sane - Scanner Access Now Easy: API for accessing scanners
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 possible to implement the API on virtually
any hardware or operating system.
This manual page provides a summary of the information available about
SANE.
If you have trouble getting your scanner detected, read the PROBLEMS section.
An application that uses the
SANE interface is called a
SANE
frontend. A driver that implements the
SANE interface is called a
SANE backend. A
meta backend provides some means to manage one
or more other backends.
The package
sane-backends contains backends, documentation, networking
support, and the command line frontend
scanimage(1). The frontends
xscanimage(1),
xcam(1), and
scanadf(1) are included in
the package
sane-frontends. Both packages can be downloaded from the
SANE homepage (
http://www.sane-project.org/). Information about
other frontends and backends can also be found on the
SANE homepage.
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 will display the page. Entries like
/usr/share/doc/libsane/README are references to text files that were
copied to the
SANE documentation directory
(
/usr/share/doc/libsane/) during installation. Everything else is a 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.sane-project.org/.
- SANE device lists
- The SANE device lists contain information about the
status of SANE support for a specific device. If your scanner is
not listed there (either supported or unsupported), please contact us. See
section HOW CAN YOU HELP SANE for details. There are lists for specific
releases of SANE, for the current development version and a search engine:
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html. The lists
are also installed on your system at /usr/share/doc/libsane/.
- SANE mailing list
- There is a mailing list for the purpose of discussing the
SANE standard and its implementations: sane-devel. Despite its name, the
list is not only intended for developers, but also for users. There are
also some more lists for special topics. However, for users, sane-devel is
the right list. How to subscribe and unsubscribe:
http://www.sane-project.org/mailing-lists.html.
- SANE IRC channel
- The IRC (Internet Relay Chat) channel #sane can be found on
the Freenode network (irc.libera.chat). It's for discussing SANE
problems, talking about development and general SANE related
chatting. Before asking for help, please read the other documentation
mentioned in this manual page. The channel's topic is also used for
announcements of problems with SANE infrastructure (mailing lists, web
server, etc.).
- Compiling and installing SANE
- Look at /usr/share/doc/libsane/README and the
os-dependent README files for information about compiling and installing
SANE.
- SCSI configuration
- For information about various systems and SCSI controllers
see sane-scsi(5).
- USB configuration
- For information about USB configuration see
sane-usb(5).
- 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(8).
- sane-find-scanner
- Command-line tool to find SCSI and USB scanners and
determine their UNIX device files. See sane-find-scanner(1).
Also, have a look at the
sane-frontends package (which includes
xscanimage(1),
xcam(1), and
scanadf(1)) and the frontend
information page at
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-frontends.html.
- abaton
- Supports Abaton flatbed scanners such as 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
- Supports AGFA Focus scanners and the Siemens S9036
(untested). See sane-agfafocus(5) for details.
- apple
- Supports Apple flatbed scanners including the following
scanners: AppleScanner, OneScanner and ColorOneScanner. See
sane-apple(5) for details.
- artec
- Supports several Artec/Ultima SCSI flatbed scanners as well
as the BlackWidow BW4800SP and the Plustek 19200S. See
sane-artec(5) for details.
- artec_eplus48u
- Supports the Artec E+ 48U scanner and re-badged models like
Tevion MD 9693, Medion MD 9693, Medion MD 9705 and Trust Easy Webscan
19200. See sane-artec_eplus48u(5) for details.
- as6e
- Supports the Artec AS6E parallel port interface scanner.
See sane-as6e(5) for details.
- avision
- Supports several Avision based scanners including the
original Avision scanners (like AV 630, AV 620, ...) as well as the HP
ScanJet 53xx and 74xx series, Fujitsu ScanPartner, some Mitsubishi and
Minolta film-scanners. See sane-avision(5) for details.
- bh
- Supports Bell+Howell Copiscan II series document scanners.
See sane-bh(5) for details.
- canon
- Supports the CanoScan 300, CanoScan 600, and CanoScan 2700F
SCSI flatbed scanners. See sane-canon(5) for details.
- canon630u
- Supports the CanoScan 630u and 636u USB scanners. See
sane-canon630u(5) for details.
- canon_dr
- Supports the Canon DR-Series ADF SCSI and USB scanners. See
sane-canon_dr(5) for details.
- canon_lide70
- Supports the CanoScan LiDE 70 and 600 USB scanners. See
sane-canon_lide70(5) for details.
