# Install drivers for Epson scanners

'define expected-reading 3 min
'define created 26 April 2023
'define edited 26 April 2023
[$pagenav]

'footnote gentoo-sane On Gentoo the package is `[sane-backends]`, as per the [url https://wiki.gentoo.org/wiki/SANE wiki].

Sometimes your Epson scanner might work out of the box, and sometimes it might not.
First, make sure you have [url http://sane-project.org/ SANE] installed on your machine[$gentoo-sane].
Second look through [url http://www.sane-project.org/sane-mfgs.html#Z-EPSON the website], most scanners are supported out of the box, but about 15% of them either aren't supported or are untested.

## Complete or Good

'footnote openrc-sane For OpenRC: `[rc-service saned status]`

If your scanner falls into the first category, labeled "Complete" or "Good", you probably have an issue with SANE.
Make sure the `[saned]` service is running without errors[$openrc-sane]:

```bash
systemctl status saned.service

and make sure the [url http://www.sane-project.org/man/sane-epson2.5.html sane-epson2] (or [url http://www.sane-project.org/man/sane-epson.5.html sane-epson]) back-end is enabled, you should have `[epson2]` (or `[epson]`) without a leading `[#]` inside `[/etc/sane.d/dll.conf]`.

## epkowa plus non-free interpreter

If it's unsupported and there is a note

.quote supported by the epkowa backend plus non-free interpreter

you can still make it work.
You'll have to get the =[non-free]= (free as in [url https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_software_movement publicly available source code], you don't have to pay for anything) Epson Scan 2 software.

It can be downloaded from [url https://support.epson.net/linux/en/epsonscan2.php the support site] as a `[deb]` or `[rpm]` package.
If your system doesn't natively work with any of those (i.e. it isn't listed under "Distribution" and isn't some sort of derivative of those), you can still try the `[rpm]` package.

:ordered
1. Install `[rpm]` with your package manager

2. Download the 32 or 64 bit =[[ rpm ]]= package

3. Extract it

   ```bash
tar -xf epsonscan2-bundle-SOMETHING.rpm.tar.gz

4. Install the core application and non-free plugins with rpm

   ```bash
sudo rpm -Uvh --nodeps ./epsonscan2-bundle-SOMETHING.rpm/core/epsonscan2-SOMETHING.rpm ./epsonscan2-bundle-SOMETHING.rpm/plugins/epsonscan2-non-free-plugin-SOMETHING.rpm


Alternatively, you can install the `[deb]` package with `[dpkg]` or build and install it from [url https://download.ebz.epson.net/man/linux/epsonscan2_e.html#sec5-1-4 source] (source file is available at the bottom of the [url https://support.epson.net/linux/en/epsonscan2.php support site]).

'footnote gentoo-epkowa Surprisingly enough, on my Gentoo installation everything works fine without the package. Either something else is helping me or [url http://www.catb.org/jargon/html/magic-story.html something is in the "more magic" position]...

You will need[$gentoo-epkowa] to install `[iscan]`, which usually provides the aforementioned `[epkowa]` backend.
Also make sure you have `[epkowa]` inside `[/etc/sane.d/dll.conf]` without a leading `[#]`.

Finally, only for the very first time after connecting your powered-on scanner, start "Epson Scan 2", select it and press "Next".
The drivers should automatically be installed and you can close the window and use your own scanning software of choice afterwards.