If Epson Scan's thumbnail preview removes a photo's border or handwritten date, compare it with Normal Preview before scanning again. Automatic image detection may choose a tighter region than the physical original. A manual marquee can preserve the required extent. AI cannot reliably restore a date that was never included in the saved scan.
Check the original boundary
Look at the physical photograph and list the information that must survive: image area, border, handwritten caption or a meaningful torn edge. A border may be part of the family record rather than disposable empty space. Preserve the physical source and do not trim it to satisfy the software's detection.
The cited legacy EPSON Scan guide describes Thumbnail Preview as automatically locating images and Normal Preview as showing the previewed area for manual selection. It also acknowledges images being trimmed or grouped undesirably. This is a software-selection issue, distinct from printed halftone patterns that require descreening.
Switch to a manual scan region
In the documented Home or Professional Mode, the arrow beside Preview can offer Thumbnail or Normal, depending on mode and document type. The guide notes that when no arrow is present, Normal Preview is used automatically. Check the current preview type rather than concluding that a missing arrow means the scanner is malfunctioning.
In Normal Preview, draw a marquee around the complete required area. Drag its edges to include the border and date, keeping a small visible margin where practical. The marquee is the scan selection, not merely a decorative rectangle. Check any target-size constraint before accepting a frame that appears correct only at a tiny zoom.
Compare actual saved scans
This is a reproducible test plan, not an executed scan. Use one original and keep resolution and other adjustments consistent. Save a thumbnail-selected scan and a manually selected scan as separate files. Reopen both outside the scanning application and compare the four edges and handwritten content.
Record the selection method and dimensions. If Normal Preview also lacks the date, verify whether it lies outside the placed source area or the marquee, rather than assuming the mode switch recovered everything. If several photographs are grouped into one detected image, manual selection can also make the intended file boundaries explicit.
Acceptance for a restoration source
The accepted working scan includes all required information without inventing missing characters. Check that the whole date and caption are readable and not cut at the file edge. Keep an archival scan with the relevant border even if a later presentation crop omits it deliberately.
The source describes a legacy EPSON Scan interface associated with the RX620 guide; newer Epson Scan 2 versions can arrange controls differently. Use this mechanism as a diagnosis and confirm the supported manual-area controls for your actual device. Imagild can edit the accepted scan afterward, while scanner acquisition remains an external step. A new creative border should not be presented as the recovered original edge.