Freeware to use with scanner

[Davis Rorgh]

Hi all. I am getting a bit mixed up here. Can you help me out?

I run XP and I have never used a scanner befere. Someone gave me a slightly
old Epson Perfection 1250 scanner with power supply.

So I downloaded the drivers for that scanner from the Epson website and
installed them. I powered up the scanner and attached it with a USB cable
and went through XP's new hardware wizard. All was ok.

OK, so what do I do now? I want to be able to scan text documents and
phots. I would like to have the image of a text document processed to
extract the text in it to a word processor.

Seems to me I need some extra software. Epson's manual refers to some
software called SMART PANEL which I can't find on the Net. Do I need to get
the SMART PANEL software (where from?)or can I use some freeware?

If I am better off using some freeware then what would it be?

 

[Harry G.]

| Hi all. I am getting a bit mixed up here. Can you help me out?
|
<snip>
|
| OK, so what do I do now? I want to be able to scan text documents and
| phots. I would like to have the image of a text document processed to
| extract the text in it to a word processor.
|
<snip>
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=ocr+software,+freeware&btnG=Search

 

[Dick Kistler]

Hi all. I am getting a bit mixed up here. Can you help me out?

I run XP and I have never used a scanner befere. Someone gave me a
slightly
old Epson Perfection 1250 scanner with power supply.

So I downloaded the drivers for that scanner from the Epson website and
installed them. I powered up the scanner and attached it with a USB cable
and went through XP's new hardware wizard. All was ok.

OK, so what do I do now? I want to be able to scan text documents and
phots. I would like to have the image of a text document processed to
extract the text in it to a word processor.

Seems to me I need some extra software. Epson's manual refers to some
software called SMART PANEL which I can't find on the Net. Do I need to
get
the SMART PANEL software (where from?)or can I use some freeware?

If I am better off using some freeware then what would it be?

If you have the TWAIN driver for the Epson Scanner, most photo editing and
ocr programs
will be able to scan pictures and documents.

Freeware Photo Editing Programs: GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/

Photofiltre:
http://www.photofiltre.com/

Pixia:
http://park18.wakwak.com/~pixia/

Irfanview(more a
viewing program): http://www.irfanview.com/

Freeware OCR Programs: Simple OCR: http://www.simpleocr.com/

There are others, this will get you started.

Dick Kistler

 

[Dick Hazeleger]

Hi all. I am getting a bit mixed up here. Can you help me out?

I run XP and I have never used a scanner befere. Someone gave me a
slightly old Epson Perfection 1250 scanner with power supply.

So I downloaded the drivers for that scanner from the Epson website
and installed them. I powered up the scanner and attached it with a
USB cable and went through XP's new hardware wizard. All was ok.

OK, so what do I do now? I want to be able to scan text documents
and phots. I would like to have the image of a text document
processed to extract the text in it to a word processor.

Seems to me I need some extra software. Epson's manual refers to
some software called SMART PANEL which I can't find on the Net. Do I
need to get the SMART PANEL software (where from?)or can I use some
freeware?

If I am better off using some freeware then what would it be?

For text scanning: do what the previous post wrote: Google!
For photo's: use PhotoFiltre (I assume your scanner has a TWAIN32
driver installed): www.photofiltre.com

Hth
Dick

 

[Kerry Liles]

For text scanning: do what the previous post wrote: Google!
For photo's: use PhotoFiltre (I assume your scanner has a TWAIN32
driver installed): www.photofiltre.com

Hth
Dick

"I would like to have the image of a text document processed to extract the
text in it to a word processor."

To accomplish this you need OCR (optical character recognition) software;
some scanners provide that sort of software - many do not. You might use
Google (or post here!) for other suggestions on scanning a page of text as
an image and extracting the 'text' in machine readable form. As other
posters have said, scanning a page or photo - to be used as an 'image' is
easily accomplished by running most graphics programs and getting it to open
the scanner for input.

HTH

 

[Davis Rorgh]

| Hi all. I am getting a bit mixed up here. Can you help me
| out?
|
<snip>
|
| OK, so what do I do now? I want to be able to scan text
| documents and phots. I would like to have the image of a text
| document processed to extract the text in it to a word
| processor.
|
<snip>
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&q=ocr+software%2
C+freeware&btnG=Search

How does this help when I can't even get a document scanned?

Surely this comes afterwards and may, I hope, be part of the scanning
management software I think I probably need.

 

[Davis Rorgh]

If you have the TWAIN driver for the Epson Scanner, most photo
editing and ocr programs
will be able to scan pictures and documents.

Freeware Photo Editing Programs: GIMP: http://www.gimp.org/


Photofiltre:
http://www.photofiltre.com/

Pixia:
http://park18.wakwak.com/~pixia/


Irfanview(more a
viewing program): http://www.irfanview.com/

Freeware OCR Programs: Simple OCR: http://www.simpleocr.com/

There are others, this will get you started.

