[sane-devel] Scanner Recommendation for long receipts?

[Sean Greenslade]

On Mon, Aug 21, 2023 at 08:00:00AM -0500, Billy Croan wrote:
> like CVS/Walgreens long
> 
> Is there a scanner out there that can scan up to 24"? or 36?

I have a scanner that I purchased for exactly this reason: the Epson
ES-50. It can scan up to 72 inches (182 cm) in length at 200 dpi.
Unfortunately, the sane backend for this scanner doesn't currently
support differing scan sizes per-resolution. I've submitted a merge
request to fix this, but it has yet to be accepted due to lack of a
maintainer for the backend. But for what it's worth, I've been running
with my patch for close to a year with no issues.

https://gitlab.com/sane-project/backends/-/merge_requests/753

> I've been folding and making a multipage PDF.  Is there a better way?
> 
> Is there a reason scanners must have a maximum length or could they just
> stream data back to the PC continuously until the scan is complete.  like a
> toilet paper roll for example.
>
> I have no problem scanning a 700 page document if I keep that ADF feder
> hopper full and keep the exit tray from filling up on my ADF scanners.  But
> what reasons are there, that a single page can not be say, 100 feet long?

There's no reason it's not technically possible, but the API / protocol
decisions made by most scanner designers preclude the possibility of
infinite scans. My Epson scanner, for example, feeds JPEG data back.
Even if all other limits were lifted, a single scan would still be
limited to the JPEG format maximum of 65535 pixels in height.

--Sean