[sane-devel] Epson 2480 and scanner lamp

[Oliver Schwartz]

Hi,

> I just upgraded to SANE-Backends-1.0.18 and my Epson 2480 works
> better than ever. Thanks!
>
> I have a question/comment about the scanner lamp. This scanner
> doesn't have an on/off button, so it remains on whenever it's
> plugged in (I remember a Dilbert strip about this very theory of
> design, but anyway...)
>
> I have noticed that, if I run xsane, then after a few minutes of
> inactivity the scanner lamp is turned off (by the firmware, I
> assume). However, if I don't run xsane first, the lamp stays on
> indefinitely.

You didn't specify which backend you're using. As far as the snapscan 
backend is concerned, there's no explicit command sent to turn off 
the lamp. I can only assume that the scanner firmware turns off the 
lamp by itself. When powered up the scanner only runs a very limited 
firmware. The real firmware is downloaded once the backend is 
initialized (e.g. by starting xsane). 

> I'm concerned about the life span of the lamp. Is there a way to
> make it turn off, even if I don't run xsane? Right now my
> alternatives are either run xsane everytime I turn the computer on,
> or just keep the scanner unplugged most of the time.

If you put "scanimage --help > /dev/null" into some hotplug or resmgr 
script it should also initiate a firmware download.

/Oliver