Getting an ADF scanning error with smaller paper size...

[Carmen Gauvin-O'Donnell]

Hey everyone! I was trying to duplex-scan a piece of 5x7 paper and got the
following message: "Document size not suitable for duplex scanning" in my
Canon MX870. No problem there... I get what they're trying to say.

What I want to know is... is there a way around this? Will it work if I
insert the paper inside an clear thin 8x11 plastic sleeve, or am I asking
for trouble by doing that? Needless to say I don't want to destroy my new
scanner by trying it out without getting advice...

Any ideas? technology that could help me? I have several hundred pages (if
not over a thousand) of double-sided 5x7 notebooks that I would *love* to
scan and recycle, but needless to say the thought of doing this one page at
a time on the platen is a non-starter, yes?!

Thanks in advance!

Carmen

 

[Gernot Hassenpflug]

Carmen> Hey everyone! I was trying to duplex-scan a piece of 5x7
Carmen> paper and got the following message: "Document size not
Carmen> suitable for duplex scanning" in my Canon MX870. No problem
Carmen> there... I get what they're trying to say.

Carmen> What I want to know is... is there a way around this? Will
Carmen> it work if I insert the paper inside an clear thin 8x11
Carmen> plastic sleeve, or am I asking for trouble by doing that?
Carmen> Needless to say I don't want to destroy my new scanner by
Carmen> trying it out without getting advice...

If you have a system you can run linux on, try with the CVS version of
the SANE software. The MX870 is supported in ADF duplex mode also, and I
suspect maybe the paper size limitation is a function of the Windows or
Mac driver (which I assume you are using).

 

[Edward Kroeze]

Hey everyone! I was trying to duplex-scan a piece of 5x7 paper and got the
following message: "Document size not suitable for duplex scanning" in my
Canon MX870. No problem there... I get what they're trying to say.

What I want to know is... is there a way around this? Will it work if I
insert the paper inside an clear thin 8x11 plastic sleeve, or am I asking
for trouble by doing that? Needless to say I don't want to destroy my new
scanner by trying it out without getting advice...

Any ideas? technology that could help me? I have several hundred pages
(if not over a thousand) of double-sided 5x7 notebooks that I would *love*
to scan and recycle, but needless to say the thought of doing this one
page at a time on the platen is a non-starter, yes?!

What happens if you scan it as a 7x5 ?
As in: rotate the pages and feed them sideways (and handle orientation
later in your workflow).

From the looks of the sheetfeeder from the MX870 it should be able to handle
7 inch wide paper (but maybe it will complain about the 5 inch height).


On my MX700 a small paper gets 'expanded' with whitespace when scanned
as a larger format.

Example:
I scan a stack of 6 inch (wide) by 5 inch (height) pieces of paper through
the sheetfeeder.
Once I tell the Navigator software that I load (for example) A4 sized paper,
the software 'scans' an additonal appr. 1 inch whitespace on either side
and appr. 7 inch whitespace at the bottom.
Later on I crop away those extra inches and I am left with the 6 by 5 (which
are
then rotated back to their intended orientation) scans.


Another solution might be to scan them single sided (maybe the height/width
restriction does not kick in on the MX870) and merge/rename/renumber the
resulting files later on in the workflow.


Or you could give VueScan a try.

Hope this helps,

Regards,

Edward

 

[Gernot Hassenpflug]

Edward> What happens if you scan it as a 7x5 ? As in: rotate the
Edward> pages and feed them sideways (and handle orientation later
Edward> in your workflow).

That is your job! I have no idea, since I do not own such a
device. The point is that the linux driver has some advantages if, as
the documentation says, it already supports duplex:

1) it may not labour under the limitations of the Windows driver;

2) one can hack it---I am involved with Canon scanner support, so feel
free to tell me if it works, or if not, what error(s) you get.

Edward> From the looks of the sheetfeeder from the MX870 it should
Edward> be able to handle 7 inch wide paper (but maybe it will
Edward> complain about the 5 inch height).

I don't know anything about the MX870 at present, except that is has no
problems with the scan format (some scanners are harder to support than
others). However, I can go and measures the ADF tray at one of the
retail outlets on the weekend and come to some conclusions. I would say
that if there is no mechanical limitation on the paper size/thickness
for feeding and otherwise manipulating, you should be able to do it (at
the moment there may be some scan-size limitation set for ADF that is
different than for flatbed, but in the linux driver that can be
changed---unless it is also a limitation in the scanner firmware).

Cheers,
Gernot

 

[Edward Kroeze]

Just something to think about for Carmen:
What would be more work: putting each and every 5x7 in a
sleeve and then scan it through the sheetfeeder, or scan each and every 5x7
individually.
My money is on the first one (for being more work ...)

Edward> What happens if you scan it as a 7x5 ? As in: rotate the
Edward> pages and feed them sideways (and handle orientation later
Edward> in your workflow).

That is your job! I have no idea, since I do not own such a

Well...actually Carmen's job, I suppose
I (Edward) was given her some suggestions, since I do not own a MX870 myself

The trick to scan a 5x7 as a 7x5 works on my MX700

device. The point is that the linux driver has some advantages if, as
the documentation says, it already supports duplex:

[snip]

Regards,

Edward

 

[Gernot Hassenpflug]

Edward> Just something to think about for Carmen: What would be more
Edward> work: putting each and every 5x7 in a sleeve and then scan
Edward> it through the sheetfeeder, or scan each and every 5x7
Edward> individually. My money is on the first one (for being more
Edward> work ...)
Edward> What happens if you scan it as a 7x5 ? As in: rotate the
Edward> pages and feed them sideways (and handle orientation later
Edward> in your workflow).
Edward> Well...actually Carmen's job, I suppose I (Edward) was

Hehe, sorry about that. I seem to have lost the plot

Edward> given her some suggestions, since I do not own a MX870
Edward> myself The trick to scan a 5x7 as a 7x5 works on my
Edward> MX700

Oh, that is good news. I second that motion!

Cheers,

 

[Carmen Gauvin-O'Donnell]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the advice... unfortunately, my scanner tells me
the same thing, no matter which orientation I use. I have tried both, and
unfortunately, I am also beholden to Windows at the moment, so the Linux
option is a no-go.

But I am going to try the scan-at-a-larger size idea and see if that work,
as well as the clear sleeve idea as well. I'll report back and let you all
know what I get...

V.