Can I use a scanner connected to another computer on my computer?

windows-7 networking scanner

71,565

Solution 1

Share a scanner / Twain device via TCP/IP in Win32 with the Network Twain Engine

Network Twain Engine is free open source software.

Solution 2

You can always use remote desktop connection to remotely log in to the Windows Server 2008 R2 machine. Although that doesn't mean you get the images scanned directly to your own computer, you can transfer using shared folders on top of it.

Solution 3

There are at least several solutions:

1) USB over Network - Allows to share any USB device on remote computer and connect it to your computer over network. Virtual USB device is created on your PC. And it appears like if the remote USB device was unplugged from the remote computer and plugged to your one.

2) Scanner for Remote Desktop - It allows to redirect your locally plugged scanner to your remote Windows session. In other words, you can logon to RDP or Citrix session from your local PC and scan within the session.

I hope it will help!

71,565

josecortesp

Estudiante de informática de la Universidad de Costa Rica. Junior Web Developer, Junior Windows Developer

Updated on October 09, 2020

Comments

josecortesp over 1 year

I have a home server running Windows Server 2008 R2, wich has one multi-functional printer.

I can already use the printer from my laptop (Windows 7 Professional RTM), but can I use the scanner tool from my laptop? If so, how?
- Mark over 12 years
  
  What is the make/model of printer/scanner?
- josecortesp over 12 years
  
  It's a Cannon MP210...
quack quixote over 12 years

printer/scanner's plugged into the server. user's at the laptop. doesn't mean the user's not physically at the scanner; just means the user doesn't want to monkey with unplugging the device. it makes perfect sense.
Martha over 12 years

My wireless-enabled Brother MFC can send scans to any of the computers it has been told about - you hit the scan button, select the option to send to a computer (forget what it's called exactly), and then select the specific computer. After scanning, the image is sent to the computer, which simply waits for user input about what to do with it. This functionality obviously needs to be built into the printer itself, so this is probably not terribly useful for the OP, but just saying - from a certain point of view, a scanner can be an output device, too.
josecortesp over 12 years

I know that... and that's what I use know, but this is to me like to non best option, i think...
josecortesp over 12 years

Well that's a nice MFC, but i don't have one of those... I just want to avoid the pluggin-unpluggin or worst, the transfering sometimes large photo-scaned images over my Wireless G connection...
mahdi over 12 years

you're more than welcome :)
josecortesp over 12 years

That's maybe a stupid question, but since in the page you're pointing me to, it says "Share a scanner(..) in win32", and both my Server and laptop OS are 64 bits, it will work?
josecortesp over 12 years

I wish it was that easy... Printer sharing is like the most easy thing you can do in windows, but Scanner Sharing... That's complete another thing
mahdi over 12 years

you might have a problem there :( maybe the developer will reply to a question if you leave a note on his blog: sourceforge.net/blog
menns over 12 years

Yeah I guess you're right. Reading back over my answer, I see the dreaded word "should". Meaning on a Mac it works but on a PC, probably not so much. :) - Sorry.
Zian Choy almost 12 years

There are no instructions for how to connect to the server once it is up and running.
Michael Freidgeim over 6 years

What to do after installing the service on machine with scanner. Nothing in readme file.
Aaron about 4 years

There is a separate "Twain Client" download, I found it in the files section on the site. Couldn't get it to work, but it looks like it is intended that you scan with the "Twain Client" provided. You can't use any old TWAIN-capable piece of software that you have.