E-mail Technical Support

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

  • I answer approximately 50 e-mails every day - please be brief.
  • If you're having a problem, first try using "File | Default options".
  • Make sure you're using the latest version of VueScan.
  • If you're using a USB scanner, try a different cable, different port or different USB hub.
  • If VueScan won't start, try disconnecting scanners and printers and seeing which one is causing the problem.
  • If you're sending a Problem Report, please carefully read below.
  • Make sure you attach vuescan.log to your e-mail.
  • My e-mail address is edhamrick@aol.com - phone support is not available.
  • Make sure you attach vuescan.log to your e-mail - it tells me what operating system you're using, what version of VueScan you're using, and details about your scanner.
  • The e-mail can't contain inline images and must be less than 5 MBytes or it's discarded as spam mail.
If you're having a problem with a scanner, we'd really appreciate it if you'd send a VueScan Problem Report, as described below. 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).

Finding vuescan.log

The main thing we use to diagnose problems is a file called vuescan.log that's written by default when you run VueScan. On Mac OS X, it's written to "/Users/yourname/Library/Preferences/vuescan.log". On Windows, it's normally written to "c:\vuescan\vuescan.log" or the default folder when VueScan starts. On Linux it's written to "~/.vuescan/vuescan.log".

On Windows, the .log extension isn't displayed by the finder - it just says "vuescan - Text Document". Type "c:\vuescan\vuescan.log" in your e-mail client to attach the file.

The vuescan.log file is always written to your hard drive, even if VueScan hangs when you run it. If you've turned off the log file in the Output tab, delete vuescan.ini and run VueScan again.

VueScan Problem Reports

The vast majority of VueScan problems can be solved by running VueScan and choosing "File | Default options" from the menu and then doing a scan with minimal options changes. Be sure to try this before submitting a problem report, and be sure you're using the latest version of VueScan.

Use the procedure below to submit problem reports and suggestions. All problem reports and suggestions are carefully read, and fixes and improvements are prioritized based on the number of times a problem report or suggestion is received.

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.

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

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 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 you use to reproduce a problem. Each step of the procedure should itemize a single option change, a single mouse action, or any other single action. The procedure should have all of these steps:

  1. Turn off power to scanner and computer
  2. Turn on scanner, wait till scanner ready
  3. Turn on computer
  4. Run VueScan
  5. Use the "File | Default options" command
  6. (do the bare minimum number of steps to reproduce the problem)
  7. Exit VueScan
Please note that any e-mail larger than 5 MBytes is automatically discarded by our e-mail server, so if you have any large files, please upload them somewhere and send a URL that points to these files in your problem report.

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.

Warranty and Return Policy

If you're not satisfied, for any reason, just let us know within 30 days of purchase and we'll give you a full refund.

All we ask is that you use VueScan with your scanner before you buy it.

Batch Scanning

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

Learning More

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 has produced a nice tutorial on using VueScan, and another VueScan user has produced an article on how to use a flatbed scanner as a camera.

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