1sane-sharp(5)            SANE Scanner Access Now Easy            sane-sharp(5)
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NAME

6       sane-sharp - SANE backend for SHARP scanners
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DESCRIPTION

9       The  sane-sharp  library  implements  a  SANE (Scanner Access Now Easy)
10       backend that provides access to  Sharp  SCSI  scanners.   This  backend
11       should be considered beta-quality software!  In the current state it is
12       known to work with JX-610 and JX-250 scanners. It is prepared for usage
13       with  the  JX-330  series scanners, but we are not able to test it with
14       these devices.
15
16       For other Sharp scanners, it may or may not work.
17
18       At present, the following scanners are known to work with this backend.
19
20              Vendor  Product id:
21              -----   -----------
22              Sharp   JX-610
23              Sharp   JX-250
24              Sharp   JX-320
25              Sharp   JX-330
26              Sharp   JX-350
27
28       The following scanners are detected by the backend, but not tested:
29
30              Vendor  Product id:
31              -----   -----------
32              Sharp   JX-325
33

DEVICE NAMES

35       This backend expects device names of the form:
36
37              special
38
39       Where special is either the path-name for the special device that  cor‐
40       responds  to  a SCSI scanner. The special device name must be a generic
41       SCSI device or a symlink to such a device.  Under Linux, such a  device
42       name  could be /dev/sga or /dev/sge, for example.  See sane-scsi(5) for
43       details.
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45

SCAN OPTIONS

47       Scan Mode (parameter --mode for scanimage). Possible settings:
48              Lineart (1 bit black & white scans),
49              Gray (8 bit gray scale scans),
50              Lineart Color (bi-level color scans),
51              Color (8 bit RGB scans).
52       The default value is Color.
53
54       Halftone Pattern (parameter --halftone-pattern for  scanimage).  Avail‐
55       able only for the JX-330 series scanners.  Possible settings:
56              none
57              Dither Bayer
58              Dither Spiral
59              Dither Dispersed
60              Error Diffusion
61       The default value is none.
62
63       Paper  Source  (parameter  --source for scanimage). This option is only
64       available, if an automatic document feeder or a transparency adapter is
65       installed. Possible settings:
66              Flatbed
67              Automatic Document Feeder
68              Transparency Adapter
69       If  an  ADF  or  a  transparency  adapter is installed, using it is the
70       default selection.
71
72       Custom Gamma (parameter  --custom-gamma  for  scanimage).  This  option
73       determines  whether a builtin or a custom gamma-table is used. Possible
74       settings:
75              yes enables custom gamma tables
76              no enables a built gamma table
77
78       Gamma (parameter --Gamma for scanimage). This option is only available,
79       if Custom Gamma is set to no.  Possible values:
80              1.0
81              2.2
82       The default value is 2.2. (The JX-250 and JX-350 have no built in gamma
83       correction; for these scanner, a gamma table is downloaded to the scan‐
84       ner by the backend.)
85
86       Gamma  Table  (parameter  --gamma-table for scanimage). Allowed values:
87       0..255; 256 numbers must be defined.  The default values are 0,  1,  2,
88       ..  255  (i.e.,  gamma  ==  1).  This table is only used for gray scale
89       scans.
90
91       Red Gamma Table (parameter --red-gamma-table  for  scanimage).  Allowed
92       values: 0..255; 256 numbers must be defined.  The default values are 0,
93       1, 2, .. 255 (i.e., gamma == 1).
94
95       Green  Gamma  Table  (parameter  --green-gamma-table  for   scanimage).
96       Allowed  values: 0..255; 256 numbers must be defined.  The default val‐
97       ues are 0, 1, 2, .. 255 (i.e., gamma == 1).
98
99       Blue Gamma Table (parameter --blue-gamma-table for scanimage).  Allowed
100       values: 0..255; 256 numbers must be defined.  The default values are 0,
101       1, 2, .. 255 (i.e., gamma == 1).
102
103       Resolution in pixel per inch (parameter  --resolution  for  scanimage).
104       Selects the resolution of the scanned image. Allowed values:
105              30..600 (JX-330, JX-350 and JX-610) resp.  30..400 (JX-250)
106       The default value is 150.
107
108       Scan Window
109
110       The  possible  settings depend on the scanner model and, for the JX-250
111       and the JX-350, also on the usage  of  the  automatic  document  feeder
112       resp.  the  transparency adapter. Please refer to the values allowed by
113       xscanimage, or xsane. With scanimage, enter one of the  following  com‐
114       mands:
115
116              scanimage -d sharp --source "Automatic Document Feeder" --help
117
118              scanimage -d sharp --source Flatbed --help
119
120              scanimage -d sharp --source "Transparency Adapter" --help
121
122       in order to see the allowed parameter values for the scan window.
123
124       The scan window parameters are:
125
126              Top-left x position of scan area (parameter -l for scanimage);
127              Top-left y position of scan area (parameter -t for scanimage);
128              bottom  right  x position of scan area (parameter -x for scanim‐
129              age);
130              bottom right y position of scan area (parameter -y  for  scanim‐
131              age);
132
133       Edge emphasis (parameter --Edge emphasis for scanimage). This option is
134       not available for the JX-250 and the JX-350.  Possible settings:
135              None
136              Middle
137              Strong
138              Blur
139       The default value is None.
140
141       Threshold (parameter --threshold for scanimage). Sets the threshold for
142       black and white pixels in lineart mode. Possible values:
143              1..255
144       The  default  value is 128.  This option is only available in scan mode
145       lineart.
146
147       Threshold Red  (parameter  --threshold-red  for  scanimage).  Sets  the
148       threshold  for  the  red  component of a pixel in in lineart color scan
149       mode. Possible values:
150              1..255
151       The default value is 128.  This option is only available in  scan  mode
152       color lineart.
153
154       Threshold  Green  (parameter --threshold-green for scanimage). Sets the
155       threshold for the green component of a pixel in in lineart  color  scan
156       mode. Possible values:
157              1..255
158       The  default  value is 128.  This option is only available in scan mode
159       color lineart.
160
161       Threshold Blue (parameter --threshold-blue  for  scanimage).  Sets  the
162       threshold  for  the  blue component of a pixel in in lineart color scan
163       mode. Possible values:
164              1..255
165       The default value is 128.  This option is only available in  scan  mode
166       color lineart.
167
168       Light  Color  (parameter --LightColor for scanimage). Sets the color of
169       the light source. Possible values:
170              white
171              red
172              green
173              blue
174       The default value is white.  This option  is  only  available  in  scan
175       modes lineart color and color.
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177

