USB Scanners on Linux
Last modified on 14th January 2003

 

It is a waste of your time contacting me to ask if your scanner is supported. Everything I know is shown in this page. If you can't find your scanner here, then it means that I don't know. I am unable to offer any help in getting your scanner working under Linux as well. I simply don't have the time to respond to these requests so your email will go unanswered.

The purpose of this page is to provide a central point where you can easily find out what USB scanners work under Linux and SANE, and perhaps more importantly which ones don't. If you are having trouble getting your scanner to work or cannot see it mentioned on this page, contacting me is not appropriate. Your email will simply go unanswered. To get a response you should either post to the sane-devel and/or linux-usb mailing list.

If you are in the market for a new USB scanner to use under Linux then I strongly recommend that you select an Epson scanner. All the Epson scanners conform to the Epson scanner language and the SANE backend is actively maintained. Or are based on the National Semiconductors LM983x series of chipsets. As a result all the Epson scanners APART FROM THE Perfection 660 work under Linux and SANE. While they might not be the cheapest option they are by far the safest option. I have received absolutely nothing from Epson for this recommendation and I am in no way connected to them.

If you are developing a SANE backend for a USB scanner I would be grateful if I you could inform me of updates. If you have been in contact with a manufacturer asking for programming information and been turned down let me know and I will update the page. If you are a manufacturer and don't like the fact that you are listed as refusing to release documentation, then you know what to do. You may be interested to know that this page is getting well over 500 unique visitors per day. That is over 180,000 potential customers per year you could be losing out on. In the six weeks prior to Christmas 2001 it received over 35,000 hits.

The following is a key to the colour coding in the table. However please note this is a guide only. You should pay attention to what is written about each scanner, not just the colour of the box.

  A full SANE backend exists though it may not be included in the latest version of SANE yet. The scanner should function with few problems and image quality is as good as the native MS Windows/MacOS drivers.
  Although a driver is in development it is still at the beta stage. It may not be included in the SANE distribution and expect some issues getting it working and with the quality of the scanned images.
  Either no code is currently available or there is only a stand alone utility for scanning images. There will be difficulties with getting it working and issues with the quality of the scanned images.
  This manufacturer refuses to release documentation. It is very unlikely that the models listed will be supported. It is therefore unlikely that the scanner will ever be supported under Linux/SANE.
  No backend currently exists or is known to be under development. It is also unknown whether the manufacturer will provide the documentation needed to write a driver.


Below is a list of models from different manufacturers and the status of any support that is available under Linux that I have compiled. This list is by no means complete or necessarily accurate. However any information that could be used to expand the scope and accuracy of this page will be greatly appreciated.

