sane.7
sane(7) SANE Scanner Access Now Easy sane(7)
NAME
sane - Scanner Access Now Easy: API for accessing scanners
DESCRIPTION
SANE is an application programming interface (API) that provides stan-
dardized 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.
TERMINOLOGY
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 back-
ends.
SOFTWARE PACKAGES
The package sane-backends contains backends, documentation, networking
support, and the command line frontend scanimage(1). The frontends xs-
canimage(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.
GENERAL INFORMATION
The following sections provide short descriptions and links to more in-
formation 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/lo-
cal/share/doc/sane-backends/README are references to text files that
were copied to the SANE documentation directory (/usr/lo-
cal/share/doc/sane-backends/) 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/local/share/doc/sane-back-
ends/.
SANE mailing list
There is a mailing list for the purpose of discussing the SANE stan-
dard 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-de-
vel 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 prob-
lems, 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 announce-
ments of problems with SANE infrastructure (mailing lists, web
server, etc.).
Compiling and installing SANE
Look at /usr/local/share/doc/sane-backends/README and the os-depen-
dent 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).
FRONTENDS AND MISCELLANEOUS PROGRAMS
scanimage
Command-line frontend. See scanimage(1).
saned
SANE network daemon that allows remote clients to access image acqui-
sition 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 xscan-
image(1), xcam(1), and scanadf(1)) and the frontend information page at
http://www.sane-project.org/sane-frontends.html.
BACKENDS FOR SCANNERS
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: Ap-
pleScanner, OneScanner and ColorOneScanner. See sane-apple(5) for de-
tails.
artec
Supports several Artec/Ultima SCSI flatbed scanners as well as the
BlackWidow BW4800SP and the Plustek 19200S. See sane-artec(5) for de-
tails.
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 Avi-
sion scanners (like AV 630, AV 620, ...) as well as the HP ScanJet
53xx and 74xx series, Fujitsu ScanPartner, some Mitsubishi and Mi-
nolta 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 de-
tails.
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-ep-
son2(5) for details.
escl
Supports scanners through the eSCL protocol. See sane-escl(5) for de-
tails.
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 mod-
els.
Some Genius, Lexmark, Medion, Packard Bell, Plustek, and Trust scan-
ners 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 de-
tails.
kodak
Supports some large Kodak scanners. See sane-kodak(5) for details.
kodakaio
Supports Kodak AiO printer/scanners. See sane-kodakaio(5) for de-
tails.
kvs1025
Supports Panasonic KV-S102xC scanners. See sane-kvs1025(5) for de-
tails.
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-lex-
mark(5) for details.
lexmark_x2600
Supports the Lexmark X2600 series of USB scanners. See sane-lex-
mark_x2600(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-mat-
sushita(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 de-
tails.
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 image-
CLASS 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 in-
clude 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 de-
tails.
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 re-
badged 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 (paral-
lel-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/local/share/doc/sane-backends/PROJECTS.
BACKENDS FOR DIGITAL CAMERAS
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 sup-
ported cameras.) Gphoto2 supports over 140 different camera models.
However, please note that more development and testing is needed be-
fore 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/local/share/doc/sane-backends/PROJECTS.
MISCELLANEOUS BACKENDS
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 pri-
marily 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 sys-
tems. 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/local/share/doc/sane-backends/PROJECTS.
CHANGING THE TOP-LEVEL BACKEND
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/local/lib/sane.
DEVELOPER'S DOCUMENTATION
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/lo-
cal/share/doc/sane-backends/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/local/share/doc/sane-back-
ends/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 scan-
ner: 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.
FILES
/usr/local/etc/sane.d/*.conf
The backend configuration files.
/usr/local/lib/sane/libsane-*.a
The static libraries implementing the backends.
/usr/local/lib/sane/libsane-*.so
The shared libraries implementing the backends (present on sys-
tems that support dynamic loading).
/usr/local/share/doc/sane-backends/*
SANE documentation: The READMEs, text files for backends etc.
PROBLEMS
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 scan-
ners, use the sane-find-scanner(1) utility. It prints one line for
each scanner it has detected and some comments (#). If sane-find-scan-
ner(1) finds your scanner only as root but not as normal user, the per-
missions for the device files are not adjusted correctly. If the scan-
ner 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 /usr/local/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 in-
structions 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 man-
ual 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: scan-
image >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 de-
vice:
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/lo-
cal/. Make sure that only one version is installed. Another possible
reason is, that your system's dynamic loader can't find the SANE li-
braries. For Linux, make sure that /etc/ld.so.conf contains /usr/lo-
cal/lib and does not contain /usr/local/lib/sane. See also the docu-
mentation of the frontends.
HOW CAN YOU HELP SANE
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
CONTACT
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/local/share/doc/sane-backends/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/mail-
ing-lists.html for details).
SEE ALSO
saned(8), sane-find-scanner(1), scanimage(1), sane-abaton(5), sane-ag-
fafocus(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-card-
scan(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-lexmark_x2600(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)
AUTHOR
David Mosberger-Tang and many many more (see /usr/local/share/doc/sane-
backends/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.
03 Jan 2020 sane(7)
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