HP ScanJet on Mac OS X (or any scanner, for that matter)

December 30, 2008 — TJ

Using a USB legacy scanner for Mac OS X can be accomplished with this set of TWAIN/SANE tools based on the SANE implementation for *NIXes.

Since it took me a while to find what I needed to get my old HP ScanJet 5470c to work on Mac OS X (10.5), I wanted to post this link accompanied by some of the keywords for scanners that others may use (so they’ll have an easier time finding it on search engines):

http://www.ellert.se/twain-sane/

This site lists several binary packages which should make your scanner work for you, too … after you installed them in the following order:

  1. gettext
  2. libusb
  3. SANE backends (installs all, even though you may only need the HP 54XX one)
  4. SANE Preference Pane
  5. TWAIN SANE Interface

After installing all these, go to the SANE Preference Pane and disable all the backends you don’t need (at least that’s what I did; it works for me, but I don’t know if it’s necessary). Next I clicked on Configure and then OK; without this step, apparently, the SANE/TWAIN interface is not activated. After closing the preference pane and entering my password to store the settings, I opened Image Capture. A preview dialog popped up and my already connected scanner did a quick preview scan. From there I was able to scan the document on the flatbed.

If this does not happen for you, make sure your scanner is properly connected. By going to the Apple Menu > About This Mac > More Info, you get access to the System Profiler. One of the last entries in the left column under hardware should be USB. After selecting this entry, the right panel should show the USB Device Tree. Make sure your scanner shows up in that list.

If that still does not help, try restarting your Mac, although that should not be necessary.

I presume this works for pretty much any scanner listed in SANE’s Supported Devices List, but it may be of particular interest for legacy devices such as:

Hewlett-Packard ScanJet 2100c, 2200c, 2300c, 3300c, 3400c, 3500c, 3530c, 3570c, 3800c, 3970c, 4070 Photosmart, 4100c, 4200c, 4200cse, 4200cxi, 4300c, 4300c Silitek, 4370c, 5200c, 5300c, 5370c, 5400c, 5470c, 5490c, 5550c, 5590c, 6200c, 6250c, 6300c, 6350c, 6390c, 7400c, 7450c, 7490c, 7650c, 8200c, 8250c, 8290c, G3010

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15 Responses to “HP ScanJet on Mac OS X (or any scanner, for that matter)”

  1. Dave Says:
    February 8, 2009 at 8:26 am

    Thank you very much. Your directions got my old campus HP Scanjet 6300c working with my newer laptop even though HP no longer supports the drivers. I was going to pitch the scanner today but decided to give it one more chance. Thanks for making my work from home a little easier and for making the world a little greener.

    Reply
  2. Michelle Says:
    March 7, 2009 at 11:22 pm

    Thanks so much – I’ve been periodically searching and meanwhile keeping an old emac that runs OS9 – just to use my HP5470c scanjet scanner. Now we can use Image Capture and also Photoshop to scan. Much appreciated.

    Reply
  3. Jim Says:
    March 14, 2009 at 6:44 pm

    Thank you very much – you just saved my sanity.

    Reply
  4. Tom Says:
    April 3, 2009 at 10:50 pm

    Another thank you – I can now use my old HP 4200c scanner. Really didn’t want to spend money on a new scanner, so this is great!

    Reply
  5. jasreet Says:
    May 27, 2009 at 4:03 pm

    thanks man. i found a hp 6300c in the trash and now it work on my mac so 10 thanks to you

    Reply
  6. Steve Smith Says:
    June 23, 2009 at 3:12 pm

    Thanks for putting this together; other instruction on sane is pretty sparse.

    “After installing all these, go to the SANE Preference Pane and disable all the backends you don’t need”

    How do I get to the SANE Preference Pane?

    Thanks,
    Steve

    Reply
  7. Chava79 Says:
    July 28, 2009 at 5:15 am

    Thanks for your help! I was appalled when I tried to go through the HP website for the Mac driver and would have had to pay over $10 to order a CD. This installation worked for me and I was able to use it in Microsoft Word (Mac version) to import my scans as a picture. Thanks again!

    Reply
  8. christine Says:
    August 5, 2009 at 9:22 pm

    I have followed your suggested installation, and have checked to see if my scanner HP 5370c is properly connected and is, and when it did not work – restarted – and opened Image Capture again. However, the scanner is not there. Also checked in Photoshop and it is not available. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

    Reply
    • TJ Says:
      November 10, 2009 at 3:38 pm

      In System Preferences, there is a SANE Preference pane that allows you to select back-ends to be used. Try the “avision” one instead of any of the HP and see whether that helps. Sorry for the late reply.

      Reply
  9. Brian Panulla Says:
    August 28, 2009 at 1:14 pm

    Thanks from me too…. got my 5470c going easy as pie.

    Reply
  10. Enrico Says:
    October 11, 2009 at 3:51 am

    Hi, i tiried to use this tutorial whit SnowLeopard, the scanner is recognized but after the preview scansion it don’t do nothing, say scanning but nothing no sound/rumors from the scanner.. any solution?! thanks a lot

    Reply
  11. crin Says:
    October 23, 2009 at 11:27 am

    Great advice! Got my hp scanjet 5470c working, except I can’t get the XPA (transparency adaptor) to work…
    Any ideas?

    Reply

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