Frequently Asked Questions

If you want to find out whether a given scanner works with VueScan, the best way to find out is to consult the list of supported scanners and then download VueScan and test it on your system.

You can use VueScan on up to four different computers that you personally use, with any combination of operating systems, with any number of scanners, both x32 and x64, with a single license.

If more than one person (who isn't a family member) uses the computer, then you need a separate VueScan license for each computer.

If you've lost your serial number, or need a replacement serial number, you can get a new serial number online.

It's no problem leaving your e-mail address as it is.

I don't use the e-mail addresses to send out e-mail, only to let people recover lost serial numbers.

People get annoyed by anything that looks like spam, so I don't send out e-mails when I release new versions.

Also, I don't have a tool to update this database.

If you bought the Standard Edition more than one year ago, you only qualified for free upgrades for one year after your purchase. You can solve this by upgrading to the Professional Edition at https://www.hamrick.com/regu.html.

You can find old versions of VueScan at:

http://www.pc-magazin.de/download/vuescan-555869.html?page=Versionsarchiv

We don't have anything to do with this site however.

You need to be able to shine light through film to scan it. If you have a scanner that only reflects light off the film (i.e. a normal flatbed scanner without a transparency adapter), then you can't scan film with it.

If your flatbed scanner has a lamp in the scanner lid, make sure you've plugged the cable from the scanner lid into the back of the scanner.

If you're using a Canon scanner on 64-bit Windows, make sure you're using the x64 version of VueScan 9.

Check to see that the "Input | Mode" option has a transparency option.

If you don't have a film scanner, you might look into getting a used Nikon or Minolta film scanner on ebay.com. You can always sell it again on ebay when you're done with it. You might even sell it for more than you paid for it - prices have been going up since Nikon stopped manufacturing film scanners.

It depends on what you plan on doing with the scanner.

If you're scanning 35mm film, I recommend getting a used Nikon film scanner on ebay.com. These are the best film scanners ever made. They keep going up in value, so you can probably resell them on ebay.com for more than you paid.

If you're mainly scanning documents, I recommend the Epson GT-S50, GT-S80, GT-1500 scanners. They're quite fast, and work well with VueScan on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. They also work well if you're scanning stacks of photos. They very cleverly scan a stack of documents or photos into memory in the scanner, and this overlaps with the processing that VueScan does - the end result is amasingly fast scanning.

If you need a small, light, portable scanner, I recommend the Canon LiDE scanners.

If you're scanning film larger than 35mm, I recommend the Epson Perfection 4990 on ebay.com or a new Epson Perfection V700. They're very fast too.

It isn't possible to speak with me (Ed Hamrick) on the phone.

I'm easy to contact by e-mail, and I check e-mail every day.

I have hundreds of thousands of customers, and the only way I can provide support to my customers is to do it by e-mail.

Here are some things you can do to solve problems with VueScan:

• Make sure you're using the newest version of VueScan (check www.hamrick.com).
• Try running VueScan and use the "File | Default options" command - then see if the problem goes away.
• Try turning your scanner off and back on again - then run VueScan again.
• Try a newer (and preferably shorter) USB cable.
• Try a different USB port.
• If you can't scan transparencies, try the x32 version of VueScan.
• If you still can't scan transparencies, make sure the cable from the lamp in the scanner lid is plugged into the back of the scanner and that the cover is off the lamp in the scanner lid.
• If you're getting stripes, try re-doing the "Scanner | Calibrate" command.
• If you're still getting stripes with transparencies, make sure nothing is blocking the small rectangular calibration area on the glass.

If you've tried all these things and still have a problem, we'd really appreciate it if you'd send a Problem Report.

You don't need to purchase VueScan to send a Problem Report (and if VueScan isn't working with your scanner, you shouldn't purchase it until it works).

A Problem Report should contain:

1. The model of scanner you're using
2. A brief description of the problem
3. Things you've already tried to solve the problem
4. Make sure you attach vuescan.log to your e-mail, as an uncompressed, unmodified attachment (not .zip, .rar, .rtf, .doc)
5. Make sure you attach the exact procedure (recipe) used to produce vuescan.log, and make sure this procedure is comprehensive, detailed, and is the simplest procedure needed to duplicate the problem
6. If we've exchanged e-mails about this problem, please be sure to attach them to the Problem Report.

