Scanner drivers work a little differently from other devices. Besides the Windows plug-and-play driver that installs automatically when you connect the scanner, there is also a software driver that provides the scanner control interface. There are 2 types of driver software, called TWAIN and ISIS.
TWAIN and ISIS are the two most common scanner drivers, which allow the scanner to be recognized by scanning software. Different software look for different drivers, but most scanning applications will at least recognize the TWAIN driver. If a scanner does not have either of these, it probably works with a proprietary driver and will only be recognized by the software that it comes bundled with, so you won’t be able to scan directly into any software you purchase separately.
Virtually all scanners, sheetfed or flatbed, come with TWAIN drivers, and virtually all scanning applications support TWAIN. High-speed document scanners usually come with ISIS drivers, which tend to be more standardized and offer better performance with faster scanner models. Some high-volume scanning applications only use ISIS drivers, and we recommend using ISIS in any document scanning application when the choice is there.
What scanners does SimpleIndex work with?
SimpleIndex will work with both TWAIN and ISIS scanner drivers. TWAIN is more common and works with virtually all scanner models. ISIS is designed for high speed document scanners. Most sheetfed scanners support ISIS.
ISIS is much faster and has more features than TWAIN, and is the preferred way to scan documents. ISIS scanning is included with SimpleIndex Full or is available as an add-on for other versions.
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
I have a duplex scanner how do I set up SimpleIndex to scan 2 sided documents automatically?
Simplex versus Duplex scanning is a function of your scanner driver. SimpleIndex uses both TWAIN and ISIS drivers. ISIS drivers are faster for high-speed scanners and are preferred.
To configure duplex on an ISIS scanner:
1 Select “Use ISIS Driver” from the Scan menu if it is not selected
2 If this is your first time using ISIS, click “Select a Scanner” to select the driver for your scanner
3 Click Display Scanner Settings to display the ISIS driver settings
4 Find the setting for Simplex/Duplex and set appropriately. Each scanner model has a different driver interface. Refer to your scanner’s documentation if you cannot find the duplex setting.
To set the scanner settings using TWAIN:
1 Select “Use TWAIN Driver” from the Scan menu
2 If this is your first time scanning with TWAIN, click “Select a Scanner” and select your scanner
3 If “Display Scanner Settings” is not checked in the Scan menu, click it to select it
4 When you run the job, the scanner settings will be displayed prior to scanning. Find and select the duplex setting there. If you cannot find it, refer to your scanner’s documentation.
When scanning in duplex, you will want to enable automatic blank page deletion. Many scanners have this feature built-in, so check your driver settings to see if there is a blank page deletion option.
If your scanner doesn’t have blank page deletion, use the “Min File Size” setting on the Batch tab of the Options screen to enable it in SimpleIndex. This setting refers to the minimum file size (in bytes) for a page to be considered non-blank. Any file under that size will be deleted. This value varies depending on scan resolution, and does not work with uncompressed files.
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
How can I change from letter to legal size documents?
This is done through the TWAIN or ISIS settings for your scanner. To access these settings select “Display Scanner Settings” from the “Scan” file menu. Next click the “Run Job” button and before the scanning process starts your scanners TWAIN or ISIS settings dialog box will appear.
Every TWAIN or ISIS dialog is different, but any of them have a clear option for changing page size or auto detecting page size.
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
What scanners are compatible with SimpleIndex? How do I find a list?
SimpleIndex is compatible with any device that has a TWAIN or ISIS driver. This includes virtually all makes and models of scanner, as well as many specialty scanners, digital cameras and other devices.
In the few instances when a scanner has a proprietary driver, it can still be used with SimpleIndex by first scanning to a folder and setting SimpleIndex‘s input to “From Folder” on the Input tab.
For many high-speed scanners (over 50 pages/minute), ISIS drivers provide improved throughput versus TWAIN. It is recommended you purchase the ISIS driver option with these scanners.
ISIS drivers also let you save your scanner settings to a file that can be distributed with your SimpleIndex configuration.
You can find more information on selecting the best scanner for your specific requirements on the ScanStore Scanners Guide, as well as a wide assortment of scanners available for purchase.
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
How do I automatically delete blank pages from duplex documents?
This is done using the Minimum File Size drop down in the Blank Page Deletion section of the Image Enhancement step of the Job Settings Wizard. This setting uses the image file size in bytes to determine which files are blank pages.
In this box you would put the number of bytes for the threshold for which documents are considered to be blank, which will be deleted and those considered non-blank that should be kept. If the scanned or imported image file is smaller than the number in bytes for the file size then it will be deleted and if it is higher it will be kept.
For 200dpi, compressed, black & white TIFF images (the default format used by SimpleIndex) this is usually around 2500 bytes and 300dpi, compressed, black & white TIFF images (the default for OCR) is usually around 7500.
Depending on your scanner settings and how much black is in your images, blank pages could be significantly larger. If you are scanning small pages the margin for error will be less. You will want to do some trial and error testing to ensure the setting is right for your images.
Related Links
- Published in TWAIN & ISIS Scanning
How do I configure SimpleIndex to scan documents?
First make sure that you scanner’s TWAIN and/or ISIS driver (found on the included CD or manufacturer website) is installed and that the scanner shows up in the ‘Printers and Scanners’ section of the ‘Control Panel’ in Windows.
