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Date:      Wed, 27 Mar 2002 22:13:30 -0700 (MST)
From:      Warren Block <wblock@wonkity.com>
To:        Walter Hop <walter@binity.com>
Cc:        freebsd-questions@FreeBSD.org
Subject:   Re: Fwd: SANE on FreeBSD: your preference of scanner?
Message-ID:  <Pine.BSF.4.21.0203272153090.54250-100000@wonkity.com>
In-Reply-To: <200203280452.g2S4qvX5054242@wonkity.com>

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Walter Hop wrote:

> The SANE backends' sites mention several affordable scanners, but these 
> sites are mainly Linux-oriented. I don't know how platform-independent 
> these drivers are and so, to prevent possible disappointment I'd like to 
> ask which scanner people would recommend with SANE on FreeBSD.

After going through this myself very recently, it came down to this:

* Parallel-port scanners: best to avoid.
* USB: Epson (but *not* the 1250!).
* SCSI: more choices.

Doing some searching, I found the well-regarded (and fast) Epson 1640SU
as a refurb on Epson's web page.

Check the compatibility list at

www.mostang.com/sane/sane-backends.html

I tried it on Linux first, where it worked flawlessly.  Tonight, I got
it going on my little Toshiba notebook FreeBSD system running
4.5-stable.  The only problem I had was that A) on FreeBSD, the device
is called /dev/uscanner0, not /dev/usbscanner0, and B) xsane coredumped 
once after scanning a preview.  After that, it seemed to work fine.

> I am sensitive to a vendor's attitude to the open source movement so if 
> it's an option, a BSD/Linux-friendly hardware vendor would be even more 
> appreciated. :)

According to the SANE page, Epson scanners are well-supported because
Epson has cooperated with the development of drivers.  I wanted one of
those thin Canon scanners, but driver support for them is shaky due to
Canon not being helpful.  Epson was rewarded for having some foresight.

-Warren Block * Rapid City, South Dakota USA



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