sane - Scanner Access Now Easy: API for accessing scanners
DESCRIPTION
SANE is an application programming interface (API) that
provides standardized access to any raster image scanner
hardware. The standardized interface makes it possible to
write just one driver for each scanner device instead of
one driver for each scanner and application.
While SANE is primarily targeted at a UNIX environment,
the standard has been carefully designed to make it possi
ble to implement the API on virtually any hardware or
operating system.
This manual page provides a summary of the information
available about SANE.
TERMINOLOGY
An application that uses the SANE interface is called a
SANE frontend. A driver that implements the SANE inter
face is called a SANE backend. A meta backend provides
some means to manage one or more other backends.
SANE STANDARD AND WRITING BACKENDS
The SANE standard defines the application programming
interface (API) that is used to communicate between fron
tends and backends. It can be found at
/usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/sane.ps (if latex is installed on your
system) and on the SANE website:
http://www.mostang.com/sane/html/ (HTML), or
http://www.mostang.com/sane/sane.ps (Postscript).
There is some more information for programmers in
/usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/backend-writing.txt. Before a new
backend or frontend project is started, have a look at
/usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/PROJECTS for projects that are planned
or not yet included into the SANE distribution.
Your help is always appreciated. Look at
/usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/TODO for things that should be done.
Not only programmers are needed, but also reading and fix
ing the documentation and reporting bugs would be nice.
Contact the SANE mailing list for details.
SOFTWARE PACKAGES
The package `sane-backends' contains a lot of backends,
documentation (including the SANE standard), networking
support, and the command line frontend `scanimage'. The
frontends `xscanimage´ and `xcam´ are included in the
from the SANE homepage (http://www.mostang.com/sane/).
Information about other frontends and backends can be
found on the frontend page
(http://www.mostang.com/sane/frontends.html).
GENERAL INFORMATION
The following sections provide short descriptions and
links to more information about several aspects of SANE.
A name with a number in parenthesis (e.g. `sane-dll(5)')
points to a manual page, in this case `man 5 sane-dll'.
Entries like `/usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/sane.tex' are references
to text files that were copied to the SANE documentation
directory (/usr/doc/sane-1.0.5) during installation.
Everything else is an URL to a resource on the web.
SANE homepage
Information on all aspects of SANE including a tutorial
and a link to the SANE FAQ can be found on the SANE
homepage: http://www.mostang.com/sane/.
SANE mailing list
There is a mailing list for the purpose of discussing
the SANE standard and its implementations: sane-devel.
Since this is currently the only mailing list devoted to
SANE, it's perfectly OK to ask questions that are not
strictly related to SANE development. How to subscribe
and unsubscribe: http://www.mostang.com/sane/mail.html
Compiling and installing SANE
Look at /usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/README and the os-dependent
README files for information about compiling and
installing SANE.
SCSI configuration
For information about various systems and SCSI con
trollers see sane-scsi(5).
FRONTENDS AND MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS
scanimage
Command-line frontend. See scanimage(1).
saned
SANE network daemon that allows remote clients to access
image acquisition devices available on the local host.
See saned(1).
sane-find-scanner
sane-find-scanner is a command-line tool to find SCSI
scanners and determine their Unix device files. See
sane-find-scanner(1).
xscanimage and xcam) and the frontend information page at
http://www.mostang.com/sane/sane-frontends.html.
BACKENDS FOR SCANNERS
abaton
The SANE backend for Abaton flatbed scanners supports
the Scan 300/GS (8bit, 256 levels of gray) and the Scan
300/S (black and white, untested). See sane-abaton(5)
for details.
agfafocus
This backend supports AGFA Focus scanners and the
Siemens S9036 (untested). See sane-agfafocus(5) for
details.
apple
The SANE backend for Apple flatbed scanners supports the
following scanners: AppleScanner, OneScanner and Col
orOneScanner. See sane-apple(5) for details.
artec
The SANE Artec backend supports several Artex/Ultima
SCSI flatbed scanners as well as the BlackWidow BW4800SP
and the Plustek 19200S. See sane-artec(5) for details.
as6e
This is a SANE backend for using the Artec AS6E parallel
port interface scanner. See sane-as6e(5) for details.
avision
This backend supports Avision AV 630 CS flatbed scan
ners. See sane-avision(5) for details.
bh
The bh backend provides access to Bell+Howell Copiscan
II series document scanners. See sane-bh(5) for details.
canon
The canon backend supports the CanoScan 300, CanoScan
600, and CanoScan 2700F SCSI flatbed scanners. See sane-
canon(5) for details.
coolscan
This is a SANE backend for Nikon Coolscan film-scanners.
