Provided by: libsane-common_1.0.27-1~experimental3ubuntu2.4_all bug

NAME

       sane-plustek_pp - SANE backend for Plustek parallel port flatbed scanners

DESCRIPTION

       The  sane-plustek_pp  library  implements  a  SANE  (Scanner Access Now Easy) backend that
       provides access to Plustek ASIC 9600[1/3]  and  P9800[1/3]  based  parallel  port  flatbed
       scanners.   The access of the scanner is either done directly by the backend or via kernel
       module, called pt_drv which can be created out of the plustek_pp backend code -  see  also
       section BUILDING THE KERNEL MODULE for further information.

SUPPORTED DEVICES

       At present, the following scanners should work with this backend and/or the kernel module:

       PLUSTEK SCANNERS

       Parallelport Model:    ASIC: Properties:
       ---------------------- ----- ------------------------
       OpticPro PT12          98003 600x1200 dpi 36bit 512Kb
       OpticPro P12           98003 600x1200 dpi 36bit 512Kb
       OpticPro 9636T/12000T  98001 600x1200 dpi 36bit 512Kb
       OpticPro 12000P Turbo  98001 600x1200 dpi 36bit 512Kb
       OpticPro 9636P+/Turbo  98001 600x1200 dpi 36bit 512Kb
       OpticPro 9636P         96003 600x1200 dpi 36bit 128Kb
       OpticPro 12000P/96000P 96003 600x1200 dpi 36bit 128Kb
       OpticPro 1236P         96003 600x1200 dpi 30bit 128Kb
       OpticPro 9600P         96003 600x1200 dpi 30bit 128Kb
       OpticPro 9630P/FBIV    96003 600x1200 dpi 30bit 128Kb
       OpticPro 9630PL (14")  96003 600x1200 dpi 30bit 128Kb
       OpticPro A3I           96003  400x800 dpi 36bit 128Kb
       OpticPro 600P/6000P    96003  300x600 dpi 30bit  32Kb
       OpticPro 4831P         96003  300x600 dpi 30bit  32Kb
       OpticPro 4830P/FBIII   96003  300x600 dpi 30bit  32Kb
       OpticPro 4800P/FBII    96001  300x600 dpi 24bit  32Kb

       PRIMAX SCANNERS

       There  are  some  scanners  sold  by  Primax,  but they are in fact Plustek devices. These
       scanners are also supported.  The following table will show the relationship:

       Model:                      Plustek Model:  Remarks:
       --------------------------- --------------  ------------
       Colorado 4800               OpticPro 4800   not tested
       Compact 4800 Direct         OpticPro 600    mov=2
       Compact 4800 Direct 30bit   OpticPro 4830   mov=7
       Compact 9600 Direct 30bit   OpticPro 9630   works

       GENIUS SCANNERS

       The following devices are sold as Genius Scanners, but are in fact Plustek  devices.   The
       table will show the relationship:

       Model:                      Remarks:
       --------------------------- ----------------------------
       Colorpage Vivid III V2      Like P12 but has two buttons
                                   and Wolfson DAC

       ARIES SCANNERS

       There's one scanner sold as Aries Scanner, but is in fact a Plustek device.  The following
       table will show the relationship:

       Model:                      Plustek Model:  Remarks:
       --------------------------- --------------  ------------
       Scan-It 4800                OpticPro 600    mov=2

       BrightScan SCANNERS

       There's one scanner sold as BrightScan OpticPro Scanner, this is also a  rebadged  Plustek
       device.  The following table will show the relationship:

       Model:                      Remarks:
       --------------------------- ----------------------------
       BrightScan OpticPro         OpticPro P12

DEVICE NAMES

       This  backend  works  in  two modes, the so called "direct-mode" and the "kernel-mode". In
       direct-mode, the user-space backend is used, in kernel-mode, you  should  have  a  kernel-
       module named pt_drv loaded.  This backends default device is:

              0x378

       This  "default  device"  will be used, if no configuration file can be found. It is rather
       the base address of the parallel port on i386 machines.

       As the backend supports up to four  devices,  it  is  possible  to  specify  them  in  the
       configuration file

              @CONFIGDIR@/plustek_pp.conf

       See this file for examples.

CONFIGURATION

       This  section describes the backends' configuration file entries.  The file is located at:
       @CONFIGDIR@/plustek_pp.conf

       For a proper setup, you will need at least two entries:
              [direct]
              device 0x378

       or
              [kernel]
              device /dev/pt_drv

       direct tells the backend, that the following devicename (here 0x378) has to be interpreted
       as  parallel  port scanner device. In fact it is the address to use, alternatively you can
       use /dev/parport0 if the backend has  been  compiled  with  libieee1284  support.   kernel
       should  only  be used, when a kernel-module has been built out of the backend sources. See
       below for more instructions about this.

