I nearly missed this in Linux Format today, so just in case any of you did too and haven't heard about from other sources...
Epson have released the drivers / UI for their scanners again, in a more GPL friendly manner.
http://www.epkowa.co.jp/english/linux_e/lsd_dwn_e.html
And it works very well indeed too. All I need is to get my lexmark printer working properly (bought *just* before I decided to give linux a try) and I'll be a happy bunny