Thanks for the pointers. I went and got Pixia. All I had to do was open
TWAIN as if it were a document and the scanner came into action.

That was very good. But how do I adjust the characteristics of the scanner?
Things like resolution, image rotation, and so on. I sense that third-party
software may not have these adjustments? Or maybe they do because the
drivers contain them? Can you advise?

 

[Dick Kistler]

That was very good. But how do I adjust the characteristics of the

scanner? Things like resolution, image rotation, and so on. I sense
that third-party software may not have these adjustments? Or maybe
they do because the drivers contain them? Can you advise?

Ability to vary things like resolution and color depth should be adjustments
in the twain driver. Sometimes these things are set in the program that
you're
scanning from. Image rotation, exposure, etc. are set in the program that
you are using to edit the images. You will have to play around with the
particular program to find where the settings and options are. GIMP is
the most complex of the programs I suggested, and has the most options.
The others have fewer capabilities but are easier to use.

If you are going to use the scanner to scan documents to be converted to
text or wordprocessor files, the only free option that I know of is Simple
OCR. OCR means optical character recognition. It uses your twain
driver to scan in a document, then converts it to a MS Word document
that you can edit.

There are, of course, commercial programs that do the same sorts of
things as the freeware programs that I have suggested.

Hope this helps.

Dick Kistler

 

[scootgirl.com]

Hi all. I am getting a bit mixed up here. Can you help me out?

I run XP and I have never used a scanner befere. Someone gave me a
slightly
old Epson Perfection 1250 scanner with power supply.

So I downloaded the drivers for that scanner from the Epson website and
installed them. I powered up the scanner and attached it with a USB cable
and went through XP's new hardware wizard. All was ok.

OK, so what do I do now? I want to be able to scan text documents and
phots. I would like to have the image of a text document processed to
extract the text in it to a word processor.

Seems to me I need some extra software. Epson's manual refers to some
software called SMART PANEL which I can't find on the Net. Do I need to
get
the SMART PANEL software (where from?)or can I use some freeware?

If I am better off using some freeware then what would it be?

Use the "Smart Panel" that is the scanner application:
http://tinyurl.com/6xxug .

After that is installed it's something like: "Start Menu | Programs | EPSON
Smart Panel | EPSON Smart Panel" then when that starts you can choose
professional mode to change the scan quality, etc..

Karen
http://scootgirl.com/

 

[Carol]

Thanks for the pointers. I went and got Pixia. All I had to do was
open TWAIN as if it were a document and the scanner came into action.

That was very good. But how do I adjust the characteristics of the
scanner? Things like resolution, image rotation, and so on. I sense
that third-party software may not have these adjustments? Or maybe
they do because the drivers contain them? Can you advise?

Epson Scanner? I have the Perfection 636. I use other programs with it, but
how to access the settings are contained within a help folder. I found it in
VCOM Power Desk 5, Epson Twain 3 Help. The file is ESTWN323.HLP This
explains that you can access it within TWAIN supported software, and how to
use it. Every program I have used has launched the settings program. I have
paid programs, OmniPage Wizard OCR, Adobe Photoshop Elements, JASC Paint
Shop Pro 7, Microsoft Picture It! 7, etc. Rotation of images would be in the
software imaging program you are using, the other things can be found in the
TWAIN drivers. Though I have Win XP, I am using Win 2000 drivers, because
Perfection 636 scanners have no current drivers. Though an older scanner, it
works like a charm, well....., most of the time. I get an occassional
'scanner cannot be found', or 'scanner is not working properly' pop-up. I
wait a moment and try again, usually works on 2nd or 3rd try. When you
import the image from the scanner to your software program, you should get a
box in the upper left corner of your screen. From there you can access basic
settings, or choose the more advanced features. HTH.


Carol

 

[Davis Rorgh]

Use the "Smart Panel" that is the scanner application:
http://tinyurl.com/6xxug .

After that is installed it's something like: "Start Menu |
Programs | EPSON Smart Panel | EPSON Smart Panel" then when
that starts you can choose professional mode to change the scan
quality, etc..

Karen

Karen, that is a great link. As I am in Europe I had (foolishly it seems)
been using the Epson *European* Support site. The info and downloads there
are definitely not as good as the US site.

However I am still a bit stuck. I have got all the downloads from the page
you mentioned http://tinyurl.com/6xxug but I still don't have the Smart
Panel application!

I saw this text at the top of your linked page ... >>"For information about
the latest patches or updates for any of the other Smart Panel applications,
please select Newsoft, Inc"<< But when I went to http://www.newsoftinc.com
I found that they have all sorts of of patches for Smart Panel but not the
actual software.

So I am back full circle and want to ask if I need to get Smart panel or if
a free third-party product, like Pixia, will do the job just as well as
Smart Panel?

All this makes me wonder if there are yet more applications which Newsoft
list on http://www.newsoftinc.com/redir/other_all.asp which would have come
with the Epson scanner and which I might so well to try and hae a look at.

