VueScan Newsletter - October 2019
Newsletter
Hello to everyone!
I said it last month, but I would like to say a massive thank you again to everyone who has emailed us with your endorsements. We have learnt a lot from you, everything from how long you have been a customer to what / how / why and when you scan. It has been fascinating reading them all! I've had to email a lot of people for further details or clarification - so thank you for your patience and replying to me more than once!
For those of you who requested it, we will email you as soon as we have added your comments to the website, and you can review them.
On other matters, we have been receiving a lot of enquiries about support for the next release of macOS, Catalina. See below for detailed information about this.
If you have any product suggestions or requests, we would love to hear them. Remember you can contact us for technical support (we need a Problem Report) and marketing here: https://www.hamrick.com/problem-report.html
Many thanks, and we look forward to hearing from you.
Your newsletter sign up!
Please remember: If you have changed your email address PLEASE do not email us!
You can subscribe to the newsletter with your new email address here: https://www.hamrick.com/newsletter.html
You can unsubscribe the old email address here: https://www.hamrick.com/unsubscribe.html
You can contact us with questions or for technical support here: https://www.hamrick.com/problem-report.html
Remember! You do not have to tell us about an email address change for your use of VueScan, it is only relevant for the newsletter.
Thank you and happy reading!
Catalina - a scanning update
We've been working hard to get ready for the release of Mac OS X 10.15 (Catalina). The main thing Apple has done is remove support for running 32-bit programs.
We've had a 64-bit version of VueScan since 2010 - more than 9 years ago. One might wonder why anyone ever uses the x32 version of VueScan on a Mac. The reason is that the x32 version is needed with some HP and Canon scanners that use plugin libraries that are 32-bit libraries.
We're trying to add support for these scanners natively in VueScan, in particular the scanners that use the Genesys Logic chipset. These include the Plustek OpticFilm scanners along with a number of older HP and Canon flatbed scanners. We're close to having this working, but this is a big job.
Once this is done, you'll also be able to use these scanners on Windows and Linux without needing any Plustek, HP or Canon plugin libraries.
We've already done this for PIE film scanners, and we've had a lot of feedback that this is working well on Windows, Mac and Linux. These will continue to work well on Catalina.
So, watch out for more news on this! And, lastly, here we are being recommended on the Mac Geek podcast. Listen to it all - or from 26 minutes onwards about Twain drivers, and 29 minutes onwards for VueScan, talking about 32 bit and Catalina support https://www.macobserver.com/podcasts/icloud-ios-13-iphone-11-macos-mac-geek-gab-781/
Frequently Asked Questions
Q) I have a Coolscan 8000 and am currently driving myself insane trying to figure out how to get VueScan to batch scan my 6x7 medium format film. Does anybody have settings they are satisfied with? Because no matter what I try, the second frame is never scanned properly.
A) Measure the distance from the start of one frame to the start of the next frame. Use an actual ruler with a millimeter scale. Put this value into the "Input | Frame spacing" option.
Q) My Minolta film scanner sometimes freezes in the middle of a scan. How can I solve this?
A) The Minolta film scanners are very sensitive to the timing on the USB cable. A cable that works fine on older computers or with a printer or a different scanner will often fail with a Minolta film scanner. It’s surprisingly common that replacing the USB cable with a newer (and preferably shorter) USB cable will solve this.
Q) I’m trying to scan multiple images on my flatbed. What’s the best way to do this?
A) For easier scanning of multiple pictures on a flatbed:
1) Set 'Input | Media size' to 'Maximum'
2) Put pictures on flatbed, against edge to make straight
3) Press 'Enter' key (or click 'Preview' button)
4) Adjust cropping of an image with mouse
5) Press 'Enter' key (or click 'Save' button) to save to file
6) Repeat steps 4-5 for each additional image
7) Go to step 2
For easier scanning of one picture at a time on a flatbed:
1) Set 'Input | Media size' a bit larger than largest snapshot
2) Put picture on flatbed in upper left corner
3) Press 'Enter' key (or click 'Preview' button)
4) Adjust cropping with mouse (if necessary)
5) Press 'Enter' key (or click 'Save' button) to save to file
6) Go to step 2
Customer Corner
Sam Moffatt sent this in – all about scanning receipts. We thought it would be of interest to some of our users. Thanks Sam.