- canon_pp
- Supports the CanoScan FB330P, FB630P, N340P and N640P
parallel port scanners. See sane-canon_pp(5) for details.
- cardscan
- Support for Corex Cardscan USB scanners. See
sane-cardscan(5) for details.
- coolscan coolscan2 coolscan3
- Supports Nikon Coolscan film-scanners. See
sane-coolscan(5), sane-coolscan2(5) and
sane-coolscan3(5) for details.
- epjitsu
- Supports Epson-based Fujitsu USB scanners. See
sane-epjitsu(5) for details.
- epson
- Old driver for Epson SCSI, parallel port and USB flatbed
scanners. See sane-epson(5) for details but try epson2
first.
- epson2
- Newer driver for Epson SCSI, parallel port, network and USB
flatbed scanners (try this before epson which is outdated). See
sane-epson2(5) for details.
- escl
- Supports scanners through the eSCL protocol. See
sane-escl(5) for details.
- fujitsu
- Supports most Fujitsu SCSI and USB, flatbed and adf
scanners. See sane-fujitsu(5) for details.
- genesys
- Supports several scanners based on the Genesys Logic GL646,
GL841, GL843, GL847 and GL124 chips like the Medion 6471 and
Hewlett-Packard 2300c. See sane-genesys(5) for details.
- gt68xx
- Supports scanners based on the Grandtech GT-6801 and
GT-6816 chips like the Artec Ultima 2000 and several Mustek BearPaw CU and
TA models.
Some Genius, Lexmark, Medion, Packard Bell, Plustek, and Trust scanners are
also supported. See sane-gt68xx(5) for details.
- hp
- Supports Hewlett-Packard ScanJet scanners which utilize SCL
(Scanner Control Language by HP). See sane-hp(5) for details.
- hpsj5s
- Supports the Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 5S scanner. See
sane-hpsj5s(5) for details.
- hp3500
- Supports the Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 3500 series. See
sane-hp3500(5) for details.
- hp3900
- Supports the Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 3900 series. See
sane-hp3900(5) for details.
- hp4200
- Supports the Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 4200 series. See
sane-hp4200(5) for details.
- hp5400
- Supports the Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 54XXC series. See
sane-hp5400(5) for details.
- hpljm1005
- Supports the Hewlett-Packard LaserJet M1005 scanner. See
sane-hpljm1005(5) for details.
- hs2p
- Supports the Ricoh IS450 family of SCSI scanners. See
sane-hs2p(5) for details.
- ibm
- Supports some IBM and Ricoh SCSI scanners. See
sane-ibm(5) for details.
- kodak
- Supports some large Kodak scanners. See
sane-kodak(5) for details.
- kodakaio
- Supports Kodak AiO printer/scanners. See
sane-kodakaio(5) for details.
- kvs1025
- Supports Panasonic KV-S102xC scanners. See
sane-kvs1025(5) for details.
- leo
- Supports the LEO S3 and the Across FS-1130, which is a
re-badged LEO FS-1130 scanner. See sane-leo(5) for details.
- lexmark
- Supports the Lexmark X1100 series of USB scanners. See
sane-lexmark(5) for details.
- ma1509
- Supports the Mustek BearPaw 1200F USB flatbed scanner. See
sane-ma1509(5) for details.
- magicolor
- Supports the KONICA MINOLTA magicolor 1690MF multi-function
printer/scanner/fax. See sane-magicolor(5) for details.
- matsushita
- Supports some Panasonic KVSS high speed scanners. See
sane-matsushita(5) for details.
- microtek
- Supports "second generation" Microtek scanners
with SCSI-1 command set. See sane-microtek(5) for details.
- microtek2
- Supports some Microtek scanners with a SCSI-2 command set.
See sane-microtek2(5) for details.
- mustek
- Supports most Mustek SCSI flatbed scanners including the
Paragon and ScanExpress series and the 600 II N and 600 II EP (non-SCSI).
Some Trust scanners are also supported. See sane-mustek(5) for
details.
- mustek_pp
- Supports Mustek parallel port flatbed scanners. See
sane-mustek_pp(5) for details.
- mustek_usb
- Supports some Mustek ScanExpress USB flatbed scanners. See
sane-mustek_usb(5) for details.
- mustek_usb2
- Supports scanners using the SQ113 chipset like the Mustek
BearPaw 2448 TA Pro USB flatbed scanner. See sane-mustek_usb2(5)
for details.
