Dumbed-down scanning: Brother, Where Art Thou? (Subtitle: Twain in Vain)

I am a newcomer to these shores; I got my first Mac about six weeks ago after 15 years with Windows-based computers. Lots of existential Mac stuff I still don't grasp, but I'm trying as hard as I can. I've scoured this forum and read posts from people with problems that are similar but not identical to mine, and I obviously haven't solved it or I wouldn't be posting this. The dish: I have a Brother MFC-8660DN four-in-one, and it was fully functional on my PC running Windows XP. When I got my iMac, I was thrilled to read that Apple lists my Brother as fully supported in Snow Leopard. This turns out to have been hyperbole. In Windows, I scanned using either Adobe (I have not so far bought the VERY expensive Mac version of Adobe) or a PaperPort program that was included on the Brother installation CD - which Apple says not to run. I accessed PaperPort through Brother Control Center. In the Snow Leopard environment, I have lost Control Center and the ability to scan directly from the printer (I feed in a document, hit the Scan option button, get a screen that says "Scan to FTP", hit the start button and get the three-beep signal that tells me it ain't going to do jack. And it doesn't.) According to its literature, my scanner is capable of resolution up to 19,200dpi. I routinely scanned at 1200 dpi and higher in Windows, but the scanning function I can now do on my iMac tops out at only 600 dpi - not good enough for the work I do. I have tried downloading the scanning driver directly from Brother's support page - several times, in fact. I have also tried deleting and reinstalling the printer several times - all to no avail. I have a gut feeling that the driver written by Brother/Apple for my unit to function in Snow Leopard may just be poorly done. I hope someone can tell me I'm wrong. Am I?

iMac 27", Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Feb 1, 2010 7:12 PM

23 replies

SBJR Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 8, 2010 6:05 PM in response to the deebs

Hello deebs,

I surely do not know whether Brother uses Vise X. For whatever it is worth, the download of the scanning driver directly from Brother was very straightforward and looked and acted like any other download I have ever done in my two whole months as a Mac owner. You might be interested to have a look at this article: http://www.bynkii.com/archives/2009/02/on_installers.html
Its author seems to have reserved a special place in **** for Epson and its use of Vice X installation software. So you are indeed not alone.

(Odd, as I Previewed this I note prior to posting I see that the morality filter on this board will allow me to write the word "hello", but not the word "****" (hello without the o). What puritanical nonsense. As the late great George Carlin observed in his monolog about the seven words you can never say on television, he could tell the whole world that he had pricked his finger, but not that he had fingered his *****.)

Steve

Mar 31, 2010 8:45 AM in response to SBJR

i thought i'd latch on instead of starting a new thread.

my brother machine works great.

the only problem is that if i want to scan, i have to access it from my computer. the button does not work- it prompts me about ftp access and a host address.

when i spoke to a brother rep, we went through a few tests and determined the problem was either with my router or computer access permissions. i've been through the preferences pane, and can't find anything i think would work.

any help? thanks much.

Dogcow-Moof

Level 8

36,839 points

Feb 1, 2010 7:32 PM in response to SBJR

Does the scanner appear in Mac OS X's built-in scanning applications, Image Capture or Preview, or from the browser of the Print & Fax System Preferences pane?

SBJR Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 2, 2010 12:18 PM in response to Dogcow-Moof

It appears in both, and it looks and works exactly the same in each.

SBJR Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 2, 2010 12:23 PM in response to Ernest Urquiza

Thanks, I will check this out.

Feb 2, 2010 1:25 PM in response to SBJR

The specifications for the scanner is 600 x 2400 optical scanning. Interpolated scanning is a function of the software. If you have issues with the software, you should contact Brother support.

SBJR Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 3, 2010 10:10 AM in response to Bruce De Benedictis

Thank you, sir. If anyone has any further suggestions for other 3rd party software that might be useful here, I'd be glad to get them.

Feb 3, 2010 10:12 PM in response to SBJR

Hey SBJR--any way you could give insight on the steps you took? I had similar issues but not had success yet. Thanks.

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Dumbed-down scanning: Brother, Where Art Thou? (Subtitle: Twain in Vain)