If you or anyone else have info about this then I would be grateful.




[groups widened in deperation to include alt.comp.periphs.scanner !]

 

[Davis Rorgh]

Carol, thanks for a useful answer. I have a few questions.

Epson Scanner? I have the Perfection 636. I use other programs
with it, but how to access the settings are contained within a
help folder. I found it in VCOM Power Desk 5, Epson Twain 3
Help. The file is ESTWN323.HLP This explains that you can
access it within TWAIN supported software, and how to use it.

I don't seem to have that file anywhere on my C drive. Maybe the new help
file has a different ame.

Every program I have used has launched the settings program.

Do you mean by this the settings program for the TWAIN driver?

I have paid programs, OmniPage Wizard OCR, Adobe Photoshop
Elements, JASC Paint Shop Pro 7, Microsoft Picture It! 7, etc.

I need to ask this quietly here or I will be bawled out of this newsgroup
(heh!) in next to no time.

Which of those programs do you feel is a good choice for a novice who is an
"intelligent idiot". By intelligent idiot I mean to say that I know nothing
of scanning (I am an idiot) but I have the intelligence to learn. So an
easy to use but fully functional app would be the best.


--- snip --

 

[botsing]

Which of those programs do you feel is a good choice for a novice who is
an
"intelligent idiot". By intelligent idiot I mean to say that I know
nothing
of scanning (I am an idiot) but I have the intelligence to learn. So an
easy to use but fully functional app would be the best.

Normally I use Adobe Photoshop for scanning, but I have Pixia installed
as well. Pixia can perfectly be used together with a scanner. Simply
selecting
'Acquire TWAIN32' from the File menu should bring up the settings window of
your scanner. It does for my scanner at least.

I hope this helps...

 

[Ron]

Hmmm, do you have photo editing software (eg., Photoshop Elements) that
will find the installed twain driver and let you open the application
from inside the software? That's how I get around SMART PANEL.

Use the "Smart Panel" that is the scanner application:
http://tinyurl.com/6xxug .

After that is installed it's something like: "Start Menu |
Programs | EPSON Smart Panel | EPSON Smart Panel" then when
that starts you can choose professional mode to change the scan
quality, etc..

Karen

Karen, that is a great link. As I am in Europe I had (foolishly it seems)
been using the Epson *European* Support site. The info and downloads there
are definitely not as good as the US site.

However I am still a bit stuck. I have got all the downloads from the page
you mentioned http://tinyurl.com/6xxug but I still don't have the Smart
Panel application!

I saw this text at the top of your linked page ... >>"For information about
the latest patches or updates for any of the other Smart Panel applications,
please select Newsoft, Inc"<< But when I went to http://www.newsoftinc.com
I found that they have all sorts of of patches for Smart Panel but not the
actual software.

So I am back full circle and want to ask if I need to get Smart panel or if
a free third-party product, like Pixia, will do the job just as well as
Smart Panel?

All this makes me wonder if there are yet more applications which Newsoft
list on http://www.newsoftinc.com/redir/other_all.asp which would have come
with the Epson scanner and which I might so well to try and hae a look at.

If you or anyone else have info about this then I would be grateful.




[groups widened in deperation to include alt.comp.periphs.scanner !]

 

[Rose Weir]

Re: I want to be able to scan text documents and photos. I would like to
have the image of a text document processed to extract the text in it to a
word processor.

Scanning a text document and then 'using' the text is called OCR
Search for OCR (optical character recognition ) software. This software is
not scanner specific. Many Scanner mfg include an OCR light edition software
product on their CD. I have a few residing in desk drawers including a
complete Xerox (Pagis Pro) If you have no luck finding something then post
back here and I'll figure out a way to upload to my storage site. Actually,
my past experience with OCR was not that terrific. Where it was useful was a
govt. form that had to be filled in and faxed or when receiving a faxed form
that had to be filled in and returned then the OCR facility was useful but
as for a document there were many letters not recognized and the time spent
editing I could have typed the thing. So OCR sits in the drawer. Omnipage
might have improved the art of OCR by this time.
Most photo editing software has a menu command (usually under File menu in
the toolbar) and the word might be ACQUIRE which means 'get in touch with
the Twain (or twunk) driver, bring it into focus and the scanning process
begins, the image is fed into the photo editing software. I think the Photo
filter (freeware) has that facility otherwise scanner product disks usually
have a light version of various photo products on their disks also.
Rose Weir

 

[Chaos Master]

This is Rose Weir for forever:

Scanning a text document and then 'using' the text is called OCR
Search for OCR (optical character recognition ) software. This software is

OCR results depends in document quality, font used in the original text
and language of the original document.

I have TextBridge, came with my AOC scanner but it's useless for
documents in Portuguese. With English results are a bit better.

[]s
--
Chaos Master®, posting from Canoas, Brazil - 29.55° S / 51.11° W

"People told me I can't dress like a fairy.
I say, I'm in a rock band and I can do what the hell I want!"
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