TWAIN is a complex, poorly understood, and weakly enforced standard.
Brand and device selection are important. The following remarks
are an overview - click on the vendor name for more detailed
comments.
|
| Avision:
Please avoid. Nice hardware, dismal TWAIN support. |
| Canon:
We recommend Canon desktop (DR-series) and departmental scanners, with minor reservations.
The IR-series also work well with EZTwain Pro, assuming you
don't trip over the Borland Issue. |
| Epson:
We've had good experience with Epson flatbeds, limited experience
with their feeders. TWAIN drivers seem to be solid and attentive
to the TWAIN standard. |
| Fujitsu:
We strongly recommend the Fujitsu fi-series. See our specific comments on the Fujitsu page. |
| HP:
Produces a bewildering number of devices and drivers, no two
alike, and it seems that each one has a different TWAIN problem.
If you use any but the
most basic TWAIN features, be prepared to test each HP model
and sometimes each driver version. Please especially avoid the HP ScanJet 5590 and 8270. |
| Kodak:
Has the most serious corporate commitment to TWAIN. Some models
have peculiarities that affect a few applications. Kodak is
highly responsive to TWAIN developer issues. |
| Panasonic:
We see a growing number of customers using the KV-series with success. Not enough experience to make a positive recommendation but - no bad news so far. |
| Syscan
(TravelScan and ScanShell): These small-footprint single-page
scanners are consistently more TWAIN-compliant than the similar
Visioneer devices, and the company is responsive to TWAIN developer
feedback. |
| Umax:
Poor software quality control, and notoriously unresponsive
to TWAIN developers. The PowerLook 1000 seems to have been cost-reduced
to within an inch of its life, which seems misdirected given
its $400 price-point. We recommend avoiding Umax. |
| Visioneer:
This company started life rather anti-TWAIN, but after some embarrassment in the business/office
market they reversed their attitude and hired one of the top TWAIN
experts as a VP of Engineering. We now like and recommend the Visioneer XP 450 and similar models, but no other Visioneer models. Note: The Xerox Documate scanners
are rebranded Visioneers - we recommend the Documate 252 and similar, and recommend avoiding all others. |
| Xerox:
The Xerox Documate series (250, 252, 510, 520) are Visioneer scanners
- see above. |
