Open Book Scanners

This section describes the results and issues (if any), of all scanners tested with OpenBook. Scanners chosen to be tested were based upon market availability and cost (under $500.00). All testing was performed on mid-range PC's (200-400 MHz with 64MB of ram), with minimal software installed (Windows Operating System, MS Office, scanner-specific drivers, and OpenBook).

Acer 1240UT
	Driver Information:
This scanner was tested using drivers from the MiraScan 3.4 installation CD. MiraScan 4.03 are available, but they will cause an external dialog to display during every scan through OpenBook.
	Test Results:
Is scanning free of any external dialogs? No. Using MiraScan 3.4 drivers, when this scanner has been idle for a while, an external dialog will display. However, the dialog unloads gracefully and returns focus back to OpenBook. Using the newer MiraSCan 4.03, an external Twain dialog will display during every single scan. Can this scanner scan a legal-sized document? No. Without an ADF and only an 11.7 inch scanning area, there is no way to scan legal-sized documents. Using this scanner, can a user change the scanning contrast from within OpenBook? Yes. Contrast can be altered using OpenBook, except under Windows XP. This scanner works best under XP while using the WIA drivers. Using these drivers will not permit manual contrast adjustment. Using this scanner, can a user cancel scanning from within OpenBook? Yes. Scanning can be canceled through OpenBook. In some cases, this scanner may require it's physical scanning process to completely finish before the scan is actually canceled. Can this scanner scan in the background? Yes. This scanner can 'scan in the background'. However, in cases where an external dialog is displayed, the user will need to return focus back to OpenBook and reinitiate the reading process. When no external dialog is displayed, then background scanning is uninterrupted. Did this scanner pass the 500 page stress test? Yes. This scanner successfully scanned 500 consecutive pages. How long does this scanner take to scan a page using OpenBook’s default settings? This scanner is a bit on the slow side. Its average scan time with OpenBook's default settings was about 40 seconds.
	Notes:
This scanner offers a USB interface. Acer states that this scanner is supported by Windows 98 and 2000. However, the stated results were also displayed in Windows ME and XP. Note the drivers data stated above. Under Windows XP, OpenBook may default to "No Scanner". Users will want to change this so that OpenBook uses the WIA drivers when scanning. It is recommended that users download the latest version of twainscn.ini and save it to OpenBook's installation directory. This will update OpenBook's list of known scanners, which includes this scanner. More information can be found on he 1240UT at Acer's website.

Canon CanoScan D646U
	Driver Information:
This scanner was tested using drivers from the ScanGear 6.01 installation program.
	Test Results:
Is scanning free of any external dialogs? Not under Windows 98, ME, or 2000. There are periodic calibration and lamp dialogs that may interrupt speech, but they require no user intervention. Under Windows XP, these dialogs did not show up. This is do to the WIA drivers that get installed under Windows XP. Can this scanner scan a legal-sized document? No. Without an ADF and only an 11.7 inch scanning area, there is no way to scan legal-sized documents. Using this scanner, can a user change the scanning contrast from within OpenBook? Contrast can be altered through OpenBook under Windows 98, ME, and 2000, but not under Windows XP. This is do to the WIA drivers that get installed under Windows XP. Using this scanner, can a user cancel scanning from within OpenBook? Yes. However there are side effects. Under Windows 98, ME, or 2000, canceling a scan immediately after initiating a scan will cause the head to sit out of position. The next scan will result in a Canon error dialog. Under Windows XP, canceling a scan in the middle of scanning will cancel the page from being recognized in OpenBook but the scanner will continue to scan the the rest of the flatbed. Can this scanner scan in the background? Yes. This scanner can 'scan in the background'. However, the periodic dialogs discussed in the first section may interrupt reading while scanning in the background. Did this scanner pass the 500 page stress test? Yes. This scanner was able to scan 500 consecutive pages. How long does this scanner take to scan a page using OpenBook’s default settings? The Canon D646U was very slow, taking up to 55 seconds to scan a page.
	Notes:
The Canon D646U is USB only, and is supported under Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP. Only scans the first 11” of the 11.7” flatbed. Any text beyond the first 11” will be missed. It is recommended that users download the latest version of twainscn.ini and save it to OpenBook's installation directory. This will update OpenBook's list of known scanners, which includes this scanner.

