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melismak · 02:40 PM

OK-rewriting my question. My macbook doesn't recognize my scanner when I attach it. As I understand it it should just show up, right? I have tried preview and image capture and both tell me there is "no image capture device detected" when the scsanner is plugged into my usb port.

I had a similar problem with my canon powershot digital camera awhile ago and finally it just started working. Thoughts?

Blasphemy · Jan 1, 2007, 03:04 PM

does your scanner have a driver you need to install? Does it have manufacturer-supplied software to scan?

melismak · Jan 1, 2007, 03:12 PM

Yes. But, having just gotten my canon camera to work, I was told that most peripherals don't need drivers to work on macs. Are scanners diffferent? Because I haven't put anything on this computer for the scanner (drivers, software, etc). Thanks in advance!

Blasphemy · Jan 1, 2007, 03:16 PM

from my experience, scanners are different.

what is your scanner brand and model?

melismak · Jan 1, 2007, 03:18 PM

HP PSC all in one 1510 xi

And I just found the driver for it online. *feels dumb*

But, if I have trouble getting it to show up in my computer after it's installed I wil be back. Thanks for your help!

ghporter · Jan 1, 2007, 03:19 PM

Scanners ARE different. There's a basic standard for communicating with scanners called "TWAIN", and OS X fully supports it. The catch is that the hardware end is pretty much left to the hardware manufacturer, so you DO need drivers in spite of the support in the OS.

melismak · Jan 1, 2007, 05:10 PM

Solved it. Thanks, everyone.

MichiganRich · Jan 1, 2007, 05:52 PM

If I was to guess, Apple is confident in pre-loading the manufacturer's camera and printer drivers in the OS, waiting for the end user to need it (because such a large number of those users will be digital camera and printer owners). I also think that they were less likely to want to put in the scanner drivers, because of the room they would need and the sheer variety in scanners (and the far fewer scanners out there, compared to cameras and printers).

I still think that the 'Apple-est' way to hook up a new peripheral is to NOT install drivers first, and do just what you did (preview and image capture, or Add Printer) to see if it's built-in. If not, then move to the driver install. Your mileage may vary of course.

Tenex · Jan 2, 2007, 05:02 AM

I've never managed to connect my Canon LIDE 20 to a Mac, the Canon driver software simply doesn't seem to work - anyone else had success?

ghporter · Jan 2, 2007, 09:59 AM

Originally Posted by Tenex

I've never managed to connect my Canon LIDE 20 to a Mac, the Canon driver software simply doesn't seem to work - anyone else had success?

As a matter of fact, YES. Just yesterday, after my post above, I started looking at my Canon CanoScan N650U and how to make it work with my MBP. It turns out that Canon's driver needs "compatible software." And Word is one app that is compatible. After a bunch of searching, I found the OS X version of their CanoScan Toolbox, and that has all sorts of extra functionality. I wish I could remember where I found it-Canon's site is absolutely NO help for my scanner. But it turns out that they DO have both the driver and the software listed for YOUR scanner. Go here and click on "drivers/software" to download them.

vmarks · Jan 6, 2007, 03:00 PM

Hamrick.com

VueScan supports hundreds of scanners. I find it better than most MFR scanner drivers and software. In fact, when buying a scanner, I look to see what I can buy and not install anything but VueScan.

Canon LiDE 20, for example. Works perfectly.