In the past, I’ve used the Canon LiDE series of scanners with Windows. They’re lightweight and best of all, take their power from the USB cable so they’re very simple to set up in a temporary scanning station.
Sadly, they don’t seem to work with newer versions of macOS. Are there any USB-powered scanners that work with the latest macOS?
For this particular instance, I would prefer a flatbed scanner to give me flexibility for scanning photos, small items, books, etc.
Thanks in advance,
Kirk
Thanks. I’ll investigate.
Don’t count on Canon’s support page, which indeed indicates that most LiDE scanners work with 10.12.x, says nothing about OS versions after that. They do the same thing for their list of ‘Professional Photo Inkjet Printer Series’ printers but I can definitively say that those printer do work with the current macOS.
And Apple’s own 3rd-party support page listing indicates that the LiDE printers got “recent” updates.
Is there anything specific you are referring to that says they don’t work with macOS?
The ones I tried are not recognized by macOS – as if they aren’t receiving power via USB.
I have found an inexpensive Epson Scanner that works with High Sierra, so I think I’ll try it.
Which model did you try? I know someone who uses the CanoScan N650U and it works fine.
Mine was an older 200-series.
Ah. The 200/210 first came out in 2011 or 2012 so I could see Canon not supporting some devices that old with updated drivers. Still, that’s different from thinking that current 1-cable scanners don’t work with macOS. Because they do!
Right now Epson and Canon are the main games in town for flatbed scanners. If you want high quality scans of negatives, transparencies and photos you’re probably looking at the very minimum at a $160 scanner like the Epson Perfection V550 (with prices for the best photo consumer photo scanners going up to $900) - but the best photo scanners aren’t the type of one-cable units you’re looking for.
I think you might get along with Canon’s $57 LiDE120 scanner or the $75 Epson Perfection V39. If you buy from Amazon or B&H the worst-case is that you return the unit for a full refund.
Good info; thanks for responding. I’m going to try the Epson.
Best of luck!
I don’t personally have much use for a scanner these days, but a decade ago I tried my hand at scannography.
I recently learned that my mother got herself a Brother fax/scanner/printer to connect to her iMac, and she likes it a lot. It’s a beast of a unit - and who faxes anymore? - but it works for her, and I believe she’s got it set up with built-in WiFi, so she doesn’t have any cables connected to it (besides AC power).