LibInsane 1.0.10
Cross-platform Cross-API Cross-driver Cross-image-scanner Image Scan Library
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What is Libinsane ?

Libinsane is a library allowing access to image scanners. It is the successor of Pyinsane

Its name is a reference to the library Sane.

Image scanners you said ?

Yep, those things:

Basically, paper eaters. Not webcams, not your smartphone, not USB keys, not other weird thingies that could acquire or generate images.

Main features

  • Cross-platform: Linux, *BSD and Windows.
  • Cross-API: Sane (Linux, *BSD), WIA2 (Windows), TWAIN (Windows).
  • Cross-language: Thanks to GObject introspection.
  • Cross-scanner and cross-driver: Because a lot of them have their own quirks (and sometimes bugs).
  • Returns the scanned image as the scan goes (whenever the scanner driver permits it)

Out of the scope of this library

This library is not:

  • a GUI library: No GUI component here
  • an image manipulation library: The image is returned as RAW24. Converting it, saving it and displaying it are your problems.

Guarantees

Scanners provide many options. Unfortunately, it is impossible to support them all in Libinsane. While any settings should work with Libinsane, only the following settings are always guaranteed to work with any scanner on any platform:

  • Any resolution
  • Source:
    • Flatbed
    • Automatic Document Feeder
  • Scan area set to the maximum size
  • Mode:
    • 24 bits colors
    • Grayscale (converted on-the-fly to raw rgb24)
    • Black & white (converted on-the-fly to raw rgb24)