Networking Scanners - PC
    

The network scanning software is supplied on the UMAX VistaScan or MagicScan CD, and is an optional component that can be added with the CUSTOM install option. Both the Scan Server and Scan Client must also have the VistaScan or MagicScan driver installed.

Note: the speed of scanning over the network will be limited by the network's performance and the specification of both the Client and Server PCs - in general the transfer rate from the remote scanner will be unsuitable for large (10MB+) scans.


Scan Server PC

The Scan Server must have the UMAX scanner driver installed (VistaScan or MagicScan), plus the optional Networking components (choose a CUSTOM install of the UMAX CD). This will install two additional program items, "Scan Manager" and "Scan Server". Before configuring the network scanning features you must make sure the scanner can be controlled using the Scan Server PC - use either Scan Test program or perform a test scan from a TWAIN program. The scanner must be switched on and Ready (LED stops flashing) before it can be shared.

Scan Manager - this program is required on both the Scan Server and the Scan Client: on the Server it is used to define usernames and scanner share names; on the Client is is used to browse the network for shared scanners, define client user names and set up remote scan connections.

Scan Server - this program must run on the Scan Server PC in order for clients to connect.

1. All users of the scanner must have individually defined User Names, INCLUDING the Scan Server PC operator. First, run Scan Manager and select the scanner driver you want to use from the list of installed TWAIN sources. From the Scanner menu, choose User Name and define a local operator name (eg umaxserver, 15 character limit, avoid spaces and extended characters).


2. Select Share Scanner from the Scanner menu, and define a name for the scanner (eg pb-610s). It is also advisable to use the Set Default Scanner option to establish the shared driver as the default for local use as well.

3. Exit Scan Manager and launch Scan Server - this will default minimized. Right-clicking on the program shows some simple options for displaying progress information and loading Scan Server at startup.

Scan Client PC

To install the scanner networking client software you must perform a CUSTOM installation of the VistaScan or MagicScan CD, selecting the scanner driver and optional networking components.

1. On the Client PC, first run Scan Manager (in the VistaScan program group) and define a new User Name (this must be different from the Scan Server user). Then, select the locally installed TWAIN source that you want to use to control the scanner (eg VistaScan32 V2.43), and choose Connect Scanner from the Scanner menu.



2. Choose Browse Server to see a list of the scanner servers visible on the network. To connect to a listed scanner you must first set the source at the top of the screen, then DOUBLE-click on the server - the remote server should now appear in the dialogue box “Server Name”. Click OK and exit Scan Manager.

3. To operate the remote scanner, run Photoshop and use Import TWAIN32 in the normal way. Note: the Scan Test program will not detect a scanner across a network connection, even though it is installed by default on Scan Client PCs.

If the “Show Progress” option is selected on the remote Scan Server, the status of your scan will appear on the screen of the Server PC.


Scan Server progress dialogue, VistaScan 2.4.3

In some versions of the software you can also view a log of the Scan Server, by choosing the Remote Server option in Scan Manager's View menu:

Scan Manager - Remote Server log view, VistaScan 2.4.3

If you wish to disconnect the Client from the Scan Server you must run Scan Manager, select the driver and choose "Disconnect Scanner" from the Scanner menul.


Troubleshooting and FAQs

NetBIOS or Bridge Error
If you run Scan Manager or Scan Server on a PC which does not have an appropriate Network installed within the Windows system software, you will see a NetBIOS or NCB_Bridge error - this error may also occur if you are using a non-NetBIOS protocol. This error may appear if you are using the Novell-supplied 32 bit client for Netware networks - this is NOT a fully NetBIOS compliant driver (use Microsoft's instead!).

IPX/SPX NetBIOS Support
If you are using Windows 95/98 PCs in a Novell Netware environment, or using IPX/SPX between two PCs you must check the configuration of the protocol in the Network control panel. In the NetBIOS tab you must Enable "NetBIOS over IPX/SPX" in order to make the scan server visible to the clients.

Network Protocols
When using NetBEUI to share the scanner between Windows 95/98 or NT PCs it is often necessary to configure NetBEUI as the "default protocol". Without this configuration change and PC reboot the scanner driver will often report a NetBIOS or NCB-Bridge error as above, or will prevent the Scan Server from appearing in the Browse list.


For Windows 95/98 Clients or Servers we recommend that no more than two protocols are loaded - the scanner software requires either NetBEUI or IPX/SPX (a second protocol will typically be TCP/IP). If you are not using a Novell Netware server, we generally recommend that you remove IPX/SPX from your protocol list.

Defining Network Protocol Defaults in Windows NT
In order to share a scanner from a Windows NT Workstation or Server PC you must install the NetBEUI protocol and make it the top binding (effectively the default protocol) for each of the network services:

NT 4.0 Server network protocol bindings - use "Move Up" to place NetBEUI at the top of the list for each service

Sharing Scanner from Windows NT - General Advice
1. NEVER make changes to the networking configuration of an NT Server unless you are the system administrator - changing protocol binding orders can seriously affect the performance of other network services and may interfere with other applications.
2. In general don't attempt to share a scanner from a central file/print server - during network scanning this system will be under heavy load from the Scan Server software, reducing the file/print performance. For many installations a dedicated, low-spec Win95/98 PC may be a more suitable Scan Server.
3. If your NT PC has several network interface cards you must only bind NetBEUI to the interface used by the Scan Clients. Advanced configuration of NetBIOS and browser services may also be required.

Different Windows for Scan Server and Scan Manager
There are small user interface differences between the network scanning software in recent MagicScan and VistaScan releases, however the features and menu options are identical. For reasons we haven't yet determined the most recent version of the networking software shown above (from VistaScan 2.4.3) was replaced by the earlier Windows 3.x-style version in VistaScan 3.x and MagicScan 4.x releases. The VS243 version includes fixes to the Remote Server logging and Display Progress functions. Further information to follow.

MagicScan 4.x AutoCorrect / Binuscan IPM Feature
This feature of the MagicScam 4.x driver is not compatible with the network scanning components, as the PhotoPerfect software is only present on the Scan Server. Full client/server network support for Binuscan colour correction is included in the ColorPro product, which is available as a chargeable upgrade to PhotoPerfect.
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