
			Image Scan! for Linux
			=====================

Copyright (C) 2010, 2012  SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION


  ABSTRACT
  --------
    Image Scan! is a graphical scanner utility for people that do not
    need all the bells and whistles provided by several of the other
    utilities out there (xsane, QuiteInsane, Kooka).
    At the moment it only supports SEIKO EPSON devices.  However, the
    device driver it provides can be used by any other SANE standard
    compliant scanner utility.
    Note that several scanners require a non-free plugin before they
    can be used with this software.  Using a scanner directly through
    a network interface also requires a non-free plugin.

  LICENSING
  ---------
    This software is primarily covered by the terms of the GNU General
    Public License (version 2 or later) with exceptions that allow for
    the use of several non-free plugins.
    The graphical user interface, iscan, carries an exception to allow
    linking with the non-free 'esmod' library.  Copies of that library
    are included in the 'non-free/' directory and covered by the terms
    of the AVASYS Public License.
    The device driver (backend) carries a similar exception to provide
    for the use of plugins.  Such plugins are packaged and distributed
    independently from this software and are only required for certain
    models and/or hardware options.

    A verbatim copy of the GNU General Public License can be found in
    the file 'COPYING'.  A verbatim copy of the AVASYS Public License
    can be found in the file 'non-free/AVASYSPL.en.txt'.


NEWS
====

  For the latest user visible changes, please refer to the 'NEWS' file.


INSTALLATION
============

  REQUIREMENTS
  ------------
    The device information files provided by iscan-data must be installed
    prior to the installion of Image Scan! for Linux.  These files are
    necessary for Image Scan! for Linux to function properly and may be
    downloaded via:

      http://download.ebz.epson.net/dsc/search/01/search/?OSC=LX

  BINARY PACKAGES
  ---------------
    For help on installation of Debian and RPM binary packages refer to
    your distribution's documentation.  In most graphical environments
    just double clicking does the right thing.  If that does not work
    for you, you can always install from a command line with the least
    common denominator tools as follows:

    For Debian packages:

      # dpkg --install iscan_$version-$release_$architecture.deb

    For RPM packages:

      # rpm --upgrade iscan-$version-$release.$architecture.rpm

    Both commands require root user privileges and assume that package
    dependencies have been taken care of already.

  BUILDING/INSTALLING FROM SOURCE
  -------------------------------
    Generic installation notes can be found in the 'INSTALL' file.  See
    the `./configure --help` output for details on additional options.

    When using the `--prefix` option with configure, make sure you do
    the same when configuring `iscan-data`, otherwise the device
    information files necessary for the proper functioning of the
    software will not be found.

    After you have installed the software, you may need to arrange for
    your device to be recognised automatically by the operating system
    and give read/write permissions to the appropriate users.  Details
    on how to do this may be found in the SANE documentation:

      http://sane.alioth.debian.org/docs.html

    The binary packages take care of this during their installation as
    much as possible.

    Users of Debian or RPM based Linux distributions can easily build
    their own binary packages (if no binaries are available for their
    distribution already).  For Debian based distributions, all you
    have to do is:

      $ tar xzf iscan_$version-$release.tar.gz
      $ cd iscan-$version
      $ dpkg-buildpackage -rfakeroot

    Alternatively, you should be able to use any other Debian package
    building utility.  There are just too many to document ;-)

    For RPM packages, you would just:

      $ rpmbuild -tb iscan_$version-$release.tar.gz

    The above assumes that you have the privileges needed to build RPMs
    or configured things to build in a user writable location.


NON-FREE PLUGINS
================

  Non-free plugins that add support for certain models and/or hardware
  options can be downloaded via:

    http://download.ebz.epson.net/dsc/search/01/search/?OSC=LX

  Plugins required and/or available for your device are listed on the
  download page for the device.  Please be sure to download a version
  that matches your system.


SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS
===================

  We recommend using one of the major Linux distributions with a Linux
  kernel version of 2.6.3 or later (you can check with `uname -r`) as
  that is what we normally test with.

  However, the software should still work with kernel versions as far
  back as 2.4.8.  If you happen to use a pre-2.6.3 kernel version you
  may want to take a look at the info in the 'KNOWN-PROBLEMS' file.

  When scanning large originals and/or at large resolutions, the image
  files can get pretty big, in the order of tens (or even hundreds) of
  megabytes for each scan.  You need enough free disk space to store
  such large images.  Also note that scanning to printer roughly needs
  twice the disk space needed for the image in order to succeed.

  The software has been designed so that it does not need to keep the
  whole image in memory.  As a result, 'iscan' can be used on systems
  with relatively little memory.


OPERATION
=========

  The software can always be started with the 'iscan' command from the
  command line or your desktop's "command runner" utility.
  You may also find it in your desktop menu in the "Graphics" section.

  PRINTING
  --------
    Scanning "directly" to a printer, by default, sends the image data
    to your system's default printer using the 'lpr' command.  You can
    modify the command used to print via the "Configuration" button.

  GIMP PLUG-IN
  ------------
    The software can also be used as a GIMP plug-in to acquire images
    directly from the GIMP.  After installation of a binary package,
    the plug-in is (normally) automatically registered and available
    from the "File" -> "Acquire" or the "File" -> "Create" menu.
    The exact menu entries may depend on your language settings and
    GIMP version.

  OTHER SANE FRONTENDS
  --------------------
    If you prefer using another SANE frontend, you can use the device
    driver included with this software by selecting a device with the
    "epkowa:" substring in its device name.

  NETWORK SCANNING
  ----------------
    Scanning directly via a device's network interface is supported
    with the help of the non-free 'iscan-network-nt' package.  Once this
    package has been installed you need to tell the 'epkowa' backend
    what network devices it should try to access.  The details of how
    you do this can be found in the 'epkowa.conf' file.
    This file is included in the sources and typically installed as
    '/etc/sane.d/epkowa.conf'.

    Notes:
     1. 'iscan' does not support setting the IP address of the device
        itself.  Please consult the device manual for instructions on
        how to do this.
     2. The download site only lists the iscan-network-nt module for the
        devices that are known to work with it.
     3. For network scanning via a server connected device please see
        the user manual.


 -- AVASYS CORPORATION <http://avasys.jp/>