- nec
- Supports the NEC PC-IN500/4C SCSI scanner. See
sane-nec(5) for details.
- niash
- Supports the Agfa Snapscan Touch and the HP ScanJet 3300c,
3400c, and 4300c USB flatbed scanners. See sane-niash(5) for
details.
- p5
- Supports the Primax PagePartner. See sane-p5(5) for
details.
- pie
- Supports Pacific Image Electronics (PIE) and Devcom SCSI
flatbed scanners. See sane-pie(5) for details.
- pixma
- Supports Canon PIXMA MP series (multi-function devices),
Canon imageCLASS series (laser devices), Canon MAXIFY series and some
Canon CanoScan series. See sane-pixma(5) for details.
- plustek
- Supports USB flatbed scanners that use the National
Semiconductor LM983[1/2/3] chipset aka Merlin. Scanners using this LM983x
chips include some models from Plustek, KYE/Genius, Hewlett-Packard,
Mustek, Umax, Epson, and Canon. See sane-plustek(5) for
details.
- plustek_pp
- Supports Plustek parallel port flatbed scanners using the
Plustek ASIC P96001, P96003, P98001 and P98003, which includes some models
from Plustek, KYE/Genius, Primax. See sane-plustek_pp(5) for
details.
- ricoh
- Supports the Ricoh flatbed scanners IS50 and IS60. See
sane-ricoh(5) for details.
- ricoh2
- Supports the Ricoh flatbed scanners: SG-3100SNw, SP-100SU,
and SP-111SU. See sane-ricoh2(5) for details.
- s9036
- Supports Siemens 9036 flatbed scanners. See
sane-s9036(5) for details.
- sceptre
- Supports the Sceptre S1200 flatbed scanner. See
sane-sceptre(5) for details.
- sharp
- Supports Sharp SCSI scanners. See sane-sharp(5) for
details.
- sm3600
- Supports the Microtek ScanMaker 3600 USB scanner. See
sane-sm3600(5) for details.
- sm3840
- Supports the Microtek ScanMaker 3840 USB scanner. See
sane-sm3840(5) for details.
- snapscan
- Supports AGFA SnapScan flatbed scanners including some
which are rebadged to other brands. See sane-snapscan(5) for
details.
- sp15c
- Supports the Fujitsu FCPA ScanPartner 15C flatbed scanner.
See sane-sp15c(5) for details.
- st400
- Supports the Siemens ST400 and ST800. See
sane-st400(5) for details.
- tamarack
- Supports Tamarack Artiscan flatbed scanners. See
sane-tamarack(5) for details.
- teco1 teco2 teco3
- Supports some TECO scanners, usually sold under the
Relisys, Trust, Primax, Piotech, Dextra names. See sane-teco1(5),
sane-teco2(5) and sane-teco3(5) for details.
- u12
- Supports USB flatbed scanners based on Plustek's ASIC 98003
(parallel-port ASIC) and a GeneSys Logics' USB-parport bridge chip like
the Plustek OpticPro U(T)12. See sane-u12(5) for details.
- umax
- Supports UMAX-SCSI-scanners and some Linotype Hell
SCSI-scanners. See sane-umax(5) for details.
- umax_pp
- Supports Umax parallel port flatbed scanners and the HP
3200C. See sane-umax_pp(5) for details.
- umax1200u
- Supports the UMAX Astra 1220U (USB) flatbed scanner (and
also the UMAX Astra 2000U, sort of). See sane-umax1220u(5) for
details.
- xerox_mfp
- Supports multiple Samsung-based Samsung, Xerox, and Dell
scanners. See sane-xerox_mfp(5) for details.
Also, have a look at the backend information page at
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html and the list of
projects in
/usr/share/doc/libsane/PROJECTS.
- dc210
- Supports the Kodak DC210 Digital Camera. See
sane-dc210(5).
- dc240
- Supports the Kodak DC240 Digital Camera. See
dc240(5).
- dc25
- Supports Kodak DC20/DC25 Digital Cameras. See
dc25(5).
- dmc
- Supports the Polaroid Digital Microscope Camera. See
dmc(5).
- gphoto2
- Supports digital cameras supported by the gphoto2 library
package. (See http://www.gphoto.org for more information and a list
of supported cameras.) Gphoto2 supports over 140 different camera models.
However, please note that more development and testing is needed before
all of these cameras will be supported by SANE backend. See
gphoto2(5).
