How can I use a scanner in .NET?

Question

I'm developing an archiving system application that needs to scan documents and store them in a database. I'm looking for suggestions on how to integrate scanning functionality into my application and store the scanned documents in the database. What libraries or APIs can I use for scanning documents and what would be a suitable approach for storing the scanned documents in a database?

Scanning has absolutely nothing to do with printing. You can't eg use a reporting application to scan, only to print — Panagiotis Kanavos, Apr 13 '16 at 07:49
Scanners are essentially *cameras* and appear as imaging devices. Imaging devices are accessed using the Imaging SDK. Check eg [this duplicate question: Using a scanner without dialogs in C#](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/5431202/using-a-scanner-without-dialogs-in-c-sharp) — Panagiotis Kanavos, Apr 13 '16 at 07:51
Just because the *devices* are in the same plastic box doesn't mean the *drivers* or SDKs are the same — Panagiotis Kanavos, Apr 13 '16 at 08:01

score 9 · Accepted Answer · answered Apr 13 '16 at 08:02

Although scanning and printing are two separate areas and you have asked both terms together but I have explained both that what you may need to get started. Search further on TWAIN Scanning in C#/VB.Net.

For printing you may use .Net API/Winforms however for scanning purpose you will need to use TWAIN SDK/Wrapper for .Net. Some of the options are explained below.

1- Printing

 PrintDocument pd = new PrintDocument();
 pd.PrintPage += new PrintPageEventHandler(PrintPage);
 PrintDialog pdi = new PrintDialog();
 pdi.Document = pd;
 if (pdi.ShowDialog() == DialogResult.OK)
 {
     pd.Print();
 }
 else
 {
      MessageBox.Show("Print Cancelled");
 }

2 - Scanning Possibilities:

a - Free/opensource

b - Paid SDK

How can I use a scanner in .NET?

1 Answers1