One of my most popular videos in 2020 was a simple fix for the Canon scanner. Many users may not have read the manual or noticed that there was a slide switch on the back of the scanner. If they plug everything in, the scanner appears to work. Until they try to scan something. Moving the slide switch from lock to unlock releases the scan head for normal operation. That video has gotten over 5,000 views in the past year. A viewer asked which scanning software I would recommend. I’ve been using VueScan from Hamrick Software for 15 years on my Mac and Windows systems. I only paid $100 USD for a professional license years ago.
VueScan has built-in driver support for over 6,500 scanners from 42 manufacturers. Unless you have an ancient scanner from 20 years ago, your USB or network scanner should work out of the box. If you have the slide switch in the unlock position on your Canon scanner.
What VueScan doesn’t support are the buttons on a scanner. If you’re one of those people who must press a physical button to scan, you will need to install the OEM drivers. Depending on your operating system, you have a 50/50 chance that the OEM drivers will work with your scanner.
My scanning needs are simple with documents and autographed 8″ x 10″ photos.
VueScan is available for Linux, Mac, and Windows. A standard license with one year of updates is $50 USD. A professional license with lifetime updates is $100 USD. An upgrade license from standard to professional is $50 USD. The prices haven’t changed in the last 15 years.