- qcam
- Supports Connectix QuickCam cameras. See
qcam(5).
- stv680
- Supports webcams with a stv680 chip. See stv680(5)
for details.
Also, have a look at the backend information page at
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html and the list of
projects in
/usr/share/doc/libsane/PROJECTS.
- dll
- Implements a SANE backend that provides access to an
arbitrary number of other SANE backends by dynamic loading. See
sane-dll(5).
- net
- The SANE network daemon saned(8) provides
access to scanners located on different computers in connection with the
sane-net(5) backend. See saned(8).
- pnm
- PNM image reader pseudo-backend. The purpose of this
backend is primarily to aid in debugging of SANE frontends. See
sane-pnm(5).
- pint
- Supports 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).
- test
- Tests frontends and the SANE installation. It
provides test pictures and various test options. See
sane-test(5).
- v4l
- Provides generic access to video cameras and similar
equipment using the V4L (Video for Linux) API. See
sane-v4l(5).
Also, have a look at the backend information page at
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-supported-devices.html and the list of
projects in
/usr/share/doc/libsane/PROJECTS.
By default, all
SANE backends (drivers) are loaded dynamically by the
sane-dll meta backend. If you have any questions about the dynamic
loading, read
sane-dll(5).
SANE frontends can also be linked to
other backends directly by copying or linking a backend to
libsane.so
in
/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sane.
It's not hard to write a
SANE backend. It can take some time, however.
You should have basic knowledge of C and enough patience to work through the
documentation and find out how your scanner works. Appended is a list of some
documents that help to write backends and frontends.
The
SANE standard defines the application programming interface (API)
that is used to communicate between frontends and backends. It can be found at
http://sane-project.gitlab.io/standard/ .
There is some more information for programmers in
/usr/share/doc/libsane/backend-writing.txt. Most of the internal
SANE routines (
sanei) are documented using doxygen:
http://www.sane-project.org/sanei/. Before a new backend or frontend
project is started, have a look at
/usr/share/doc/libsane/PROJECTS for
projects that are planned or not yet included into the
SANE
distribution and at our bug-tracking system:
http://www.http://www.sane-project.org/bugs.html.
There are some links on how to find out about the protocol of a scanner:
http://www.meier-geinitz.de/sane/misc/develop.html.
If you start writing a backend or frontend or any other part of
SANE,
please contact the sane-devel mailing list for coordination so that work is
not duplicated.
- /etc/sane.d/*.conf
- The backend configuration files.
- /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sane/libsane-*.a
- The static libraries implementing the backends.
- /usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/sane/libsane-*.so
- The shared libraries implementing the backends (present on
systems that support dynamic loading).
- /usr/share/doc/libsane/*
-
SANE documentation: The READMEs, text files for
backends etc.
If your device isn't found but you know that it is supported, make sure that it
is detected by your operating system. For SCSI and USB scanners, use the
sane-find-scanner(1) utility. It prints one line for each scanner it
has detected and some comments (#). If
sane-find-scanner(1) finds your
scanner only as root but not as normal user, the permissions for the device
files are not adjusted correctly. If the scanner isn't found at all, the
operating system hasn't detected it and may need some help. Depending on the
type of your scanner, read
sane-usb(5) or
sane-scsi(5). If your
scanner (or other device) is not connected over the SCSI bus or USB, read the
backend's manual page for details on how to set it up.
Is your scanner detected by the operating system but not by
SANE? Try
scanimage -L. If the scanner is not found, check that the
backend's name is mentioned in
/etc/sane.d/dll.conf. Some backends are
commented out by default. Remove the comment sign for your backend in this
case. Also some backends aren't compiled at all if one of their prerequisites
are missing. Examples include dc210, dc240, canon_pp, hpsj5s, gphoto2, pint,
qcam, v4l, net, sm3600, snapscan, pnm. If you need one of these backends and
it isn't available, read the build instructions in the
README file and
the individual manual pages of the backends.
Another reason for not being detected by
scanimage -L may be a
missing or incorrect configuration in the backend's configuration file. While
SANE tries to automatically find most scanners, some can't be setup
correctly without the intervention of the administrator. Also on some
operating systems auto-detection may not work. Check the backend's manual page
for details.