For years I’d been trying to figure out an effective way of tracking my fuel use that didn’t require me to put the data in right then and there. A while back I started keeping the receipts and writing on them details like odometer readings and trip readings. I had a collection of these receipts in various boxes that I’d gathered over the years but hadn’t done anything useful with them.
I had an old Canon P-215 that I had bought a while back to do ad hoc scans of documents to Evernote. I had upgraded my Mac and the Canon software with stopped working. I had a need to scan some documents again and ended up buying VueScan to revive the scanner again. VueScan is much snappier and easier to use than the Canon software and gave me the idea that I could easily bulk scan the receipts. I had some old receipts that had been crinkled and working with the image correction options in VueScan I was able to get readable receipts out of some of the most crinkled receipts I had, some of them were barely readable before scanning but came out much clearer. I ended up scanning all of the receipts and then wrote some automation to connect it to a Mac/iOS database tool called “Tap Forms”. My process now is really simple: I put the receipt on the scanner, launch VueScan, it automatically scans the receipt, applies some standard adjustments to improve clarity (all in my default settings now), I do some quick cropping or adjustments (receipts unfortunately never seem to have the same size) and hit save. The scan then goes into Tap Forms and I can transcribe when I’m ready. The automation also sets the date and time automatically so if I scan when I get home, it has a close enough value that I can correct later.
About me: I’m a software engineer living in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Check out the blog for details about how I connect VueScan and Tap Forms together: http://pasamio.com/2018/03/05/importing-receipts-into-tapforms-with-couchdb-and-vuescan/
Customer Comment
And here are just two of the endorsements we have received – our aim is to include as many countries as possible.
Hello Beverley,
Glad to help out.
I use a Canon Maxify MB5100 series printer/scanner connected by WIFI to an Apple iMac model 17.1 (late 2015) with macOS High Sierra v10.13.6.
I’ve just now uploaded the new version of VueScan v9.6.45. I have been using VueScan for a little over a year and think it is a must tool for anyone writing documents of all sorts where the source of data for this includes the need to scan images or hardcopy documents.
It is fantastic that you can scan images and documents and save as jpeg or pdf files to be used in a project. I have just finished writing a manual on the ins/outs of managing a wetlands charitable trust and this 100+ page document has many pages of VueMac scanned images and hardcopy documents. Besides producing paper copies of this manual, I have made it available on memory sticks including links from the Table of Contents to the appropriate pages and links to websites and email addresses, also. Scanning and linking is very easy to do using VueScan.
Thank you Hamrick Software for developing such a useful software tool for my computer.
Sincerely,
Gordon Pilone
Pohangina Wetlands Development
New Zealand
And, as it looks so wonderful, here is some background to the Wetlands Trust:
Pohangina Wetlands, North Island, New Zealand
http://www.pohangina.org/
https://www.facebook.com/PohanginaWetlands/
We are a charitable trust developing/restoring environmental habitats within the watershed of the Pohangina River running through Pohangina Valley, New Zealand. Since 2000, the Trust has developed 6.4 ha (16 acres) of wetlands from very
wet farmland within the Pohangina Village. 'Pohangina Wetlands Development' was established to form a wetlands habitat by creating ponds and restoring native grasses, bush, and trees. Enjoy a quiet walk and the habitat that is there.
And from Australia…
I’m a professional nature and wildlife photographer of more than 30 years. I’ve shot 10,000s of transparencies over the years. I used a Nikon super Coolscan 5000 to scan all those 35mm trannies. When Nikon stopped updating their Scan software (which was really brilliant), I switched to VueScan. Thank God, you guys saved my bacon.
I appreciate that you’ve made it easier to upgrade VueScan in recent years. And I like your newsletters and correspondence too.
Cheers,
Esther
Esther Beaton Wild Pictures, Australia
www.estherbeaton.com
