Is IrfanView a good choice for scanning from a printer ?

[DavidE]

Is IrfanView a good choice for scanning from a printer ?

I'm helping someone via TeamViewer with a Brother HL-2280DW printer.
I'm finding the Brother scanning program is very quirky and troublesome.
I'm looking a free scanning program that works reliably.

I remember reading about IrfanView years ago as a good program.
I never used it so i have no experience.

Any suggestions, ideas, etc. are most welcome.

tyia,
David

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

I've never used IrfanView for scanning but it still is an excellent program for some things. I use it for my image viewer because it can read multipage TIFs (and create them) and do mass edits of multiple images or filenames. Since it is useful for many things and is a freebie, it would be worthwhile giving it a shot. Even if it doesn't work as well as you would like for scanning, it is still worth having. The only caveat is the scanner has to be TWAIN compliant (the vast majority of scanners are).

An excellent program for use with scanners that no longer have up to date software is VueScan. Sadly, it is not a free program or even a cheap one (at least you can get a lifetime license for it which will work with up to four computers) and has a bit of learning curve but can be used with both TWAIN and non-TWAIN compliant scanners. I have that one (with the lifetime license) so I can take the time to get used to using it before I switch from Win 7 to Linux. It will be the only practical way to get my non-TWAIN compliant Fujitsu ix500 ADF duplexing scanner to work in Linux. An added bonus is I can also use it with my Canon CanoScan 9000 so I don't have to be familiar with two kinds of software. VueScan does have a full featured trial version (all the bells and whistles but it will put a banner on top of the page).

 

[Barman58]

I have the Brother DCP-9020CDW Colour Laser AIO and I find that I can just scan to file so do not need any local software on the PC and get good quality scans. Maybe this is an option for you

Irfanview is one of the best free image viewers around and has been for many years, so would not have any worries in using it for scanning. You could always be sure of producing the file in the best format for it's intended use due to the vast range of supported formats

 

[Snick]

I agree with Barman58!

 

[DavidE]

For me the Brother scanning program has crashed several times on her PC.
I was checking for a newer version of the program, and TeamViewer disconnected me
I think that's a network problem at her end, another different can of worms.

I see VueScan std costs $40.
I'll pass that info to the owner/users, that's their choice.

I found an IrfanView 4.51 portable 32 bit free version available at MajorGeeks.
I'm playing with that now on my PC/HP AIO printer, and it looks like a winner.
I really like portable, so that's another + for me.
fwiw, i'm saving scanned images as .png, 300dpi.
I'm open to any other format, but for me with IrfanView i can save as .png and .bmp.

I can't connect to her right now, so i have to wait to test it on her system.

Thanks to everyone for the help, i'll post what i end up with.
Any other ideas are much appreciated.

 

[Barman58]

I always save scans as Uncompressed Tiff files for highest reusability. Scan resolution is set to be twice the rate needed to size the image for final use so I have a little wiggle room for cropping and resampling - this method does produce larger images that a PNG internet image file but I find this worth the effort - My raw camera images are around 25MB out of the camera so I'm setup to use larger files, and if I need an Internet format I create this as the last process

It's best to set the scanner up to give twice the final image size and set the resolution based on final use - Commercial Print 120 Line Per inch, Home Printing 240-300-600 DPI, Net /PC use 72 or 96 dpi, as this keeps any chance for artifacts to a minimum.

 

[Lady Fitzgerald]

...I see VueScan std costs $40.
I'll pass that info to the owner/users, that's their choice...

The standard version is a joke. It receives updates for only a year and has had over half the features stripped away. If, after trying out the trial version, your client does like VueScan, the pro version is a much better version and will give better bang for the buck than the standard version.

I suggest that your client to both to see which s/he prefers. It doesn't cost anything to try them out.

 

[Snick]

Have you tried uninstalling and reinstalling Brother scan program. Many times, this will rectify issues with a program.
Worth a try!
Here's two links to free scanner reviews:
10 Free Document Scanning Software
7 of the best Windows scanner software to use

 

[mrjimphelps]

If you want to scan multi-page PDF documents, it doesn't get any simpler than the free program NAPS2 (Not Another PDF Scanner 2) -- https://www.naps2.com/

NAPS2 also scans to JPG format.

NAPS2 is one of the few Windows program I haven't been able to find a duplicate for in Linux, so I keep it installed in my Windows VM, for use from time to time when I am in Linux.

 

[mrjimphelps]

An excellent program for use with scanners that no longer have up to date software is VueScan. Sadly, it is not a free program or even a cheap one (at least you can get a lifetime license for it which will work with up to four computers) and has a bit of learning curve but can be used with both TWAIN and non-TWAIN compliant scanners. I have that one (with the lifetime license) so I can take the time to get used to using it before I switch from Win 7 to Linux. It will be the only practical way to get my non-TWAIN compliant Fujitsu ix500 ADF duplexing scanner to work in Linux. An added bonus is I can also use it with my Canon CanoScan 9000 so I don't have to be familiar with two kinds of software. VueScan does have a full featured trial version (all the bells and whistles but it will put a banner on top of the page).

Lady Fitzgerald, I recall us speaking about the issues of scanning in Linux prior to now. I was considering using VueScan in Linux, until I found that I was able to go to the Canon Asia (Thailand) website and download the scanning software (and instructions) for my scanner, and for my distro of Linux. I installed it in Linux Mint, being very careful to precisely follow the instructions. Doing this installed a command-line (terminal) scanner program in Linux Mint. I created a shortcut on my Linux Mint desktop to run the scanner program, and I can now scan in Linux just by clicking that shortcut!

Although the scanner program doesn't have a lot of bells and whistles, it does a decent basic job. And it will scan to either JPG or PDF format, and it will scan from the platen or from the ADF.

Go to Canon's Thailand web site. You might find the scanning software for your Canon scanner.

 

[DavidE]

I can't continue trying to help this person remotely because of unreliable internet.
If i can't get someone with hands-on access to her PC and Network knowledge, I'll give up on this effort.
Here's a screen print showing the server she is connected to, and it shows "No Internet access".



I don't understand how i could connect to her PC via TeamViewer if she has no Internet access.
She is in an Elderdy Folks Assisted Living facility, and the facility delivers internet to the facility residents.
imho, i don't think the person responsible for the facility network know what is going on...
I certainly don't know networking/servers, and i can't test anything hands-on for her.

Having said that, i did get a couple of successful scans using ImgBurn IrfanView.
I think that program would work well, if they can get her a reliable internet connection.

My problem is TeamViewer/Internet may stop working for her any time I'm trying to do something for her.

Thanks to everyone for help and suggestions,
David

 

[CKcomputer]

Infanview will do the magic. Just play around with it in order to get yourself familiar with the tool.


Thanks