Scanning under GNU/Linux
By Armando Caussade, http://armandocaussade.org/
Version 1.  February 29, 2020.  Reprinted from the PRLUG newsletter, February 2020.

Copyright © 2020 Armando Caussade.  Some rights reserved.
Creative Commons License BY-NC-ND 4.0.

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Using a scanner under GNU/Linux operating systems (henceforth "Linux") used to be a challenging endeavor in years past, but it no longer has to be because of two main improvements:  (1) Linux systems have now got much better at automatically recognizing peripherals, and (2) driver support provided by the main scanner manufacturers has improved considerably.  I can write and speak from experience because I am a successful user of both a flatbed scanner (Epson Perfection V39) and a dedicated film scanner (Nikon CoolScanIV ED), both installed under a Linux Mint 19.3 Cinnamon 64-bit system on a 5-year old desktop computer.

If you own a USB-based scanner (which is probably the case over 90% of all scanners on the recent market) you can use the "lsusb" command on a bash console to see if your peripheral is being recognized by the operating system.  But first make sure that the scanner is properly attached via USB and has been turned on (although some newer scanners automatically will draw power from the USB port, without need to recur to an on/off switch).  The "lsusb" command is useful not only for detecting scanners, but also for inspecting USB buses and listing the devices attached to them.  Running the "lsusb" command on a terminal will yield results similar to the following:

   Bus 002 Device 002: ID 8087:8000 Intel Corp. 
   Bus 002 Device 001: ID 1d6b:0002 Linux Foundation 2.0 root hub
   Bus 003 Device 003: ID 04b8:013d Seiko Epson Corp. 
   Bus 003 Device 011: ID 04b0:4000 Nikon Corp. Coolscan LS 40 ED

As you can see with the above example, both my scanners are recognized by the system.  But the user will need a software package to operate the scanner, plus a driver in some cases.  I would first advice you to try installing and running the XSane application (which is available from most Linux repositories) at it will work out-of-the-box with a large number of scanners that are supported by the SANE library; see the complete list here: http://www.sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html.  With the SANE libraries already installed, other graphical front-ends can be used to control the scanner, such as Simple Scan, another application that is available from Linux repositories.

Yet, SANE and Simple Scan seem somewhat limited in their capabilities, when compared to the functionality provided by native Linux drivers and applications (of course, if available from the scanner manufacturer).  Epson, for example, provides updated Epkowa drivers that I successfully use with my own flatbed scanner, which come bundled with the IScan v2.30 scanning application, providing an improved scanning experience.  Commercial applications also exist, like VueScan v9.7 from Hamrick Software, which offers full Linux support for my film scanner, amazingly without the need for drivers!.  VueScan also runs my flatbed scanner, with functionality that surpasses the Epson IScan package.

Have you successfully used a scanner under Linux?  If yes, please let me now.  And before closing, a disclaimer: I have no commercial relationship with Hamrick Software other than that of a satisfied customer.

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