ADF USAGE

179       If  a  paper  jam  occurred,  the  maintenance cover must be opened and
180       closed, even if the jammed paper can be  removed  without  opening  the
181       maintenance cover. Otherwise, the error condition cannot be cleared.
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183

CONFIGURATION

185       The  contents  of  the  sharp.conf file is a list of options and device
186       names that correspond to Sharp scanners. Empty lines and  lines  begin‐
187       ning  with  a  hash  mark (#) are ignored. See sane-scsi(5) for details
188       about device names.
189
190       Lines setting an option start with the key word option, followed by the
191       option's  name  and  the  option's value. At present, three options are
192       defined: buffers, buffersize, and readqueue.
193
194       Options defined at the  start  of  sharp.conf  apply  to  all  devices;
195       options defined after a device name apply to this device.
196
197       The  options  buffers and readqueue are only significant if the backend
198       has been compiled so that for each scan  a  second  process  is  forked
199       (switch  USE_FORK  in  sharp.c ). This process reads the scan data from
200       the scanner and writes this data into a block of  shared  memory.   The
201       parent process reads the data from this memory block and delivers it to
202       the frontend. The options control the size and  usage  of  this  shared
203       memory block.
204
205       option  buffers defines the number of buffers used. The smallest number
206       allowed is 2.
207
208       option buffersize defines the size of one buffer. Since each buffer  is
209       filled with a single read command sent to the scanner, its size is lim‐
210       ited automatically to the size allowed by the operating  system  or  by
211       the  Sane  SCSI library for SCSI read commands. A buffer size of 128 kB
212       or 256 kB is recommended for scan resolutions of 300 dpi and above.
213
214       option readqueue defines how many read commands to be sent to the scan‐
215       ner  are queued. At present, the Sane SCSI library supports queued read
216       commands only for for Linux. For other operating systems, option  read‐
217       queue  should be set to 0. For Linux, option readqueue should be set to
218       2. Larger values than 2 for option readqueue are not reasonable in most
219       cases.  option buffers should be greater than option readqueue.
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221

