[SOLVED] printer scanning blank

ineedhelp :-) · 07-07-2007, 05:34 PM

hey, my Dell Photo AIO Printer 942 is having problems with it's scans. the copies are fine, and when i preview the scan on the printer it looks fine, but when i actually scan it on to the computer, there's nothing there. a tiny white square showes on paint, and my photo viewer. could i get some help?

ineedhelp :-) · 07-07-2007, 08:47 PM

p.s.: i did reinstall the software.

jflan · 07-07-2007, 10:14 PM

Check in Device Manager to verify that the scanner portion of your AIO is installed properly (TWAIN driver).

You could try a different viewer for comparison.
A very good free one is Irfanview. Its controls are similar to Paint, just more powerful.
http://www.irfanview.com/

ineedhelp :-) · 07-08-2007, 08:56 PM

hmm.. ok, I've been playing around with it and it scans my hand (and other concrete things) perfectly well, but when i try to scan pencil lines on paper, it does nothing. and if i scan my drawing and my finger, all it loads is a little block with my finger in it.

jflan · 07-09-2007, 10:58 AM

OK, I think this may be a matter of adjusting settings prior to the scan.
Sounds like everything is working...

Check your resolution and try 200 DPI
For pencil lines see if you have a "Line Art" setting or an "OCR" setting.
You may have to hit an "Advanced" button to get at these settings in your TWAIN driver.

I just tried my old Epson 636U with Irfanview, set to 300 DPI and OCR and it easily picked up #2 pencil handwriting, etc.

ineedhelp :-) · 07-09-2007, 09:52 PM

*gulp* ok, Forgive my ignorance- i go to control panal/system/hardware/device manager/imaging device/dell printer/ ...and I'm lost.
am i in the right place? I don't see anything in properties.
you are dealing with a less-then-computer-savvy person.

jflan · 07-09-2007, 10:53 PM

No prob.
All I was doing was turning on my scanner and then launching Irfanview.
When I tell Irfanview to acquire the image of the pencil drawing in my scanner, the Epson TWAIN driver starts.

The controls I described are part of the TWAIN driver.
With this AIO, do you see TWAIN interface when you call for a scan ?

A little background on TWAIN :
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TWAIN

Here are the controls that I was talking about :

ineedhelp :-) · 07-12-2007, 06:17 AM

YES! thankyouthankyouthankyou. much appreciated.

07-07-2007, 05:34 PM	#1 (permalink)
ineedhelp :-) Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 54 OS: XP	[SOLVED] printer scanning blank hey, my Dell Photo AIO Printer 942 is having problems with it's scans. the copies are fine, and when i preview the scan on the printer it looks fine, but when i actually scan it on to the computer, there's nothing there. a tiny white square showes on paint, and my photo viewer. could i get some help?

07-07-2007, 08:47 PM	#2 (permalink)
ineedhelp :-) Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 54 OS: XP	Re: printer scanning blank p.s.: i did reinstall the software.

07-07-2007, 10:14 PM	#3 (permalink)
jflan Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 935 OS: XP/Puppy 2.14	Re: printer scanning blank Check in Device Manager to verify that the scanner portion of your AIO is installed properly (TWAIN driver). You could try a different viewer for comparison. A very good free one is Irfanview. Its controls are similar to Paint, just more powerful. http://www.irfanview.com/

07-08-2007, 08:56 PM	#4 (permalink)
ineedhelp :-) Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 54 OS: XP	Re: printer scanning blank hmm.. ok, I've been playing around with it and it scans my hand (and other concrete things) perfectly well, but when i try to scan pencil lines on paper, it does nothing. and if i scan my drawing and my finger, all it loads is a little block with my finger in it.

07-09-2007, 10:58 AM	#5 (permalink)
jflan Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Vancouver, WA Posts: 935 OS: XP/Puppy 2.14	Re: printer scanning blank OK, I think this may be a matter of adjusting settings prior to the scan. Sounds like everything is working... Check your resolution and try 200 DPI For pencil lines see if you have a "Line Art" setting or an "OCR" setting. You may have to hit an "Advanced" button to get at these settings in your TWAIN driver. I just tried my old Epson 636U with Irfanview, set to 300 DPI and OCR and it easily picked up #2 pencil handwriting, etc.

07-09-2007, 09:52 PM	#6 (permalink)
ineedhelp :-) Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 54 OS: XP	Re: printer scanning blank gulp ok, Forgive my ignorance- i go to control panal/system/hardware/device manager/imaging device/dell printer/ ...and I'm lost. am i in the right place? I don't see anything in properties. you are dealing with a less-then-computer-savvy person.

07-12-2007, 06:17 AM	#8 (permalink)
ineedhelp :-) Registered User Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 54 OS: XP	Re: printer scanning blank YES! thankyouthankyouthankyou. much appreciated.