The SANE project, short for "Scanner Access Now Easy", is the primary means for supporting scanners in Linux and
other UNIX-like operating systems. It currently supports mostly SCSI interface scanners because they are easier to write drivers for than parallel or USB scanners, particularly when broad cross - platform compatibility (an important goal of the SANE project) is sought.
No. I found that it would have been extremely difficult, or even impossible to write a driver for the AS6E entirely within the limits of the SANE api. Instead, I wrote it as a standalone progam for Linux, and have added a SANE backend
that launches and operates the driver.
To make it work with SANE you will have to do the following:
1. Build and install the as6edriver.
2. Read the SANE instructions, compile and install as directed.
3. Make sure that there is a line in the /etc/sane.d/dll.conf file that reads "as6e", and that it is not commented out.
4. Download and install the xsane frontend
package. (recommended, but not required)
5. Link the xsane binary to your GIMP plugins directory.
To use the SANE interface, you should just have to call xsane or xscanimage
and select the as6e:as6edriver from the device menu. (or select Xtns xsane
if you are using it as a GIMP plugin) For xsane, it is noteworthy that the
visible brightness and contrast adjustments are post-scan corrections. The
backend supports it's own brightness and contrast controls, which are found
in the "view/show standard options" menu. The (rather odd) default values
are identical to the adjustments used currently in command-line mode. Adjust the values
to match your own screen and preferences. You can save the settings with the
"preferences/save device settings" menu option.
I strongly recommend using the xsane frontend. It's still in development and has a few bugs, but that is more than
compensated for by it's numerous automatic image processing features, including three-channel gamma correction, color balance, and many others that I haven't had time to check out yet.
Good Luck!