[sane-devel] Re: Epson Perfection 4990 | GT-X800 infrared channel scanning

[Olaf Meeuwissen]

Xu=E2n Baldauf <"baldauf--2005.06-- sane-devel--lists.alioth.debian.org"@me=
dium.net> writes:

> Hello Olaf,

Hi Xu=E2n,

> I'm contacting you because I was unable to find a more appropriate
> e-mail address of AVASYS.

The most appropriate place to send this to would be pipsnews at avasys.jp.

> I have recently bought an Epson Perfection 4990 scanner for scanning
> an archive of negative images, because
> http://www.avasys.jp/english/linux_e/DL1_scan_e.html said there would
> be linux support (it is to be used in an linux-only environment) and
> because the scanner was advertised as having "Digital ICE"|infrared
> scanning capability. Epson was chosen over competitors because of its
> linux support.

Depends on your definition of support, but most EPSON scanners will
work under Linux.  That does not mean that all functionality listed
in the product specification is supported for all models.  For most
models support only covers the hardware functionality.  Quite a few
of functions are supported in software and is only available in the
Windows/Macintosh drivers included in the box (and downloadable via
an EPSON site near you).

> However, iscan does not have an option to switch on "Digital ICE" or
> infrared scanning and the resulting images clearly do not have dust
> removal applied. That defeats the purpose of paying a significant
> amount of money just for the infrared scanning capability.
>
> That's why I'm asking:
>
>    1. Can the current "iscan" software be "unlocked" to provide the
>       infrared data? If not:

No :-|

>    2. Is it planned to release an "iscan" version and|or an "epkowa"
>       backend with infrared scanning capability?

Not at present.

>    3. When will such software be released?
>    4. Is it (as an alternative) possible to get access to technical
>       documentation as that I can write a scanner driver for that
>       scanner model?

FWIW, technical documentation is available for a number of scanner and
all-in-one models via http://www.epsondevelopers.com/.

> The period of time to return the scanner and to undo the purchase ends
> with Thursday, June 16th 2004. If there is prospect for the "Digital
> ICE" support under linux, I will not return the Epson Perfection 4990
> scanner.

Sorry for the late reply.

> Thank you for your help,

You're welcome.
--=20
Olaf Meeuwissen                          EPSON AVASYS Corporation, LAN
FSF Associate Member #1962           sign up at http://member.fsf.org/
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