Manufacturer Models Status
Acer (Now know as Benq) Prisa 620U, 640U, 640BU, AcerScan 1240, 3300, 4300, 5300   These scanners would appear to be a relative of the Agfa USB Snapscan. Further information, copies of the firmware and firmware download scripts can be found at the SnapScan SANE web page at http://snapscan.sourceforge.net/
Agfa Snapscan 1212U, 1236U, e20, e25, e26, e40, e42, e50, e52   This scanner apparently uses the same command set as the Agfa SCSI scanners. However a firmware download is necessary before the scanner can be used. Further information, copies of the firmware and firmware download scripts can be found at the SnapScan SANE web page at http://snapscan.sourceforge.net/
Touch   This scanner appears to be similar to the HP Scanjet 3300C.
Artec Ultima 2000   The scanner with the vendor/product ids 0x05d8/0x4002 is supported by the gt68xx backend. This scanner uses the GT6801 scanner chip from Grantech. A kernel driver and a test program for scanners based on the gt6801 can be found at http://www.btinternet.com/~salet/
Ultima 2000   The scanner with the vendor/product ids 0x05d8/0x4001 is not supported by any SANE backend. It has the following chips: WINBOND W6662CF, POWERVISION PV108630-C2L, ATC 93LC46 (EEPROM?), and two smaller ones. The chips look similar to that reported on the umax1220u page.
E+48U   A rebadged version of this scanner was sold by Aldi, a German/European discount store under the Tevion and Medion brand. The scanner is based on the Grandtech GT6816 chip. An Alpha backend exists. More details and downloads can be seen here.
Benq (formally Acer) Prisa 620U, 640U, 640BU, AcerScan 1240, 3300, 4300, 5300   These scanners would appear to be a relative of the Afga USB Snapscan. Further information, copies of the firmware and firmware download scripts can be found at the SnapScan SANE web page at http://snapscan.sourceforge.net/
Canon CanoScan FB636U, FB630U   These are National Semiconductor LM9830 parallel port scanner chip based sitting behind a GL640 USB-to-parallel converter. A SANE backend (canon630u) for this scanner has been included in SANE since version 1.0.8. See http://canon-fb630u.sourceforge.net.
CanoScan D660U   Canon appear to be unwilling to release the necessary documentation to enable a Linux driver and SANE backend to be written. The status of these models is unknown, and no know backend is in development. Other Canon backends have all been written by reverse engineering the scanners.
CanoScan N650U, N656U, N670U, N676U   These are National Semiconductor LM983x chipset based scanners. They are supported in the Plustek SANE backend backend included with the current release of SANE. See the SANE Plustek backend home page for more information.
CanoScan FB1210U   Canon appear to be unwilling to release the necessary documentation to enable a Linux driver and SANE backend to be written. There is a project for the FB1210U: http://canonscanner.sourceforge.net. While a standalone test program does exist, there is no SANE backend, and there is no time schedule for one either.
CanoScan N1220U, 1240U   These are National Semiconductor LM9833 USB scanner chip based. While not currently supported, they are likely to be supported by the Plustek backend in the near future. Check the SANE Plustek backend for more upto date details.
Epson GT-7000, Perfection 610U, 636U, 640U, 1200U/Photo, 1240U/Photo, 1640SU, 1650/Photo, 1660/Photo, 2400, 2450, Expression 1600, 1680   Support for the Epson USB scanners is now available from the Epson SANE backend homepage here. The transparency adaptors of the Photo models are also supported. Epson have been very helpful with the development of the backend, to the point of providing documentation that's not yet released. Some of these models are also directly supported by Epson from here http://www.epkowa.co.jp/english/linux_e/linux.html.
Perfection 1250/Photo, 1260/Photo   There is direct support for these scanners from Epson from here http://www.epkowa.co.jp/english/linux_e/linux.html. The scanner is also supported by the Plustek backend at http://www.gjaeger.de/scanner/plustek.html
Perfection 660   This scanner appears to be a derivative of the Afga Snapscan, and is supported with the latest version of the SnapScan backend for SANE. However unlike most SnapScan derivative scanners this scanner does not eneed a firmware upload. More information can be found at the SnapScan backend homepage at http://snapscan.sourceforge.net/.
Genius Vivid Pro   This scanner uses the E3 chipset in common with a number of other scanners. Further information on a SANE backend for these scanners can be found here.
Colorpage Vivid3x   This CCD scanner uses the Grandtech GT-6801 chip. It may be supported by the gt68xx backend in future.
ColorPage HR6 V2, HR6A, HR7, HR7LE, HR6X   This scanner used the National Semiconductor LM9832 chipset, and is supported by the Plustek backend. See the SANE Plustek backend for more details