See sane-coolscan(5) for details.
epson
The SANE epson backend provides support for Epson SCSI,
parallel port and USB flatbed scanners. See sane-
epson(5) for details.
The SANE hp backend provides access to HP ScanJet scan
ners and OfficeJet multi-function peripherals (MFPs)
which support SCL (Scanner Control Language by HP). See
sane-hp(5) for details.
m3096g
This backend supports the Fujitsu M3096Gm flatbed scan
ner. See sane-fujitsu(5) for details.
microtek
The microtek backend provides access to the "second gen
eration" Microtek scanners with SCSI-1 command set. See
sane-microtek(5) for details.
microtek2
The microtek2 backend provides access to some Microtek
scanners with a SCSI-2 command set. See sane-
microtek2(5) for details.
mustek
The SANE mustek backend supports most Mustek SCSI
flatbed scanners including the Paragon and ScanExpress
series and the 600 II N (non.SCSI). Some Trust scanners
are also supported. See sane-mustek(5) for details.
mustek_pp
The mustek_pp backend provides access to Mustek parallel
port flatbed scanners. See sane-mustek_pp(5) for
details.
nec
The SANE nec backend supports the NEC PC-IN500/4C SCSI
scanner. See sane-nec(5) for details.
pie
The pie backend provides access to PIE and Devcom SCSI
flatbed scanners. See sane-pie(5) for details.
plustek
The SANE plustek backend supports Plustek parallel port
scanners. See sane-plustek(5) for details.
ricoh
The ricoh backend provides access to the following Ricoh
flatbed scanners: IS50 and IS60. See sane-ricoh(5) for
details.
s9036
The s9036 backend provides access to Siemens 9036
flatbed scanners. See sane-s9036(5) for details.
sharp
The SANE sharp backend supports Sharp SCSI scanners. See
sm3600
The SANE sm3600 backend supports the Microtek ScanMaker
3600 USB scanner. See sane-sm3600(5) for details.
snapscan
The snapscan backend supports AGFA SnapScan flatbed
scanners. See sane-snapscan(5) for details.
sp15c
This backend supports the FCPA ScanPartner 15C flatbed
scanner. See sane-fujitsu(5) for details.
st400
The sane-st400 backend provides access to Siemens ST400
and ST800. See sane-st400(5) for details.
tamarack
The SANE tamarack backend supports Tamarack Artiscan
flatbed scanners. See sane-tamarack(5) for details.
umax
The sane-umax backend provides access to several UMAX-
SCSI-scanners and some Linotype Hell SCSI-scanners. See
sane-umax(5) for details.
umax_pp
The sane-umax_pp backend provides access to Umax paral
lel port flatbed scanners and the HP 3200C. See sane-
umax_pp(5) for details.
Also, have a look at the backend information page at
http://www.mostang.com/sane/sane-backends.html and the
list of projects in /usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/PROJECTS.
BACKENDS FOR DIGITAL CAMERAS
sane-dc210
Backend for Kodak DC210 Digital Camera. See sane-
dc210(5).
sane-dc240
Backend for Kodak DC240 Digital Camera. See sane-
dc240(5).
sane-dc25
Backend for Kodak DC20/DC25 Digital Cameras. See sane-
dc25(5).
sane-dmc
Backend for the Polaroid Digital Microscope Camera. See
sane-dmc(5).
Backend for Connectix QuickCam cameras. See sane-
qcam(5).
Also, have a look at the backend information page at
http://www.mostang.com/sane/sane-backends.html and the
list of projects in /usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/PROJECTS.
