Help I broke my scanner! (1 Viewer)

[Jeff]

Ok, I did a bad thing. I got a new Epson 1650 Photo Scanner and I noticed some very faint "stains" on the rear of the glass. I went to clean it with a soft cloth and a tiny bit of windex but that didn't work, so I figuered it must be on the other side. Anyway, I took the cover off, which was extremely easy, much more than expected, and I cleaned the other side, making sure it was dry before putting back on.
So now I get a white band coming down all my scans. Does this mean dirt has fallen on the lens, or whatever? I know nothing about the mechanics of scanners so where should I be looking to get rid of this dirt? I already sprayed with a can of compressed air and that didn't help. It was worse yesterday, though, I had three bands and two were a different color. If I can't clean it without taking anything apart, excpet the cover, I won't bother. I'll just take it back and play dumb. And I won't feel bad either since the "stains", which so far don't seem to affect scans, can not be whipped clean.
You can see a scan here:
http://members.shaw.ca/majestyk/epson.jpg
Thanks,
Jeff

 

[Francois Caron]

Like you suggested, take it back and play dumb. If the band was black, I would have said it was dirt on the scanning bar. But what your sample shows looks more like a defect than dirt. Maybe the compressed air jolted something loose...
Very important lesson here! Never open up ANY electronic component... at least not until the warranty expires!