Silpheed2K Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 I just bought a scanner and I dont know what alternatives there are besides the software that comes with the scanner. I need some recommendations. Does it matter what software I'm using if I'm just scanning images? How about documents with text and making them readable in the computer? I'll take as many recommendations as I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 riahc3 Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 Hello, I just bought a scanner and I dont know what alternatives there are besides the software that comes with the scanner. I need some recommendations. Does it matter what software I'm using if I'm just scanning images? How about documents with text and making them readable in the computer? I'll take as many recommendations as I can. Hit the Windows key+R Type in "WFS.exe" (without quotes) Hit enter Best scanner software you can get. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Gerowen Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 On all my computers I use Simple Scan; it comes by default in most Linux distributions that use a GTK based desktop environment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 MorganX Posted December 29, 2013 Share Posted December 29, 2013 As riahc3 said, there is Windows Fax & Scan, but on Windows 8 there's also the Scan app which is quite functional as well. Your scanner should have come with a software suite. I find the bundled scan app is almost always superior with more options and control than the built in WF&S or Scan apps. Check the scanner manufacturer website if you didn't get a DVD/CD with the scanner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Polarman Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 If you have Microsoft office installed, you can use "Microsoft document imaging" has a OCR. It work's pretty good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Rohdekill Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 For a basic, home desktop scanner, almost anything will do. Most of major programs also include import from a scanner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 cork1958 Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Personally, I can't stand the software that comes with any scanner. Just a bunch of bloated crap that is almost never needed. What I do is just install the basic drivers to make it function, which isn't always necesary either, and then use Irfanview's "select scan/twain source" which only needs to be done once and then "acquire batch scanning" Images then open up right in Irfanview for editing, if necessary. Might be a little more work than what it takes when using the bundled software, but at least I don't have all that bloat! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Ambroos Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Bundled software isn't always bad. On my HP Scanner from ages ago it was actually pretty good, but it isn't compatible with Windows 7 so I'm stuck with the basic functionality in Windows. Which isn't all that good a solution since I can't use the built-in negative scanner any more now. On my uncle's Mac I've seen the scanning software that comes with his HP OfficeJet and it looks really nice and is super-easy to use. Mac users always get the pretty, functional software :P MorganX 1 Share Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Chemaz Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 abbyfine reader is pretty good, thats the main one i use if i have large amount of OCR work to do, if not then normally stick with the MS office program Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 Max Norris Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Don't use my scanner often so I just go with what's built into Windows, does the job nicely for what I need, or if I need OCR (which is almost never) I use Office. My one neighbor uses one called VueScan, seemed to have lots of options, has OCR too, looked decent but not a freebie. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 MorganX Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Bundled software isn't always bad. On my HP Scanner from ages ago it was actually pretty good, but it isn't compatible with Windows 7 so I'm stuck with the basic functionality in Windows. Which isn't all that good a solution since I can't use the built-in negative scanner any more now. On my uncle's Mac I've seen the scanning software that comes with his HP OfficeJet and it looks really nice and is super-easy to use. Mac users always get the pretty, functional software :p Shout out to Epson's excellent scan software. Scan to all major formats including PDF, multiple pages to PDF, etc. Crop, Image attribute control, color control, etc. If you're just scanning receipts and letters anything will do. If you're doing images and photos, especially for reprint, I'd go with the bundled driver which will most likely have more color profiles and the max resolution for your scanner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 alphamale Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Some scanners in fact most use a vendor software (TWAIN Driver) that you often can opt for 3rd party software. Then you have the scanners that scans directly to PDF and you can not use a TWAIN Driver. I use both. With the TWAIN I can choose different options like incorporating Word or scanning to an image. 90% of my stuff is scanned direct to PDF because its mutiple feed. you may want look at how you have used and plan to use your new scanner before spending more dough. The only reason I still use Windows is scanning. I scan everything. I look forward to trying simple scan on a linux box. Scanning is the one thing I can not believe Google has not tackled with its Chromebook. Maybe bigger cameras on the Nexus to give the Chromebook scanning ability??? You can even scan with your android phone camera straight into Drive. Biggest camera on my phones is a 8mp and that works great for receipts. I would like to try a 10-13mp on a page scan and see the results. It also scans into a PDF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0 sjms Posted January 1, 2014 Share Posted January 1, 2014 Vuescan it has kept my slide scanner since Nikon felt it was dead issue. it supports over 2300 scanners. it supports multiple devices on a computer by just choosing the one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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Silpheed2K
I just bought a scanner and I dont know what alternatives there are besides the software that comes with the scanner.
I need some recommendations. Does it matter what software I'm using if I'm just scanning images?
How about documents with text and making them readable in the computer?
I'll take as many recommendations as I can.
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