Epson WF-4740 AIO scanner device not found (SOLVED)

[Geo]

Hi all,

I have installed MX Linux 18.3 Continuum on my home built computer. It has an I7-860 Intel processor, 8GB ram, Nividia GTX 660 ti GPU, and Epson WF-4740 AIO printer, scanner, fax.

The printer is wireless network printer and was discovered and is working out of the box but not the scanner. "Device not found" when I start gscan2pdf or Image Scan. With other distos, namely Mint, I have been able to download and install Epson's Linux scanner bundle to get the scanner recognized.

So far I have downloaded the scanner bundle from Epson (Debian 9.0 ver) unpacked and Installed, but that doesn't seem to work for me with MX Linux.

I am liking MX Linux, but this scanner issue has proven to be difficult for me to solve. Any insight or suggestions would be appreciated. My Linux experience level is low to moderate, In other words, just enough to be dangerous. :)

I checked the Wiki but it only addresses Canon and Brother, and my other searches on the forum seem inappropriate.

Thanks
Geo


PS: It occurred to me that once when testing other distros I had to insert the Epson model in a networking file somewhere in order to make it discoverable but I don't remember the exact details, and since MX automatically found the printer, that shouldn't be the issue should it??

[Jerry3904]

In a web search on "linux Epson WF-4740 scanner" I see some interesting items--and everybody says that it is not easy:

https://forums.linuxmint.com/viewtopic.php?t=285954

https://www.epson.ie/viewcon/corporates ... 3458/21039

As always recommended, first get the scanner working via USB, then try wireless.

[Geo]

Thanks for the reply.

But as I said in my OP I have already done that. The Epson scanner bundle works for Mint (and other Linux distros) but not for MX. I was hoping for some insight as to why.

They are both Debian based, so the drivers should all get installed in the same folders, wouldn't they?

Again, thanks.

[Jerry3904]

They are not "both Debian-based." Mint is Ubuntu-based, while MX follows Debian directly. Did you look at that Mint thread to which I linked?

I assume that Ubuntu has added wireless scanner support somehow that Debian and we have not. If you have a Mint installation or live media, perhaps you could search it to see what shows up for "Epson," say, or "Epson WF" or "scanner" perhaps?

[Geo]

I did look at the Mint thread.
I'm dual booting MX and Mint so I will look at Mint and see what I can find.
It might be a while before I can do it, but I will get back with what I find.

[Geo]

I found the solution for my particular problem. The same solution works for Mint and MX. The main difference I see is downloading the specific scanner bundle for Mint or the "Deb" bundle for MX.
(These instructions are out there if you look for them.)

I used root Thunar to edit these two files rather than terminal. (text editor is just easier for me to use)

first I edited the following: etc/imagescan/imagescan.conf to match my scanner.

uncomment the last three lines
change IP address to match your scanner, but keep port number.
edit vendor and model to match scanner
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# /etc/imagescan/imagescan.conf -- Image Scan configuration
# Refer to the documentation for details on the configuration options
# for the software. Plugins should come with their own documentation
# if they have configuration options.
#
# Lines starting with a # or a ; are comments. Comments must be on a
# line of their own. End-of-line comments are not supported.

[devices]

myscanner.udi = esci:networkscan://192.168.1.7:1865
myscanner.vendor = Epson
myscanner.model = WF-4740
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Next look at the etc/sane.d/epson2.conf (in my case)

verify that scsi EPSON is uncommented
ditto net autodiscovery

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
# epson2.conf
#
# here are some examples for how to configure the EPSON2 backend

# SCSI
scsi EPSON
# for the GT-6500:
#scsi "EPSON SC"

# Parallel port
#pio 0x278
#pio 0x378
#pio 0x3BC

# USB
#usb

# For libusb support for unknown scanners use the following command
# usb <vendor ID> <product ID>
# e.g.:
# usb 0x4b8 0x110

# Network
#
# net 192.168.1.123
net autodiscovery
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So this worked for me. Hope it is helpful to someone else.

[Jerry3904]

Thanks for posting back. I remember seeing those in the Mint thread I linked, I think, but couldn't test.

[m_pav]

Hmm, my WF-7610 wireless scanner is picked up with no fuss whatsoever, however, I always configure my Router to provide a fixed IP address to devices and peripherals that are not by default computers by virtue of their intended purpose and this pays dividends when it comes to network reliability.

Example, my WF-7610 is set to use DHCP to obtain its IP address, but my Router has the printers MAC address pinned to IPv4 address 192.168.1.4. When I restart the router, the address tables are immediately populated with the pinned mac addresses and because they never change, my network peripheral devices are always available. This is vitally important in networks where multiple devices come and go and IP addresses can be changed in an instant making last known locations obsolete, slowing the discovery process and potentially causing time-outs.

Having run an IT shop some years back, I found the newer networking protocols typically used by devices such as printers and multifunction devices were the most prevalent culprit of failures on networked devices and caused no end of despair for my customers. Services like Bonjour and the like are no longer needed when you have MAC addresses pinned to a specific IP address within the Router and the devices work like clockwork, no unwelcome surprises.

I just retested this by booting up the MX18.3 ISO in a VM, opening simple scan and it found the scanner within a second.