Scanning

[Baz2126]

Why don't Affinity simply allow you to scan? I have to use Adobe ~ which I am tempted to use permanently!

[thomaso]

Why don't you simply use the Affinity scan feature? 😉 You don't have to use the Help permanently but sometimes it helps…

https://affinity.help/photo/English.lproj/index.html?page=pages/GetStarted/scanningImages.html?title=Scanning images

[R C-R]

36 minutes ago, thomaso said:

Why don't you simply use the Affinity scan feature?

I don't think that feature is available in the Windows version, but on the Mac one it is only available if there is suitable scanner software installed. Since many scanner venders quit updating that software for older (& sometimes not-so-older) models to work with more recent macOS versions, it is kind of hit or miss if that feature actually can be used.

[thomaso]

2 hours ago, R C-R said:

I don't think that feature is available in the Windows version, but on the Mac one it is only available if there is suitable scanner software installed.

May be both true (I never used either). However, since the OP seems to be able to scan from Adobe I assume there is no hard- or software missing but simply the menu command in Affinity was not found.

[Pšenda]

13 hours ago, R C-R said:

I don't think that feature is available in the Windows version

...

 

[R C-R]

@Pšenda, I just wondered if anything had changed about 64 bit scan driver support in Windows since @Dan C made that comment in 2018.

I guess not?

[Dan C]

Unfortunately not, as far as I'm aware - as mentioned in the above thread this is down to 64bit scanner driver support in Windows and therefore the onus is on the printer/scanner manufacturers to create or improve their 64bit versions of these drivers before we could implement such a feature in Affinity.

[R C-R]

19 minutes ago, Dan C said:

... and therefore the onus is on the printer/scanner manufacturers to create or improve their 64bit versions of these drivers before we could implement such a feature in Affinity.

That isn't too different from the situation for the Mac version, in that the manufacturers often do not ever update many of their drivers for Macs to be usable with later/current versions of the macOS.

[John Rostron]

I use VueScan for scanning and I configure it to automatically open a saved image in Affinity Photo. Not the perfect solution, but a pretty good workaround. 

John

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, John Rostron said:

I use VueScan for scanning and I configure it to automatically open a saved image in Affinity Photo.

Just curious but does the new least expensive "Basic" edition include that auto-open feature or is it just available in the more expensive "Standard" or "Professional" ones?

[thomaso]

59 minutes ago, R C-R said:

Just curious but does the new least expensive "Basic" edition include that auto-open feature or is it just available in the more expensive "Standard" or "Professional" ones?

Alternatively you can use the macOS Automator.app to configure a certain folder and let it open a new added file with a certain app.

[thomaso]

In case anyone misses scanning software: this open source group occasionally develops back- and frontends for various scanner models.

http://sane-project.org/

(I don't know how up-to-date they are today, - I vaguely remember using it decades ago for a scanner with a SCSI port when Apple removed it from their macs.)

[R C-R]

1 hour ago, thomaso said:

In case anyone misses scanning software: this open source group occasionally develops back- and frontends for various scanner models.

Any idea if some or any of this is compatible with apps like AP for Macs that need 64 bit driver support?

[thomaso]

Sorry, unfortunately not at all. If it helps, here is their Gitlab address: https://gitlab.com/sane-project

[thomaso]

@R C-R, I just noticed I still get emails (1-2 per year) from their mailing-list, the last was from March 2022. Maybe this helps, too? As far I remember you can at least ask them for / request a specific hardware / setup support.

https://alioth-lists.debian.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/sane-announce

[R C-R]

4 hours ago, thomaso said:

Maybe this helps, too? As far I remember you can at least ask them for / request a specific hardware / setup support.

Thanks for the info & link, but to be honest about it, long ago I tried to figure out how to use SANE with an older Mac, & even though my old Canon MP630 is listed as supported (if attached directly to the Mac via USB), I never figured out how to make that work. Since my old MP630 is now in a different part of my house than my computers, for the very rare occasions I need to scan something I use "sneaker net" for that by plugging a USB thumb drive or SD card into one of the printer's ports, setting that as the scanning destination, & then plugging that into my Mac.

Primitive, I know, but it works for me.

[thomaso]

4 minutes ago, R C-R said:

long ago I tried to figure out how to use SANE

Same to me. I only still have in mind that it has been a quite complex process which required additional knowledge about SCSI + TWAIN. Actually, I can't really remember if ever made it to work or whether I instead quit to find out when I got a 'multi-functional' printer with a scanner included.

But can't you setup a WLAN between your scanning computer + your receiving mac? Or maybe a LAN via the electric network? I don't know the English term but the images or product names (e.g. "TP-Link") in this article might tell: https://www.homeandsmart.de/wlan-steckdose-test

[R C-R]

11 minutes ago, thomaso said:

But can't you setup a WLAN between your scanning computer + your receiving mac?

Currently I am using just one iMac, so there is no separate scanning computer. That iMac does not recognize the printer as connected to my LAN, I believe because there is no network driver compatible with any recent version of the macOS available from Canon or anywhere else I can find.

I do have an ancient Mac or two that I could use as a scanning computer if I set them up again & used the old Canon software, but it is a lot simpler & more reliable to just use sneaker net since I rarely need to scan anything.

[thomaso]

It seems the MP630 offers no WLAN but USB only? (click to enlarge)

Maybe an USB-WLAN adapter would work. e.g. https://www.justanswer.co.uk/printers/aq8b4-pixma-mp630-converted-wifi.html

[R C-R]

2 minutes ago, thomaso said:

It seems the MP630 offers no WLAN but USB only?

It does support a WLAN connection for Macs but it only works with some really old macOS versions, & even for that it required first connecting the MP630 directly to the Mac via USB before the driver (or something) could be used with the Mac. Even after doing that, it often broke, requiring uninstalling all the drivers & starting the process all over again.

Specifically, Canon's US support site says it is supported only for OS X 10.5 through 10.9. The "Specifications" tab on that site is very flakey, sometimes showing nothing, sometimes showing only the specs for Windows PC's, but occasionally showing the Mac specs, including connectivity support for WiFi 802.11 b, g, & (I think) n.

Honestly, it is such a hassle that I have no interest at all in trying to get it to work wirelessly with my iMac when the sneaker net solution works fine for my very modest scanning needs.