan, and saves the resulting PDF to a specified folder on your PC. You might alter that job to handle double-sided scans, or create one for receipts that saves its scans to a dedicated receipts folder.

The Epson Scan 2 app gives you more thorough control over the scanner's settings and capabilities. You can adjust scan resolution (from 75dpi to 1,200dpi); select the type of skew correction (for paper, content, or both); add a customized watermark; or auto-detect longer documents (up to 220 inches). You can tell the scanner to skip blank pages or remove punch holes; rotate the scan; stitch images together; detect double feeds; or enhance text. Epson Scan 2 also has dedicated settings for business cards, receipts, passports, and booklets, along with its own preview and scan buttons, so advanced users may prefer to use it almost exclusively.

(Credit: Epson)

You can also initiate a scan from the front-panel touch screen. Along with the usual document settings (such as single- or double-sided) and destination settings (such as computer, network folder, email, or cloud site), the control panel offers helpful assistance in choosing between the two tilt positions. A brief onscreen description explains which types of documents are appropriate for each setting. And when you physically adjust the scanner's position after sliding the release lever on the back, a path icon on the control panel automatically changes to indicate whether the unit is in its vertical or straight path position.

The control panel also lets you create as many as 24 presets for frequently used settings. You can set up presets for different scan destinations, such as a specified folder, an attached USB thumb drive (there's a USB port on the side of the unit), a stored email address, or an FTP site.

Finally, the DS-C480W offers mobile device support (via Wi-Fi, not Bluetooth) for both Mopria and AirPrint. You'll also find an Epson Smart Panel app, which lets you initiate a scan and save it to your phone or tablet. Unfortunately, that particular app doesn't do anything else, and most of its help section is in Japanese.

Testing the DS-C480W: Accurate, But Not a Speed Demon

As mentioned, Epson rates the DS-C480W's scan speeds (at 300dpi resolution) as 30ppm simplex and 60ipm duplex. The device did a little better than that in our stopwatch tests, using both Document Capture Pro and Epson Scan 2 over a USB connection to our Intel Core i5 testbed running Windows 10 Pro. The Epson scanned our 25-page single-sided document at 32ppm and our 25-page (50-image) duplex document at 61.4ipm.

Most modern scanners can convert printed pages to error-free, editable text down to 6 points in both our Arial (sans-serif) and Times New Roman (serif) font tests. That's just what the DS-C480W did when saving text documents as searchable PDFs. If OCR accuracy is especially important to you, the Epson DS-530 II proved accurate down to 4 points with Arial and 5 points with Times New Roman, but you're unlikely to encounter text smaller than 10 points in most real-world business settings.

(Credit: Epson)

I had no difficulties when scanning a variety of documents with the DS-C480W—no pages jammed and no scans were skewed. None of my test pages emerged stuck together or mishandled in any way. Scans looked clean and professional, and scanned photo images showed pleasing and accurate colors with an appropriate amount of contrast.

Verdict: Filling a Useful Niche

The Epson DS-C480W capably scans the usual variety of business-related documents while occupying a minimal amount of desk space. It achieves that by scaling back its raw performance and capacity, but makes up for it with Wi-Fi support and a helpful touch-screen control panel. If your front-desk or reception space is really limited, you may be better off with the Fujitsu Image Scanner fi-800R, which is even more space-efficient and slightly faster (though it has the same humble 20-sheet ADF), but the Epson's lower price, friendly controls, and wireless connectivity should win plenty of shoppers from that 2019 device.