Epson Perfection V39 II Review: The $120 Scanner Artists Actually Buy

The V39 II earns its place the boring way: it does the one job most artists actually have. That job is turning a flat piece of art, letter size or smaller, into a clean digital file. Watercolors, ink drawings, gouache, pencil work, collage, printmaking proofs: lay the piece on the glass, close the lid, scan. The 4800 dpi optical resolution in the listing title is real hardware resolution, and it is far beyond what reproduction requires. A print needs about 300 dpi at final size, so even scanning at 600 dpi gives you room to print the piece at twice its original dimensions.

The removable lid is the other quietly great feature. Take the lid off and you can press a bulky sketchbook, a taped-down watercolor block, or a matted piece flat against the glass without the hinge fighting you. Edge shadows drop, pages sit flatter, and spiral-bound books stop being a wrestling match.

Where does it fall short of the expensive scanners? Tonal range. Consumer flatbeds capture less separation in the deepest shadows than a pro unit like the V850, which matters most for dark oil paintings and originals where the blacks carry detail. For the media most working illustrators and watercolorists produce, work that lives in the light and middle values on white or cream paper, the gap is small enough that the V39 II's files hold up in print. At $119.99 at the time of this review, nothing else we have tested comes close on results per dollar.

The honest comparison: the LiDE 400 is almost as good for about $23 less, and "almost" is the whole story. On a perfectly flat sheet of smooth paper, the two produce comparable scans. The difference shows up the moment your original has texture or curl. Watercolor paper with a real tooth, a page that has cockled from a wash, a sketchbook that will not lie flat: the Canon's contact-type sensor loses sharpness at every point where the paper lifts off the glass, while the Epson holds focus better through those small gaps.

For an artist, that difference lands on exactly the work you care about. Our call: if you scan documents and flat sketches, save the money and take the Canon. If you scan finished artwork, the V39 II is worth the small premium.

Think of the V600 as the answer to a different question. The V39 II asks "how do I digitize my flat artwork affordably?" The V600 asks "what about my negatives, my slides, and my darkest paintings?" Its built-in transparency unit backlights film for real 35mm and medium format scanning, something the V39 II cannot do at any setting, and its tonal range holds more detail in deep shadows.

If neither of those describes your work, skip it without guilt. Our photo scanners guide covers the film-capable field in depth if that is the direction you are heading.

The V39 II's hardest limit is its glass, and the A320E is the cheapest honest fix. If you regularly work at 11 x 14 or 11 x 17, sectional scanning and stitching gets old fast. The A320E's 12 x 17 inch bed takes those pieces in one pass for about $649 at the time of this review.

For the full field of big-bed options, including the pro-grade Epson 12000XL that print studios use, see our large format art scanners guide.