It may be a great time to be a Mac user thanks to wide software support, but one area manufacturers could still do a better job is with scanner drivers. Thankfully, they don't have to, because VueScan does it for them.
Hamrick Software announced Thursday that the company now supports more than 2,100 different scanner models -- including 339 from Brother alone, with the current version 9.2.10 released this week.
Available for Mac OS X, Windows and Linux, VueScan is the model of simplicity: Plug in a supported scanner and it just works, even without messy drivers from manufacturers such as Brother.
"We have had numerous requests from Brother customers asking us for help, and we are pleased that we have added support for such a large number of desktop scanners," explains VueScan developer Ed Hamrick. "We are especially pleased to have added support for so many Brother scanners to our new product, VueScan Mobile, which now supports more than 570 HP, Canon, Epson and Brother scanners."
The company's $4.99 VueScan Mobile app is available for both iOS and Android, working in conjunction with Wi-Fi-enabled scanners to create multi-page PDF files and full document feeder and duplex support at the highest resolution available. A free version is also available, but is limited to 300dpi and JPEG only export.
With the latest version of the desktop VueScan software, Brother scanners no longer require ICA drivers. "This means you just plug in your Brother scanner, run VueScan and you’re immediately scanning," Hamrick added.
VueScan Desktop is available in $39.95 Standard and $79.95 Professional editions; the latter offers free unlimited upgrades as well as IT8 color calibration and support for RAW scan files. A fully functional free trial version is also available from the Hamrick website.
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