On 2021-03-31 22:05, Stefan Monnier wrote:
Scanning the output to a server just seems plain obvious to me.
What's the downside?
It has its advantages, indeed. On the downsides:
- the scanner usually has a very limited UI, making it
difficult/inconvenient (if at all possible) to control and select the
scanning options, compared to the comfort of a large screen.
- scanning to a server implies allowing the scanner device write access
to a server, which either implies the users authenticating themselves
on the scanner itself (which is rather problematic and is compounded
with the previous downside), or making the scan result land on an
"anonymous" area where anyone can see what anyone else scans.
- It usually means you're stuck with the functionality that the
manufacturer decided to include in the scanner's software stack,
because it's always proprietary or "walled" (it may contain Free
Software for all I know, but I can't access nor modify the code).
The option I favour is that the scan is controlled by your own
computer,
but you can trigger new scans by hitting buttons on the scanner
(i.e. the button-presses get sent to your computer who then decides
what action to take in response to them), so that you can comfortably
setup the scan parameters on your computer and then you can comfortably
scan the various documents without having to go back to your computer
between them.
Sounds like we have yet another use for a Raspberry Pi or similar small
and cheap computer.
Hook it up to a dumb USB scanner, the local network and a touch screen.
Users can walk up, put their originals in the scanner, and use a much
richer UI to chose their scanning options. The scans are emailed to them
in their preferred file format using the email address they gave when
they authenticated.
I wonder if such an open source project already exists?
--
David Pottage