Performance Considerations

223       This  section focuses on the problem of stops of the scanner's carriage
224       during a scan. Carriage stops happen mainly with the JX-250. This scan‐
225       ner  has  obviously only a small internal buffer compared to its speed.
226       That means that the backend must read the data as fast as possible from
227       the scanner in order to avoid carriage stops.
228
229       Even  the  JX-250 needs only less than 10 seconds for a 400 dpi A4 gray
230       scale scan, which results in a data transfer rate of more than  1.6  MB
231       per  second.  This  means that the data produced by the scanner must be
232       processed fairly fast. Due to the small internal buffer of the  JX-250,
233       the  backend  must issue a read request for the next data block as soon
234       as possible after reading a block of data in order  to  avoid  carriage
235       stops.
236
237       Stops of the carriage can be caused by the following reasons:
238
239              - too much "traffic" on the SCSI bus
240              - slow responses by the backend to the scanner,
241              - a program which processes the data acquired by the backend too
242              slow.
243
244       Too much "traffic" on the SCSI bus: This happens for example,  if  hard
245       disks  are connected to the same SCSI bus as the scanner, and when data
246       transfer from/to these hard disks requires a considerable part  of  the
247       SCSI  bandwidth during a scan. If this is the case, you should consider
248       to connect the scanner to a separate SCSI adapter.
249
250       Slow responses by the backend to the scanner: Unfortunately,  Unix-like
251       operating systems generally have no real time capabilities.  Thus there
252       is no guarantee that the backend is under  any  circumstances  able  to
253       communicate  with  the  scanner  as  fast as required. To minimize this
254       problem, the backend should be  compiled  so  that  a  separate  reader
255       process  is forked: Make sure that USE_FORK is defined when you compile
256       sharp.c.  If slow responses of the backend remain to  be  problem,  you
257       could  try to reduce the load of the system. Even while the backend and
258       the reader process need only a minor amount of  processor  time,  other
259       running  processes  can cause an increase in the time delay between two
260       time slices given to the reader process. On  slower  systems,  such  an
261       increased delay can be enough to cause a carriage stop with the JX-250.
262       For Linux, the usage of the SG driver version 2.1.36 or above is recom‐
263       mended,  because  it  supports, in combination with the SCSI library of
264       Sane version 1.0.2, command queueing within the kernel.  This  queueing
265       implementation,  combined with a buffer size of at least 128 kB, should
266       avoid most carriage stops.
267
268       Slow processing of the scan data: An example for this situation is  the
269       access  to  the scanner via a 10 MBit Ethernet, which is definitely too
270       slow to transfer the scan data as fast as  they  are  produced  by  the
271       scanner.  If  you have enough memory available, you can increase option
272       buffers, so that an entire image can be stored in these buffers.
273
274       In order to see, if the backend is too slow or if the further  process‐
275       ing   of   the   data   is  too  slow,  set  the  environment  variable
276       SANE_DEBUG_SHARP to 1. When a scan is finished, the backend writes  the
277       line  "buffer  full  conditions: nn" to stderr. If nn is zero, carriage
278       stops are caused by too slow responses  of  the  backend  or  too  much
279       "traffic"  on the SCSI bus. If nn is greater than zero, the backend had
280       to wait nn times until a buffer has been  processed  by  the  frontend.
281       (Please  note that option buffers must be greater than option readqueue
282       in order to get useful output for "buffer full conditions".)
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284

FILES

286       /etc/sane.d/sharp.conf
287              The backend configuration file.
288
289       /usr/lib64/sane/libsane-sharp.a
290              The static library implementing this backend.
291
292       /usr/lib64/sane/libsane-sharp.so
293              The shared library implementing this backend (present on systems
294              that support dynamic loading).
295

ENVIRONMENT

297       SANE_DEBUG_SHARP
298              If  the  library  was  compiled with debug support enabled, this
299              environment variable controls the debug level for this  backend.
300              E.g.,  a  value  of 128 requests all debug output to be printed.
301              Smaller levels reduce verbosity.
302

KNOWN PROBLEMS

304       1. ADF Mode
305              After several ADF scans, the scanner moves the carriage back  to
306              the  idle  position and back to ADF scan position, before a scan
307              starts. We do not know, if this is a problem of the scanner,  or
308              if  this  is  a bug of the backend. At present, the scanner must
309              power off and on to stop this annoying behaviour.
310
311       2. Threshold level does not work (only JX-610)
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313       3. The maximum resolution is limited to  600  dpi(JX-610  supported  to
314       1200 dpi) resp. 400 dpi (JX-250)
315
316       4. If the JX250 is used with an ADF, the following situation can occur:
317       After several scans, the scanner moves, after loading a  new  sheet  of
318       paper, the carriage to the idle position, and then back to the position
319       used for ADF scans. This happens for every scan,  in  contrast  to  the
320       calibration,  which  is  done after 10 scans. (For the calibration, the
321       carriage is also moved to the idle position.) We do not know,  if  this
322       behavior is caused by the backend, or if it is a bug in the firmware of
323       the scanner.
324
325       5. Usage of a transparency adapter (film scan unit) is  supported,  but
326       not tested.
327
328

SEE ALSO

330       sane(7), sane-scsi(5)
331

AUTHORS

333       Kazuya Fukuda, Abel Deuring
334

CREDITS

336       The  Sharp backend is based on the Canon backend written by Helmut Koe‐
337       berle
338
339       Parts of this man page are a plain copy of sane-mustek(5) by David Mos‐
340       berger-Tang, Andreas Czechanowski and Andreas Bolsch
341
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343
344                                  11 Jul 2008                    sane-sharp(5)
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