If your scanner is still not found, try setting the various environment
variables that are available to assist in debugging. 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 -L. The
SANE_DEBUG_DLL messages tell if the
sane-mustek(5) backend was found and loaded at all. The
SANE_DEBUG_MUSTEK messages explain what the backend is doing while the
SANE_DEBUG_SCSI debugging shows the low level handling. If you can't
find out what's going on by checking the messages carefully, contact the
sane-devel mailing list for help (see REPORTING BUGS below).
Now that your scanner is found by
scanimage -L, try to do a scan:
scanimage >image.pnm. This command starts a scan for the
default scanner with default settings. All the available options are listed by
running
scanimage --help. If scanning aborts with an error
message, turn on debugging as mentioned above. Maybe the configuration file
needs some tuning, e.g. to setup the path to a firmware that is needed by some
scanners. See the backend's manual page for details. If you can't find out
what's wrong, contact sane-devel.
To check that the
SANE libraries are installed correctly you can use the
test backend, even if you don't have a scanner or other
SANE device:
- scanimage -d test -T
You should get a list of PASSed tests. You can do the same with your backend by
changing "test" to your backend's name.
So now scanning with
scanimage (1) works and you want to use one of the
graphical frontends like
xsane(1), xscanimage(1),
or quiteinsane (1) but those frontends don't detect your scanner?
One reason may be that you installed two versions of
SANE. E.g. the
version that was installed by your distribution in
/usr and one you
installed from source in
/usr/local/. Make sure that only one version
is installed. Another possible reason is, that your system's dynamic loader
can't find the
SANE libraries. For Linux, make sure that
/etc/ld.so.conf contains
/usr/local/lib and does
not
contain
/usr/local/lib/sane. See also the documentation of the
frontends.
We appreciate any help we can get. Please have a look at our web page about
contributing to
SANE:
http://www.sane-project.org/contrib.html
For reporting bugs or requesting new features, please use our bug-tracking
system:
http://www.sane-project.org/bugs.html. You can also contact the
author of your backend directly. Usually the email address can be found in the
/usr/share/doc/libsane/AUTHORS file or the backend's manpage. For
general discussion about SANE, please use the
SANE mailing list
sane-devel (see
http://www.sane-project.org/mailing-lists.html for
details).
saned(8),
sane-find-scanner(1),
scanimage(1),
sane-abaton(5),
sane-agfafocus(5),
sane-apple(5),
sane-artec(5),
sane-artec_eplus48u(5),
sane-as6e(5),
sane-avision(5),
sane-bh(5),
sane-canon(5),
sane-canon630u(5),
sane-canon_dr(5),
sane-canon_pp(5),
sane-cardscan(5),
sane-coolscan(5),
sane-coolscan2(5),
sane-coolscan3(5),
sane-dc210(5),
sane-dc240(5),
sane-dc25(5),
sane-dll(5),
sane-dmc(5),
sane-epson(5),
sane-epson2(5),
sane-escl(5),
sane-fujitsu(5),
sane-genesys(5),
sane-gphoto2(5),
sane-gt68xx(5),
sane-hp(5),
sane-hpsj5s(5),
sane-hp3500(5),
sane-hp3900(5),
sane-hp4200(5),
sane-hp5400(5),
sane-hpljm1005(5),
sane-ibm(5),
sane-kodak(5),
sane-leo(5),
sane-lexmark(5),
sane-ma1509(5),
sane-matsushita(5),
sane-microtek2(5),
sane-microtek(5),
sane-mustek(5),
sane-mustek_pp(5),
sane-mustek_usb(5),
sane-mustek_usb2(5),
sane-nec(5),
sane-net(5),
sane-niash(5),
sane-pie(5),
sane-pint(5),
sane-plustek(5),
sane-plustek_pp(5),
sane-pnm(5),
sane-qcam(5),
sane-ricoh(5),
sane-ricoh2(5),
sane-s9036(5),
sane-sceptre(5),
sane-scsi(5),
sane-sharp(5),
sane-sm3600(5),
sane-sm3840(5),
sane-snapscan(5),
sane-sp15c(5),
sane-st400(5),
sane-stv680(5),
sane-tamarack(5),
sane-teco1(5),
sane-teco2(5),
sane-teco3(5),
sane-test(5),
sane-u12(5),
sane-umax1220u(5),
sane-umax(5),
sane-umax_pp(5),
sane-usb(5),
sane-v4l(5),
sane-xerox_mfp(5)
David Mosberger-Tang and many many more (see
/usr/share/doc/libsane/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.