On the SimpleIndex Settings Wizard step of the Job Settings Wizard set the Input Type to Scanner or Both. Scanner will just use the scanner and both will scan first and then pull image from the Input folder.
Settings for the scanner can be found in the Scanner Settings step of the Job Settings Wizard. These allow you to select TWAIN or ISIS scanning, whether images are displayed during scanning and more.
From the Scan menu you have the option to select your scanner, display or hide the scanner’s TWAIN/ISIS settings interface or have SimpleIndex prompt the user when the feeder is empty.
The Scan to File option in the Scan menu lets you separate the scanning from processing. Use this to scan a sample image and save directly to a file folder.
Related Pages
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Your All-In-One Scanning & Sorting Tool
SimpleIndex® has the ability to perform a wide variety of scanning and document organization tasks quickly and automatically. This makes it a must-have tool for IT departments and consultants who often need to:
- Scan and store various documents on network shares
- Organize existing MS Office, PDF and other files on your network
- Attach files to records in a custom database
- Integrate scanning into custom business applications
- Automate data entry from paper or electronic documents
- Reduce click charges for centralized scanning departments
The wide variety of scanning and indexing tasks you can do with SimpleIndex make it an incredibly useful tool to have in your arsenal. Even if your company already has an enterprise document scanning system, the low cost, fast setup and automated processing features of SimpleIndex can be put to use in many places where your existing system either doesn’t work, is too complex for the task or costs too much in click charges to be feasible.
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- When I click Media Wizard, an error comes up saying "Installer Not detected in C:\Program Files\SimpleIndex\CDFiles\setup.exe" How do I fix this?
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- Is it possible to have the scanned image itself added to a database and not just the image path?
- I have a scanner/copier that creates PDF and TIFF files and saves them to my file server. Can I use SimpleIndex to create a searchable CD/DVD from these files?
- When exporting to a database, I get the error "Multi-step operation generated errors"
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- How do you configure full text searching in Retrieval mode?
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- What is "Match & Attach" mode?
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TWAIN and ISIS Scanning
SimpleIndex works with all TWAIN and ISIS document scanners.
Virtually all document scanners support both the TWAIN and ISIS driver standards. TWAIN is more common and is usually the only driver provided with consumer scanner models.
ISIS is the unfortunately named driver standard developed by Pixel Translations years before the acronym (which stands for “Image and Scanner Interface Specification”) had any jihadist connotations. ISIS provides a more standardized interface for high-speed scanners, and is often required to scan at the scanners rated speed.
TWAIN scanning is supported in all versions of SimpleIndex.
Support for ISIS is included with SimpleIndex Professional and available as an Add-on for other versions. ISIS is recommended for high-speed document scanners, or applications that require central management of scanner settings. ISIS driver settings are saved in your SimpleIndex job file so every user gets the exact scanner settings they need for each type of document.
What is a WIA Driver?
WIA stands for Windows Image Acquisition and is the driver standard promoted by Microsoft for basic scanning functions that don’t require additional software other than the Windows OS.
WIA is much better suited for flatbed scanners than for document scanning applications. While you can use the WIA driver in SimpleIndex, you will get much better results with the full TWAIN or ISIS drivers, which may require a separate download from your scanner manufacturer.
What Happens After You Scan?
The difference between SimpleIndex and other desktop scanning applications is that it fully automates the process of indexing and filing your documents once they are scanned. Use bar codes, OCR, database lookups and other features to identify keywords and metadata, organize files into folders, or populate your database and document management system.
Indexing is the key to making your scanned files organized and searchable so you can find them when you need them. Without automation, the indexing process can be very labor intensive, taking many times longer than it takes just to scan documents.
TWAIN & ISIS Scanning Video
Since scanning happens in the meatspace there’s really not a lot to show in a screen recording. But Google really likes videos so here’s a quick preview what it looks like when you’re scanning with SimpleIndex.
Unique Book & Magazine Scanning Features
SimpleIndex streamlines the process of scanning books and magazines. Anyone who commonly scans bound material needs SimpleIndex just for this feature!
Book scanning lets you scan bound books quickly on a flatbed scanner. The user is prompted after each scan so they only need to turn the page and press “enter” to perform the next scan. 2-page scans can be automatically split vertically or horizontally to create single page images.
When scanning a typical tabloid-sized magazine that is folded down the middle, SimpleIndex’s magazine scanning function will automatically split the images in half, reorder and rotate the pages so they appear in proper reading order when finished. This can save hundreds of hours of manual image QC, or provide your clients with a level of image quality they can’t get from anyone else.
Using Scanning in SimpleIndex
Wiki manual pages detailing the scanning functions of SimpleIndex.
KB Articles for TWAIN and ISIS Scanning
- What is Document Imaging?
- What scanners does SimpleIndex work with?
- I have a duplex scanner how do I set up SimpleIndex to scan 2 sided documents automatically?
- Can I scan with a Kofax Adrenaline based scanner interface?
- I have a scanner with Virtual ReScan (VRS) that is not scanning properly. How do I solve this issue?
- How can I change from letter to legal size documents?
- What scanners are compatible with SimpleIndex? How do I find a list?
- I finished scanning and found a page that did not get scanned or was scanned incorrectly. How can I correct this?
- How do I automatically delete blank pages from duplex documents?