The Problem Report should have a detailed, step by step description of the procedure (recipe) to duplicate the problem. A procedure is like a recipe - it's a detailed list of steps to make the problem happen. It looks something like:

1. Turn off computer
2. Turn off scanner
3. Turn on scanner
4. Turn on computer
5. Check www.hamrick.com to make sure you have the latest version
6. Run VueScan
7. Use the "File | Default options" command
8. Press the "Advanced" button
9. Do this
10. Do that
11. Do this too
12. Describe what happens when the problem happens
13. Make a screen capture
14. Exit VueScan

Then e-mail the procedure (recipe), the screen capture, the vuescan.log file after you use this procedure and a description of what happened when you used this procedure.

Please note also that the heavy volume of e-mail makes it impractical to keep track of multiple e-mails about the same problem, and that each Problem Report needs to be completely contained in a single e-mail. Each e-mailed Problem Report should only describe a single problem.

Send your Problem Report to vuescan@gmail.com (phone support is not available). Very detailed instructions for finding vuescan.log are on this page.

Mac OS X: On Mac OS X, it's written to "/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/vuescan.log". You won't find this file with Spotlight, but click on the finder (the small blue box in the lower left corner of the Dock that looks like two people looking at each other). Then underneath "PLACES" on the left, you'll see "Desktop" and then a little house with your surname next to it. Click on this, and on the right you'll see a list of files and folders. Click on "Library" and then click on "Preferences" inside the "Library" folder. Inside the "Preferences" folder you'll see vuescan.log. Attach this file to your e-mail (not in a PDF file, not in a .doc file, not using the Console app, not zipped - just a plain file attachment).

Windows: On Windows, it's normally written to the "My Pictures\VueScan" folder on Windows XP or the "Pictures\VueScan" folder in later versions of Windows. On older versions of VueScan, it might be written to "c:\VueScan\vuescan.log". The .log extension isn't displayed by the finder - it just says "vuescan - Text Document".

Linux: On Linux, it's written to "~/.vuescan/vuescan.log".

The vuescan.log file is always written to your hard drive, even if VueScan hangs when you run it. One exception to this is if you've turned off the "Output | Log file" option. If you've turned off "Output | Log file", delete vuescan.ini and run VueScan again. This will definitely create vuescan.log.

Short answer: No, there aren't any other options.

Long answer:

It's only possible to buy VueScan with a debit or credit card. I don't accept purchase orders, PayPal, checks, cash in the mail, bank transfers, orders from resellers or any other type of payment.

Hamrick Software is just me, Ed Hamrick, and I do this for practical reasons. Other methods of taking orders take a lot of my time. I decided that I can make far more money using this time to improve VueScan instead of using this time to handle orders.

Handing bank transfers requires record-keeping, and I don't want to keep a list on paper of who I'm expecting transfers from, what their e-mail address is, checking the account each week, and then sending e-mails to people when I get their payments. The same holds true for purchase orders, checks and PayPal - too much manual order processing. I don't deal with resellers because I've found they waste a lot of my time asking for discounts, insisting I read pages of terms and conditions, messing up orders, wanting different information on invoices, etc.

If you're in Germany, any German bank will give you a Visa debit card for ~10 Euros. This is the same as the EC Maestro card you already have, except it will also work for online purchases (Maestro doesn't).

I'm Ed Hamrick, the author of VueScan, and I personally read and respond to all support e-mail.

• I get a lot of e-mail every day, so please be brief.
• Your question should be less than 3 or 4 lines of text.
• If you've lost your serial number, you can get a new serial number online.
• My e-mail address is vuescan@gmail.com (phone support is not available).
• I need the vuescan.log file to answer most questions, so please attach it.
• Very detailed instructions for finding vuescan.log are above.

You get to use VueScan for as long as you want before you buy it, so we recommend you test it before you buy it to make sure it meets your needs.

All sales are final and there are no refunds.

Isn't this a bit harsh? Naah :) I actually prefer to solve problems, so if I offer refunds, people give up too easily.

If you plan to scan large numbers of prints, slides or negatives, there are a number of useful tips for batch scanning.

There's an excellent web site with scanning tips maintained by Wayne Fulton. It contains scanning tips for flatbed scanners and film scanners, a summary of available film scanners , a review of VueScan and an example of using VueScan's cleaning, intensity, and contrast options.

A VueScan user produced some useful tips for using VueScan to scan historical photographs and documents.