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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