Canon CanoScan D1250U2F
	Driver Information:
This scanner was tested using drivers from the ScanGear 6.01 installation program. However, in Windows XP, this scanner was also tested with the Canon-supplied WIA 1.2.0 drivers. Unlike other Canon models, the WIA drivers are not installed automatically, so note the different results in the Test Results section below. This may assist you in determining which drivers are best suited for you needs if using this scanner with OpenBook in Windows XP.
	Test Results:
Is scanning free of any external dialogs? If using the ScanGear 6.01 drivers, then a Lamp Adjustment dialog will display on every scan. This dialog takes focus away from OpenBook. However, in Windows XP, users may install the optional WIA drivers. When using the WIA drivers, the lamp adjustment dialog does not display. Can this scanner scan a legal-sized document? No. Without an automatic document feeder (ADF) and only an 11.7 inch scanning area, there is no way to scan legal-sized documents. Using this scanner, can a user change the scanning contrast from within OpenBook? Contrast can be altered through OpenBook if using the ScanGear 6.01 drivers. However, in Windows XP, users can install the optional WIA drivers. When using the WIA drivers, manual contrast adjustments cannot be made. Using this scanner, can a user cancel scanning from within OpenBook? Yes. If using the ScanGear 6.01 drivers, users should wait for the lamp adjustment dialog to close and then press the Cancel button on OpenBook's Scanning Status dialog. Canceling the Lamp dialog and then canceling OpenBook will cause OpenBook to hang for a long period, as will canceling OpenBook's scanning status dialog while the lamp dialog is still open. However, if using the WIA drivers, users can cancel a scan at any time, but the scanner will still physically complete the process before the user is able to scan again. Can this scanner scan in the background? If using the ScanGear 6.01 drivers, then previously mentioned lamp dialog will display on every scan, taking focus away from OpenBook and interrupting any reading. However, if using the WIA drivers (Windows XP only), then users will not receive the lamp dialog and will not be interrupted after successful background scanning. Did this scanner pass the 500 page stress test? Yes. This scanner was able to scan 500 consecutive pages. How long does this scanner take to scan a page using OpenBook’s default settings? The Canon D12560U2F was very slow, taking up to 53 seconds to scan a page.
	Notes:
The Canon D12560U2F is USB only, and is supported under Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP. OpenBook behavior varies depending on which drivers you install. See Test Results listed above. It is recommended that users download the latest version of twainscn.ini and save it to OpenBook's installation directory. This will update OpenBook's list of known scanners, which includes this scanner.

Canon CanoScan LiDE 30
	Driver Information:
This scanner was tested using drivers from the ScanGear 7.01 installation program.
	Test Results:
Is scanning free of any external dialogs? No. Periodic calibration dialogs will display every 80-100 pages, except when the user is running Windows XP. No interaction is required by the user to close the dialog. However, in OpenBook 6, focus is taken away from OpenBook on every scan. Pressing ALT+TAB will not return the focus to OpenBook unless there is actually another application open to send the focus to, so you can toggle the focus back to OpenBook. This problem does not occur in OpenBook 5.x. Can this scanner scan a legal-sized document? No. Without an automatic document feeder (ADF) and only an 11.7 inch scanning area, there is no way to scan legal-sized documents. Using this scanner, can a user change the scanning contrast from within OpenBook? Yes. The contrast can be altered through OpenBook. Using this scanner, can a user cancel scanning from within OpenBook? As stated above, in OpenBook 6, OpenBook loses focus every time this scanner starts to scan. This means that pressing the spacebar to activate the Cancel button will not work. Users need to set focus back to OpenBook so that the Cancel button can be pressed. This requires having another application running so that you can toggle to the second application using ALT+TAB. Press ALT+TAB again to return to OpenBook. Clicking with the mouse will also work. This is not a problem for OpenBook 5.x. Can this scanner scan in the background? The OpenBook 6 focus problem stated above will will interrupt speech while scanning in the background. Users will have to start scanning first, then reset the focus back to OpenBook using the method stated above, and then initialize reading. By that time, scanning has completed. This is not a problem in OpenBook 5. However, the calibration dialog can still display every 80-100 pages in both versions, interrupting reading. Did this scanner pass the 500 page stress test? Yes. This scanner was able to scan 500 consecutive pages. How long does this scanner take to scan a page using OpenBook’s default settings? The Canon Canoscan LiDE 30 will scan a page using OpenBook's default settings in around 23 seconds.
	Notes:
The Canon Canoscan LiDE 30 is USB only, and is supported under Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP. USB powered as well. Only scans the first 11” of the 11.7” flatbed. Any text beyond the first 11” will be missed. It is recommended that users download the latest version of twainscn.ini and save it to OpenBook's installation directory. This will update OpenBook's list of known scanners, which includes this scanner.

Canon CanoScan N670U, N676U, or N1240U
	Driver Information:
This scanner was tested using drivers from the ScanGear 6.22 installation program.
	Test Results:
Is scanning free of any external dialogs? No. Scanning was not entirely free of external dialogs. Every 70-100 pages scanned, a dialog would be displayed, recommending that the scanner be recalibrated. Can this scanner scan a legal-sized document? No. Without an ADF and only an 11.7 inch scanning area, there is no way to scan legal-sized documents. Using this scanner, can a user change the scanning contrast from within OpenBook? Yes. Contrast can be altered using OpenBook. Using this scanner, can a user cancel scanning from within OpenBook? Yes. Scanning can be canceled easily through OpenBook. Can this scanner scan in the background? Yes. This scanner can 'scan in the background'. Did this scanner pass the 500 page stress test? No. During the 500 page stress test, this scanner would prompt the user for recalibration every 70-100 pages. How long does this scanner take to scan a page using OpenBook’s default settings? These scanners should scan a page using OpenBook's default settings in around 22 seconds.
	Notes:
These scanners are USB powered, and are supported under Windows 98, ME, 2000, and XP. Due to the these scanner's design, the 'depth field' is not as high as other scanners. For example, a book has pages on both sides that meet at the binding. When placed on the scanner's flatbed, the binding is somewhat raised up from the glass plate. In some cases, depending on the book and text margins, the scan may not pick up text that is written too close to the binding. These scanners connect with a single USB cable, and are small enough to fit in a briefcase. It is recommended that users download the latest version of twainscn.ini and save it to OpenBook's installation directory. This will update OpenBook's list of known scanners, which includes this scanner.