       Further options:

       option warmup t
              t specifies the warmup period in seconds

       option lampOff t
              t is the time in seconds for switching off the lamps in standby mode

       option lOffonEnd b
              b specifies the behaviour when closing the backend, 1 --> switch lamps off,  0  -->
              do not change lamp status

       option mov m
              m is the model override switch, which only works in direct mode.

              m = 0  default: no override

              m = 1  OpticPro  9630PL  override  (works if OP9630 has been detected) forces legal
                     size (14")

              m = 2  Primax  4800Direct  override  (works  if  OP600  has  been  detected)  swaps
                     red/green color

              m = 3  OpticPro 9636 override (works if OP9636 has been detected) disables backends
                     transparency/negative capabilities

              m = 4  OpticPro 9636P  override  (works  if  OP9636  has  been  detected)  disables
                     backends transparency/negative capabilities

              m = 5  OpticPro  A3I  override  (works  if  OP12000  has  been detected) enables A3
                     scanning

              m = 6  OpticPro 4800P override (works if OP600 has been detected)  swaps  red/green
                     color

              m = 7  Primax 4800Direct 30bit override (works if OP4830 has been detected)

       See the plustek_pp.conf file for examples.

BUILDING THE KERNEL MODULE

       As  mentioned  before,  the  plustek_pp backend code can also be compiled and installed as
       linux kernel module. To do so,  you  will  need  the  source-files  of  this  sane-backend
       installation.  Unpack this tar-ball and go to the directory:
       sane-backends/doc/plustek
       Within this directory, you should find a script called:
       MakeModule.sh
       Now  if  your Linux kernelsources are installed correctly, it should be possible to build,
       install and load the module pt_drv.  Please  note,  that  the  kernelsources  need  to  be
       configured  correctly.   Refer  to  your distributions manual on how this is done. As root
       user, try
       ./MakeModule.sh
       the script will try and get all necessary information about your running kernel  and  will
       lead you through the whole installation process.
       Note: Installing and loading the can only be done as superuser.

KERNEL MODULE SETUP

       The  configuration  of  the  kernel module is done by providing some or more options found
       below to the kernel module at load time. This can be done  by  invoking  insmod  with  the
       appropriate  parameters  or  appending the options to the file /etc/modules.conf (kernel <
       2.6.x) or /etc/modprobe.conf (kernel >= 2.6.x)

       The Options:
       lampoff=lll
              The value lll tells the driver, after how many seconds to switch-off  the  lamp(s).
              The default value is 180.  0 will disable this feature.
              HINT:  Do  not  use  a  value that is too small, because often switching on/off the
              lamps will reduce their lifetime.

       port=ppp
              ppp specifies the port base address, where the scanner is connected to. The default
              value is 0x378, which is normally a standard.

       warmup=www
              www  specifies  the time in seconds, how long a lamp has to be on, until the driver
              will start to scan. The default value is 30.

       lOffonEnd=e
              e specifies the behaviour when unloading the driver, 1 --> switch lamps off, 0  -->
              do not change lamp status

       slowIO=s
              s specifies which I/O functions the driver should use, 1 --> use delayed functions,
              0 --> use the non-delayed ones

       forceMode=fm
              fm specifies port mode which should be used, 0 --> autodetection,  1  -->  use  SPP
              mode and 2 --> use EPP mode

       mov=m

              m = 0  default: no override

              m = 1  OpticPro  9630PL  override  (works if OP9630 has been detected) forces legal
                     size (14")

              m = 2  Primax  4800Direct  override  (works  if  OP600  has  been  detected)  swaps
                     red/green color

              m = 3  OpticPro 9636 override (works if OP9636 has been detected) disables backends
                     transparency/negative capabilities

              m = 4  OpticPro 9636P  override  (works  if  OP9636  has  been  detected)  disables
                     backends transparency/negative capabilities

              m = 5  OpticPro  A3I  override  (works  if  OP12000  has  been detected) enables A3
                     scanning

              m = 6  OpticPro 4800P override (works if OP600 has been detected)  swaps  red/green
                     color

              m = 7  Primax 4800Direct 30bit override (works if OP4830 has been detected)

       Sample entry for file /etc/modules.conf :
       alias char-major-40 pt_drv
       pre-install pt_drv modprobe -k parport
       options pt_drv lampoff=180 warmup=15 port=0x378 lOffonEnd=0 mov=0 slowIO=0 forceMode=0

       For multidevice support, simply add values separated by commas to the different options
       options pt_drv port=0x378,0x278 mov=0,4 slowIO=0,1 forceMode=0,1

       Remember to call depmod after changing /etc/conf.modules.

