[sane-devel] Scanning for fax - resolution problem

[Frank Millman]

Frank Millman wrote: 

> 
> Hi all
> 
> I have got a scanner and fax modem working perfectly on 
> Windows. I am trying to move them over to a new Fedora 10 
> server, using sane (scanimage version
> 1.0.19) and hylafax+ (version 5.2.8).
> 
> I am battling with getting a suitable tiff file for faxing.
> 

Well, after all that, it turns out that there is a much easier solution.

I got the necessary push from Lee Howard of Hylafax, who wrote the following
-

"I've not met a scanner that didn't do what I needed to scan appropriately
for faxing.  Sometimes it took a bit to get the settings right.  Make sure
you're scanning at 200 dpi and monochrome.  Then try adjusting the
"contrast" and "brightness" settings.  You'll eventually find a happy
setting."

According to 'scanimage -h', both brightness and contrast are configurable
on my scanner. In practice, if I try to vary contrast, I get the message
'attempted to set inactive option contrast'. I don't know why.

No matter, I experimented with brightness, and got very acceptable results,
when combined with --mode=LineArt and --resolution=200. The resulting images
are small and fax much quicker as well - about 45 seconds.

I found that, depending on the clarity of the original document, different
settings of brightness were required for optimum results. Unfortunately the
xsane front end does not allow easy adjustment of this - it does not even
display the brightness setting if you select LineArt. I may have to write my
own front end, but I think the effort will be worth it in the long run.

Thanks again for all the assistance.

Frank