SilverFast Support (or lack of)

Has anyone managed to get any decent support from LaserSoft SilverFast?

If so please let me into the secret of getting good support from them.

Recently got a Plustek 7500i film scanner that came with the SilverFast SE
Plus software to operate it along with QuickScan software. Now the QuickScan
software works perfectly on all settings proving that the scanner isn't
faulty. However the SilverFast software doesn't work correctly and not at
all when doing multiscan or multiple exposure settings.

The problem is that during these processes the SilverFast software will
either hang or produce red or green coloured cast bands of varying widths
and with a position shift at the bottom of the scan. This results in the
final images having red or green coloured ghosting shadows to them. Doing a
single pass scan is a lottery whether the software will hang or produce the
coloured cast banding.

Now getting well fed up with the support from LaserSoft as when I post the
problem on their website I get an email back telling me to upgrade to the
latest version of their software and the latest drivers for the scanner.
This I've done but when email them back stating this with log files and
example images it all goes quiet. If post again to the website I just get
the same comment to upgrade to latest version and drivers. I did post to the
Forums on their website with the result that they pulled the posting and
personally replied to me again to upgrade drivers and software version. I've
yet again replied to the email but again its gone very quiet. Arrrrgh!

To say that I'm less than impressed by the lack of support from LaserSoft
SilverFast is an understatement. To put it bluntly its total crap!

The trouble is that without the software the film scanner is just an
expensive door stop.

Stephen wrote:

The trouble is that without the software the film scanner is just an
expensive door stop.

Hamrick Vuescan?

--
http://www.petezilla.co.uk

"Stephen" wrote in message
...
Has anyone managed to get any decent support from LaserSoft
SilverFast?
snipe....


Try calling Customer Support in Florida at (+) 941-312-0690 and ask for
a supervisor to explain the lack of support and what you want - be
nice....

Bob S.

"Peter Chant" wrote in message
...
Stephen wrote:

The trouble is that without the software the film scanner is just an
expensive door stop.

Hamrick Vuescan?

Yes been looking into that program but it now appears that it is indeed a
hardware fault with the Plustek 7500i scanner. Now on a second scanner but
this has the same fault but worse! Its certainly turning into an expensive
door stop!

However I could have got this sorted out a lot earlier had the support from
LaserSoft not been so bad in attempting to get them to reply.

At the moment though I wouldn't recommend the Plustek film scanner to
anyone. This second example not only has the same fault much worse, but also
has a sticking power button and one of the flaps for the film holder keeps
jamming. Build quality is very poor. This one will also be going back for
replacement!


Stephen

Stephen;1078524 Wrote:


The trouble is that without the software the film scanner is just an
expensive door stop.

Yes been looking into that program but it now appears that it is indeed
a
hardware fault with the Plustek 7500i scanner. Now on a second scanner
but
this has the same fault but worse! Its certainly turning into an
expensive
door stop!

However I could have got this sorted out a lot earlier had the support
from
LaserSoft not been so bad in attempting to get them to reply.
[...]
But having said this I was still grateful for the assistance as needed
to 
investigate all possibilities of a resolution to the problem
and Plustek had 
incorrectly informed me it was a software
problem. It seems Plustek gave me 
the wrong information and found
their support to be very lacking despite 
them replying promptly.

Hmm, I've had a quite similar problem.
Plustek said it was a software issue, SilverFast said it was a hardware
issue.

As I confronted both companies with their conflictive statements, they
finally concluded it was indeed a hardware problem and Plustek replaced
the scanner. (No probs with the replacement so far.)

Nevertheless, both support contacts were considerate and cooperative.
Maybe they were slightly confused, when they encountered this problem
for the first time.

CatDog