PARALLEL PORT MODES

       The  current  driver  works  best,  when  the parallel port has been set to EPP-mode. When
       detecting any other mode such as ECP or  PS/2  the  driver  tries  to  set  to  a  faster,
       supported mode. If this fails, it will use the SPP mode, as this mode should work with all
       Linux supported parallel ports. If in doubt, enter your BIOS and set it to any mode except
       ECP.

       Former Plustek scanner models (4830, 9630) supplied a ISA parallel port adapter card. This
       card is not supported by the driver.

       The ASIC 96001/3 based models have sometimes trouble with high resolution  modes.  If  you
       encounter  sporadic  corrupted  images (parts duplicated or shifted horizontally) kill all
       other applications before scanning and (if sufficient memory available) disable swapping.

       See the plustek_pp.conf file for examples.

FILES

       @CONFIGDIR@/plustek_pp.conf
              The backend configuration file

       @LIBDIR@/libsane-plustek_pp.a
              The static library implementing this backend.

       @LIBDIR@/libsane-plustek_pp.so
              The shared library implementing this  backend  (present  on  systems  that  support
              dynamic loading).

       /lib/modules/<Kernel-Version>/kernel/drivers/parport/pt_drv.o
              The Linux kernelmodule for kernels < 2.6.x.

       /lib/modules/<Kernel-Version>/kernel/drivers/parport/pt_drv.ko
              The Linux kernelmodule for kernels >= 2.6.x.

ENVIRONMENT

       SANE_CONFIG_DIR
              This  environment  variable  specifies the list of directories that may contain the
              configuration file.  Under UNIX, the directories are separated by  a  colon  (`:'),
              under OS/2, they are separated by a semi-colon (`;').  If this variable is not set,
              the configuration file is searched in two default directories: first,  the  current
              working  directory  (".") and then in @CONFIGDIR@.  If the value of the environment
              variable ends with the directory separator character, then the default  directories
              are  searched  after  the  explicitly  specified directories.  For example, setting
              SANE_CONFIG_DIR to "/tmp/config:" would result in  directories  "tmp/config",  ".",
              and "@CONFIGDIR@" being searched (in this order).

       SANE_DEBUG_PLUSTEK_PP
              If  the  library was compiled with debug support enabled, this environment variable
              controls the debug level for  this  backend.   Higher  debug  levels  increase  the
              verbosity of the output.

              Example: export SANE_DEBUG_PLUSTEK_PP=10

SEE ALSO

       sane(7),
       @DOCDIR@/plustek/Plustek-PARPORT.changes
       http://www.gjaeger.de/scanner/plustek_pp/

CONTACT AND BUG-REPORTS

       Please send any information and bug-reports to:
       SANE Mailing List

       Additional info and hints can be obtained from our
       Mailing-List archive at:
       http://www.sane-project.org/mailing-lists.html

       or directly from the projects' homepage at:
       http://www.gjaeger.de/scanner/plustek_pp/

       To   obtain   debug  messages  from  the  backend,  please  set  the  environment-variable
       SANE_DEBUG_PLUSTEK_PP before calling your favorite scan-frontend (i.e. xscanimage).
       i.e.: export SANE_DEBUG_PLUSTEK_PP=20 ; xscanimage

       The value controls the verbosity of the backend.

KNOWN BUGS & RESTRICTIONS

       * The Halftoning works, but the quality is poor

       * Printers (especially HP models) will start to print during scanning. This in fact  is  a
       problem  to other printers too, using bidirectional protocol (see www.plustek.com (TAIWAN)
       page for further details)

       * The driver does not support these manic scalings up to 16 times the physical resolution.
       The  only scaling is done on resolutions between the physical resolution of the CCD-sensor
       and the stepper motor i.e. you have a 600x1200 dpi scanner  and  you  are  scanning  using
       800dpi,  so scaling is necessary, because the sensor only delivers 600dpi but the motor is
       capable to perform 800dpi steps.

       * On some devices, the pictures seems bluish

       ASIC 98001 based models:

       * The 300dpi transparency and negative mode does not work correctly.

       * There is currently no way to distinguish a model with and without transparency unit.

       * The scanned images seem to be too dark (P9636T)

       ASIC 96003/1 based models:

       * 30bit mode is currently not supported.

       * On low end systems under heavy system load the driver may lose data, which can result in
       picture corruption or cause the sensor to hit the scan bed.

       * The scanning speed on 600x1200 dpi models is slow.

       * The scanning quality of the A3I is poor

@PACKAGEVERSION@                           14 Jul 2008                         sane-plustek_pp(5)