Epson ES-1200C - Manual (Page 76)

Data fomat
The data format specifies the number of bits used to represent
the tone of a pixel. The data format can be set in the range of
1 bit to 8 bits per pixel per color.
As the value increases, more tones and colors can be captured
in the scanned image. In monochrome, 1 bit/pixel
data) can represent only two levels of tones, black (0) or white
(1). With 2 bits/pixel (quad-level data), four levels of tones can
be represented by the binary values of 00, and 11. Using
8 bits/pixel corresponds to 256 shades of gray, producing near
photographic quality results.
In color, the data format defines tones for each of the three
primary colors of green, red, and blue. One bit/pixel/color can
represent eight colors (2 x 2 x and 2 bits/pixel/color can
represent 64 colors (4 x 4 x 4). Eight bits/pixel/color (total
24 bits for a pixel) can represent over 16 million colors.
The scanner can read up to 10 bits/pixel/color. Above
8 bits/pixel/color the scanner converts the image data to
8 bits/pixel/color and sends it to the computer. This gives
much higher quality.
Data Monochrome color
1 bit/pixel/color 8 colors
2 4 64 colors
3 512 colors
4 16 grays 4,096 colors
5 bits/pixel/color 32 grays 32,768 colors
6 64 262,144 colors
7 bits/pixel/color 128 grays colors
8 bits/pixel/color 256 grays 16.777.216 colors
Appendix A-5