Guillemot/Hercules Scan@home Touch 1248   This scanner appears to be a repackaged Acer 3300 and is supported by the Snapscan backend.
Hewlett Packard ScanJet 4100C, 5200C, 6200C, 6250C, 6300C, 6350C, 6390C   These scanners all understand the HP SCL. They are all currently supported under Linux and SANE.
ScanJet 5300C, 5370C, 7400C 7450C   These scanners are actually made by Avision and use the Avision SCSI command set over the USB bus. While work to get these scanners working with the Avision backend is under progress, they do work with VueScan. Though not ideal for flatbed scanning and does cost money it will enable you to use the scanner under Linux.
ScanJet 2100C, 2200C   This is a National Semiconductor Scanner on a Chip LM9832 scanner. The scanner works with the Plustek backend. More information can be found at http://www.gjaeger.de/scanner/plustek.html
ScanJet 2300C   Not a lot is know about this scanner. It is not a National Semiconductor Scanner on a Chip LM983x based scanner.
ScanJet 3300C, 3400C, 4300C   These scanners also do not use HP SCL, but are not LM983x scanners. Encouraging progress toward a backend (successful scans on both models) is reported at http://home.kabelfoon.nl/~bertrik/hp3300c/hp3300c.html.
ScanJet 4200C   This scanner uses a National Semiconductor Scanner on a Chip LM9830 to drive the scanner (Yes really this is a parallel chip in a USB scanner). A backend for this scanner is currently in development. More information can be found at SourceForge here.
ScanJet 4400C, 4470C   These scanners uses a RealTek RTS8891 chip to drive the scanner. Requests for information on this chip to RealTek have gone unanswered. There is some very preliminary software for these based on reverse engineering the Windows driver. More information on this can be can be found at SourceForge here.
ScanJet 5400C   Work is been done to provide a backend for this scanner by reverse engineering USB logs of the scanner under action in Windows. Currently there exists a test tool for it. More information on this can be can be found at SourceForge here.
Photosmart S20   This scanner apparently does support the HP SCL, however it requires a firmware download in order to operate and therefore does not work under Linux.
OfficeJet, LaserJet, and Photosmart multifunction peripherals   Depending on the model these devices can can print, scan, copy, fax, and/or access digital camera memory cards. Most of these models are supported by the HP OfficeJet Linux driver project (sponsored by HP) for printing, scanning, and photo-card access. The scanning function is through the hpoj SANE backend. More information, downloads and a full list of supported devices can be found at the SourceForge homepage here.
IBM IdeaScan 2000USB   This scanner uses the E3 chipset in common with a number of other scanners. Further information on a SANE backend for these scanners can be found here.
Lexmark X70, X73   Another GT68xx based scanner, supported by the gt68xx backend.
LG Scanworks 600U   This scanner uses the E3 chipset in common with a number of other scanners. Further information on a SANE backend for these scanners can be found here.
Nikon CoolScan IV LS-40   The Linux USB scanner module may not recognise this scanner by default. In order to make the scanner module load, an entry 
options scanner vendor=0x4b0 product=0x4000
to /etc/modules.conf (or /etc/conf.modules on a non-FSB compliant distribution) may be necessary. VueScan then works fine with this scanner. It should also work with the Coolscan2 backend in SANE. However if you are serious about scanning negatives use VueScan.
Microtek Scanmaker X6   The Scanmaker X6 requires SANE version 1.0.3 or later and the kernel driver is in the 2.4.x kernels. The back ported USB drivers do not work.
Scanmaker 3600, 3700, 3750   A backend for SANE based on reverse engineering of the USB protocol by Marian Eichholz and Glenn Ramsey is included in SANE 1.0.5. More details and source code can be found at http://sm3600.sourceforge.net/ Microtek have now provided documentation so the reverse engineered parts can in future be rewritten cleanly.
Scanmaker 3630   Microtek have said that the 3630 has different internals to the 3600, 3700, and 3750. Therefore no backend for these scanners.
Phantom C6 USB   This is another SCSI over USB scanner, and works with the Microtek kernel driver. You need to use a 2.4.5 kernel and SANE 1.0.5.
Scanmaker V6 USB, Scanmaker X12 USB   These scanners are dual interface SCSI/USB. The ScanMaker V6 has been reported working in USB mode using sane-backends 1.0.5 and xsane 0.79. It would therefore appear likely that the X12 would work in a similar fashion but this has not been confirmed.
Slimscan C6   This scanner works with the Microtek2 backend in the current release of SANE.
