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| Current Version |
3.5.2 |
| Scanners Supported |
Current Astra scanner
models: Astra 1220, 2400S, 2000, 2100 and 2200 series. Different builds exist for specific
scanner models/interfaces.
Limited support for some older scanner models, earlier versions of the driver still
available for download. |
| Detailed Driver
History |
PC:
Driver History (earlier versions split
SCSI/Par/USB)
Mac: Driver History |
| Operating Systems |
Windows 95, 98 or NT4 (support for Windows
3.1x discontinued after VistaScan 3.1); MacOS 7.5 or later, 8.0 recommended or 8.1
required for USB (PowerPC only; 68K support discontinued after VistaScan 3.1) |
| Minimum Hardware Requirements |
486 or Pentium, 32MB RAM with 24-bit graphics
and 800x600 or better video recommended; PowerPC Macintosh, 32MB RAM with Millions of
Colours display at 800x600 or higher recommended |
| CD or floppy disk |
CD Only - full download of current version is
30-40MB. VistaScan driver CDs also include licensed bundled software such as Presto!
PageManager, OmniPage LE (not included in downloads). |
| User Interface |
Single window with scan preview, toolbar,
controls and preferences - operates in two modes: "Beginner" or
"Advanced"
PC: Full CD (Astra 2400S or later customers only) includes VistaShuttle which supports
scan-to- greeting card, e-card, wallpaper or screen saver; also VistaAccess which provides
desktop (system tray) shortcuts to the driver, copy and test programs, Copy Utility
application.
Mac: v3.5 or later includes VistaAccess control strip item for shortcuts to VistaScan,
refresh etc. |
| Scanner Controls |
Beginner Mode: scan area selection and scan
mode (Colour Photo, Printed Matter, Text/Lineart, Web Image); scan to application, file,
fax software, printer or email.
Advanced Mode: multiple scan area selection with thumbnail preview, scan mode (reflective,
UTA transmissive, UTA negative), output mode RGB true colour, RGB 256 colours, RGB web
colours, BW Photo, BW Document, Fax, OCR, resolution and descreening (customisable),
sharpen/blur filters, scaling, scan to application, file, fax software, printer or email |
| Image Correction |
Beginner Mode: automatic colour correction
preset
Advanced Mode: AutoAdjust, brightness, contrast, highlight, shadow, gamma, curves tool,
colour balance wheel, flip/rotate (thumbnail preview), support for colour management
systems via MagicMatch (Kodak KPCMS) |
| Integration |
Scan to printer - any system print device
(number of copies, paper size etc taken from printer defaults); Scan to email - requires MAPI (Microsoft Exchange) or
VIM (Lotus cc:Mail) compatible mail program; Scan to fax
- any system print device (eg Microsoft Fax); Scan to
application - (using OLE call). Scan from within any TWAIN or Photoshop Plug-In (Mac
only) compatible program. VistaScan supports sharing a scanner over a network between a
server and several clients (must be running the same operating system); further networking
details: Mac or PC. |
What type of driver is VistaScan? What applications will it work with?
For MacOS users, VistaScan is a system TWAIN driver, which can also be called as an Adobe
Photoshop Plug-In - any application with support for either of these driver types should
be able to control the scanner. During the installation VistaScan will search for the
Plug-Ins folder automatically, however copies of the drivers are also stored in the
VistaScan folder created (by default) on the boot hard disk. VistaScan can be launched as
a standalone driver ("DA") for scanning direct to disk, requiring a minimum of
6MB free RAM - for reliable use Photoshop should be allocated at least 24MB of RAM when
scanning.
For PC users, VistaScan is a system TWAIN32 and TWAIN_32 driver, compatible with almost
any graphics application. VistaScan 3.5 does not register itself with Windows when
installing but it does include an uninstaller in case of any problems. The VistaScan
driver can also be run as a standalone application (scanning files to disk), requiring a
minimum of 6MB of free RAM.
What are the components of the driver?
A Typical (default) installation includes the scanner drivers, the colour management
drivers and profiles (called MagicMatch), and the users guide. In current installers the
scanner networking component can be added by choosing to do a Custom installation.
What documentation is provided?
A complete user guide for the software is provided on the CD in html format, requiring IE3
or Netscape Navigator 3.x or later.
Upgrading the driver
MacOS users will find that both the old and new drivers are available when upgrading, and
certain system files (scanner networking, colour management profiles etc) will be
overwritten by the newest versions.
PC users will find that their older driver is overwritten by the installation of a new
version. In some cases two versions can coexist if you rename the vsta32.ds and vsta_32.ds
files in the system TWAIN32 and TWAIN_32 directories before installing the newer version,
however some core files such as twain32.dll are always updated.
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HISTORICAL PAGE - NO LONGER UPDATED