MISCELLANEOUS BACKENDS
sane-dll
The sane-dll library implements a SANE backend that pro
vides access to an arbitrary number of other SANE back
ends by dynamic loading. See sane-dll(5).
sane-net
The SANE network daemon saned provides access to scan
ners located on different computers in connection with
the net backend. See sane-net(5) and saned(1).
sane-pnm
PNM image reader pseudo-backend. The purpose of this
backend is primarily to aid in debugging of SANE fron
tends. See sane-pnm(5).
sane-pint
Backend for scanners that use the PINT (Pint Is Not
Twain) device driver. The PINT driver is being actively
developed on the OpenBSD platform, and has been ported
to a few other *nix-like operating systems. See sane-
pint(5),
sane-v4l
The sane-v4l library implements a SANE backend that pro
vides generic access to video cameras and similar equip
ment using the V4L (Video for Linux) API. See sane-
v4l(5).
Also, have a look at the backend information page at
http://www.mostang.com/sane/sane-backends.html and the
list of projects in /usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/PROJECTS.
PROBLEMS
Please note that the default configuration uses sane-dll
as the top-level backend. Hence it is probably a good
idea to start with reading sane-dll(5). The top-level
backend is determined by the libsane.* symlinks in
/usr/lib/sane.
For SCSI scanners reading of sane-scsi(5) is recommended.
If you encounter any problems with getting your device(s)
that are available to assist in debugging such problems.
The environment variables are documented in the relevant
manual pages. For example, to get the maximum amount of
debug information when testing a Mustek SCSI scanner, set
environment variables SANE_DEBUG_DLL, SANE_DEBUG_MUSTEK,
and SANE_DEBUG_SANEI_SCSI to 128 and then invoke scanimage
or whatever program you're trying to debug. For a Mustek
scanner at /dev/scanner, you might want to invoke scanim
age as follows:
scanimage -d mustek:/dev/scanner -h
If this works, you could try to acquire an image with:
scanimage -d mustek:/dev/scanner >t.pnm
If you are not sure what generic SCSI device your scanner
is connected to, try the command sane-find-scanner. Usu
ally, It's sufficient to invoke the program without any
arguments. Invoking this command should produce output
similar to this:
$ sane-find-scanner
sane-find-scanner: found "MUSTEK MFC-06000CZ 1.01"
at device /dev/scanner
sane-find-scanner: found "MUSTEK MFC-06000CZ 1.01"
at device /dev/sge
Note that sane-find-scanner will find any scanner that is
connected to a SCSI bus. It will even find scanners that
are not supported at all by SANE.
There may be several causes for the following messages
from the frontends: "scanimage: no SANE devices found" or
"xscanimage: no devices available.".
* Your scanner is not recognized by any backend. It is not
supported. You may ask the maintainer of your backend
(see /usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/AUTHORS) or the SANE mailing
list (see above) if support is planned.
* SANE can't access the device files (e.g /dev/sga). Check
the permissions.
* Your backend is not listed in /etc/sane.d/dll.conf (or
commented out).
* There are older installations of SANE on your system. If
you installed the SANE libraries in /usr/local/lib
(default) you should check if there are older SANE
libraries at /usr/lib. Remove them (rm -r /usr/lib/lib
sane* /usr/lib/sane).
(graphical) frontends, check that /etc/ld.so.conf con
tains /usr/local/lib and does not contain
/usr/local/lib/sane. See also the documentation of the
frontends.
REPORTING BUGS
If you think you found a bug in a backend, contact the
author of your backend. Usually the email address can be
found in the /usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/AUTHORS file. If he isn't
marked as `active maintainer´ you can also contact the
SANE mailing list sane-devel (see
http://www.mostang.com/sane/mail.html for details). You
must be subscribed to the list, otherwise your mail won't
be sent to the subscribers.
If you want to report bugs concerning compilation, instal
lation, porting, and documentation of SANE, you can also
contact the author of this manual page: <henning@meier-
geinitz.de>.
AUTHOR
David Mosberger-Tang and many many more (see
/usr/doc/sane-1.0.5/AUTHORS for details). This man page
was written by Henning Meier-Geinitz. Quite a lot of text
was taken from the SANE standard, several man pages, and
README files.
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