MX492. Absolute garbage scanner. Contrast WAY off, images junk. No way to correct gamma?

[Crowtower]

Help! I just bought a new MX492...it had HIGH ratings and I went for it. Now I find that it is the worst possible scanner that I have ever used. The images, especially photos, are pure worthless crap. Is there no way to adjust the gamma on this thing? The contrast is WAY out of control and the scanner is completely unusable.

[Danny]

Hi, Crowtower!

So that the Community can help you better, we need to know exactly which operating system is running on your computer (i.e. Windows or Mac OS, and which version thereof) and which apps you're trying to print from. That, and any other details you'd like to give will help the Community better understand your issue!

If this is a time-sensitive matter, search our knowledge base or contact our US-based technical support team at http://canon.us/SupportCF

Thanks and have a great day!

[Crowtower]

Windows 10, scanning through Photoshop. My previous scanner was the MP190; I had it for years and it was magnificent - great qualtiy scans and prints, and no maintenance problems. So when I bought the MX492 I thought that because it was newer, technology must have gotten better and this machine would be even better than the 190. Man, was I ever wrong. Any help you can offer is greatly appreciated...Canon has had such great products in the past and I would hate to think they were putting junk out there on purpose.

[Patrick]

Hi Crowtower,

Let's perform a few calibrations.  To do this, please follow these steps:

 1.  Click on the Wndows Start button and then the Canon Utilities folder.

 2.  Click on the IJ Scan Utility to start the IJ Scan Utility.

 3.  Click on the Scangear button.

 4.  Click on the Advanced Mode button in the upper right hand corner.

 5.  Click on the Preferences button at the bottom.

 6.  Next to Calibration Settings at the bottom, select ON.

 7.  Click OK.

 8.  With nothing on the scanner bed, click Preview.

Perform this a 2 or 3 times to calibrate.  After that, you can turn this feature off.

As you probably saw, you can adjust the image using the Advanced Mode of the scanner driver.

Place an item on the scanner and while in the Advanced Mode tab, click Preview at the bottom.

You may adjust the settings of the scan before saving it.  You may do this by adjusting the Image Settings and by using the Color Adjustment buttons.  For more information regarding this, please view this portion of the On Line Manual:

http://ugp01.c-ij.com/ij/webmanual/ScanGear/W/MFP/20.0/EN/SG/sg-930.html

http://ugp01.c-ij.com/ij/webmanual/ScanGear/W/MFP/20.0/EN/SG/sg-931.html

[Crowtower]

No. Just...no. I did as you said and it didn't help. BUT I was able to go into the gamma/histogram and adjust it, then scan it with the utility. It was much better but I can NOT get Photoshop to understand the settings changes. So I scan it with the utility and put it into Photoshop - an extra step I do NOT appreciate - and the image looks better. BUT - - now I see that the scanner is VERY poor at creating a sharp image. Basically junk again and nothing like my previous Canon scanner. NOBODY should have to go through all these settings just to get poor results. There is no way on God's green earth that I would recommend this scanner to ANYONE. I am sorry to say that I feel like I have been ripped off by Canon and I have no intention of buying your products again.

[Stephen]

You might try contacting support directly to see if they have any advice one-on-one. They're at 1-800-OK-CANON (800-652-2666).

The other option would be to contact Adobe to see if they have any tips on using their software with our scanner.

[Crowtower]

Thanks but their software isn't the problem. Using CANON's software to scan, it is STILL a bad blurry image at best, with terrible jumps between tones. And even if I DO finally get resolution to this problem (which I doubt), I would still like to know why I have to dig deep into utility software settings AND get online support AND phone support just to get basic functionality out of a scanner. Bottom line, this is a bad scanner and Canon needs to admit it. As for you, thank you for your help. It is not your fault that this is a bad scanner. (PS Lest you think this is "user error": I have a Masters in IT, have worked for nearly 20 years in Graphic Design and computer graphics, with an additional 10 years in Imaging and Document Management. I know a bad scanner when I see one.)

[edwinrivera22]

I contact service support and nothing !!!

[beltin14]

Im having contrat issues with my scanner while scanning photographs. I went to your instructions and hit the window start button and it does not show Canon Utitlities folder

[beltin14]

Anyone out there can help me find the Canon Utilities folder. I'm a photographer trying to get some photos scaned to work on and I went to the instrucions but right off the bat no Canon Utilities folder. I made a big mistake buying this scanner I should of stayed with my other brand I used for 20 years