[sane-devel] How i can use 2 or more scanners at the same time??

[Gerard Klaver]

On Sun, 2008-07-20 at 20:59 -0400, m. allan noah wrote:
> On 7/20/08, kid2k4 at email.it <kid2k4 at email.it> wrote:
> > Hi to all (sorry for my english)
> >  I write from Italy, with other young artist are working on a machine
> >  that requires a man-size scanner. An A1 or A0 scanner it's very
> >  exspensive for us, ahah.
> >  I use Gnu/linux (Debian-like distro) but i'm not i geek, :-( However i
> >  know the potential of open source software. I thought immediately to a
> >  solution ad-hoc but i don't know if it's possible. The idea is about a
> >  big scanner builded with more (6/8). We thought to disassemble scanners
> >  and take only the parts needed to scan.
> >  I make us some questions.
> >
> >  - It's possible to control more that one scanner with a tool like SANE?
> >  - If yes, it's possible to build a single scanned image from the scanned
> >  images of each machine,  in real time :-)
> >  - If we try to make the scanner on lan an then take each scanned image
> >  and build one big images? We need one pc for each scanner?
> >  - More and more.... :-)
> >
> >  I am asking a bit around and seemed a good idea to also ask the
> >  community of SANE.
> >  I hope the this idea can make some step to our goals.
> >  Bye bye.
> 
> 1. the optical package of each scanner cannot be placed end-to-end and
> get a complete scan, because there is some dead space for packaging or
> mechanism on the ends. so now you have to stagger them, and then have
> a staggered calibration strip. correcting skew and adjusting height
> will be excercises in very precise machining.
> 
> 2. you will have to have much larger and very rigid guides and carriage.
> 
> 3. you will have to have a much larger motor, or convince the series
> of motors to move at EXACTLY the same rate, or some of them will be
> dead weight (very difficult to do if they have independent
> controllers)
> 
> 4. you will have to multiplex all those streams of data, probably
> causing dataloss or motor stoppage/backtracking when the pc cannot
> keep up.
> 
> as you can see, software is the least of your problems :)
> 
> i suggest that you change directions. build a very square and sturdy
> moving platform, and scan with one scanner, using multiple passes,
> shifting the work one width left each time. you would have to stitch
> the pieces together afterwards, but that will be easy.
> 
> allan
> -- 
> "The truth is an offense, but not a sin"
> 

Depends also on the resolution you want to scan, for low resolution try
a photo camera.

For higher resolution, check if your file size get you in problems.
300dpi A4 colour 8 bit is about 25.5Mbyte, A1 is about 200Mbyte
-- 
--------
m.vr.gr.
Gerard Klaver