Minolta Scan Dual II   This scanner is actually an Avision scanner, and using the hpusbscsi driver in kernels 2.4.13 will allow the scanner to be used by VueScan. Note VueScan is shareware, though if you are serious about film scanning then it is far superior to any of the SANE front ends and relatively cheap. Many people use it under Windows and MacOS in preference to the manufacturer's software. The scanner should also work under SANE with the Avision backend, but if you are serious about scanning negatives you will do much better with VueScan.
Mustek Plug-a-Scan/ScanExpress 600CU, 1200UB, 1200CU, 1200CU Plus   The 1200UB backend supplied by Mustek has been developed into the SANE mustek_usb backend and included in SANE-1.0.6: see the SANE Mustek backend homepage for details.
Scan Express 1200UB Plus, A3 USB, BearPaw 1200CU, 2400CU, 1200TA, 2400TA, 2400TA Plus   These scanners are based on the GT6801 and GT-6816 scanner chips from Grantech. An beta SANE backend based on the work done by Sergey Vlasov can be found at http://www.meier-geinitz.de/sane/gt68xx-backend/
BearPaw 1200, 2400   These scanners use National Semiconductor LM983x chips. They are supported by the Plustek backend. Check the SANE Plustek backend for more details.
BearPaw 1200F   This scanner is not currently supported. It is a SCSI overUSB scanner.
ScanExpress 600 USB, 1200 USB, 1200 USB Plus   Currently not supported by any SANE backend. There is some development information available, see http://www.meier-geinitz.de/sane/misc/mustek-scanners.html for details.
BearPaw 2400 Pro, 4800 Pro   Currently not supported by any SANE backend. Some information is at http://www.meier-geinitz.de/sane/misc/mustek-scanners.html
Packard Bell Diamond 1200   This is probably a Mustek BearPaw 1200 CU Plus clone. It's supported by the gt68xx backend
Plustek Optic Pro U12, UT12, UT16, U24, UT24   These are National Semiconductor LM983x chipset based scanners. A SANE backend has being written and is included with the current release of SANE. See the SANE Plustek backend home page for more information.
Primax Colorado USB 9600   Unknown
Colorado USB 19200   This scanner uses the E3 chipset in common with a number of other scanners. Further information on a SANE backend for these scanners can be found here.
Tevion/Medion MD9693, MD9705   These scanners were sold by Aldi, a German/European discount store. They are based on the Grandtech GT6816 chip, and would appear to be rebadged Artec E+48U scanners. An Alpha backend exists for these scanners. More details and downloads can be seen here.
MD/LT 9385, LT 9452, MD 9458   These scanners were sold by the German/European discounters ALDI and Tchibo. They are supported by the gt68xx backend.
Trust Compact Scan USB 19200   Supported either by the mustek_usb backend (vendor 0x055f, product 0x0006) or by the gt68xx backend (vendor 0x05d8, product 0x4002).
Flat Scan USB 19200   Supported by the gt68xx backend.
UMAX Astra 1220U, 1600U, 2000U   These appear to be a National Semiconductor LM983x derivatives. A SANE backend is included in SANE version 1.0.7 as the Umax1220u backend and requires a 2.4.18 or later Linux kernel. It works fine with the 1220U. It scans with the 1600U but the images are unusable. With the 2000U it works for some at least. More information about this backend can be found at its SourceForge homepage at http://umax1220u-sane.sourceforge.net/.
Astra 2200SU, MX3   These dual interface SCSI/USB scanners work with the USB interface with the latest SANE Umax backend and a 2.4 series linux kernel.
Astra 2100SU, 4000U   These scanners apparently use the SCSI protocol, and may one day be supported by the Umax backend. However they are currently unsupported.
Astra 2400U   Like their parallel scanners UMAX refuse to release the necessary programming information so that a SANE backend may be written.
Astra 3400   This scanner is a LM983x derivative. It works with the Plustek backend in current versions of SANE. More information can be had directly from the Plustek Scanner Driver for Linux homepage.
Astra 4500   This scanner apparently uses a GeneScanII GL646USB chipset. Umax is providing some information about the scanner so there may be a chance to write a driver for this scanner. However nothing exists at the moment.
Astra 5400   This scanner is apparently a LM983x derivative. Currently there is no support though this may well change in the future.
Visioneer OneTouch 4400   This scanner uses the LM9832 chipset and may well work with the Plustek backend with minimal work. Howwever it is unsupported at this point in time.
OneTouch 6100, 7600,8600   This scanner uses the E3 chipset in common with a number of other scanners. Further information on a SANE backend for these scanners can be found here. For the OneTouch 8600 there is another driver at http://www.littlecms.com/iphoto/otlinux.htm.
OneTouch 6200   This scanner uses the E5 chipset as is unsupported at this point in time.

 

All material is Copyright 1999-2003 Jonathan Buzzard. You are free to use the information on this page, provided that you clearly state the source of the information.

 

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