9 Rules for Evaluating Web TWAIN Components

TWAIN is a standardized software protocol that provides a universal
standard that communicates between applications and image acquisition
devices, like scanners and digital cameras. As web applications become
increasingly popular, many TWAIN applications also need to work with
web applications. Currently, only ActiveX and Plug-in can communicate
with TWAIN-compatible devices from browsers.

This white paper is for software developers building web applications
that acquire images from TWAIN-compatible devices through web
browsers. The paper offers some rules to live by when evaluating a
TWAIN component. By following these rules you'll find a solution that
will save you time and improve your productivity.

What to Look for when Evaluating Web Scanning Components

Easy to Develop
Rule #1: A web scanning component should make web development easier.

The TWAIN 1.9 specification is a pain-staking 556 pages long. It can
take weeks just to read through the document let alone get a full
understanding of the specification. Additionally, once you've grasped
TWAIN, the amount of work to enable image compression codec, like
TIFF, JPEG or PNG, and image upload/download features can be
overwhelming. As such, developing a web scanning solution from the
scratch is almost impossible.

Web Page Load Time
Rule #2: A web scanning component must be small for lightning-fast
rendering.

When a user visits a web page with an ActiveX/Plug-in component for
the first time, the control must be downloaded from the web server to
the user's browser and then installed. The larger the control size,
the longer it takes to download. Users' patience for slow downloads is
thin, so every second counts.

Image Upload Time
Rule #3: A web scanning component must support multiple compression
formats.

When a scanned image is large the upload time increases and the chance
of upload failure is higher. Here's an example: the image size of a
color A4 document scanned in 200DPI is 10.41 megabytes. For an ADSL
connection, this can take more than 10 minutes to upload. A three-page
document will take three times the time to load.

You can counter this problem by using image compression technologies,
like JPEG and PNG. They significantly reduce the size of the image
and, in turn, the time for uploading. They also reduce the risk of
upload failure.
Different compression methods have distinct features. For example,
JPEG has a high compression rate but is lossy, which makes JPEG format
unsuitable for document images that require high precision. On the
other hand, PNG format is lossless, which means it retains all the
information during the compression process.

User Interaction
Rule #4: A web scanning component must allow you to build rich user
interface applications.

User interaction--or user interface (UI)--is an important part of
every application. In many cases, good UI is the key to a web
application's success. Your web scanning application might use the
scanner's built-in UI or your own custom-developed interface to
control the scanner, depending on the scenario. Additionally, users
may need to preview scanned images or edit them before uploading them
to a web server. A scanning control that allows a rich user experience
can differentiate your applications from competitors' products.

Multi-Page Document Support
Rule #5: A TWAIN component must support multi-page format, such as
TIFF and PDF.

Many documents have multiple pages. If each page is stored as a
separate scanned image, retrieving and viewing the document involves
handling multiple images. Being able to store all pages of a document
in a single file makes it much easier to manage multiple-page
documents.

Security
Rule #6: The TWAIN component must be marked as "safe for scripting"
and should be digitally signed.

Security is an ever-growing concern for end users. If a user downloads
and installs a control on their computer, it's possible that the
control can do anything to the computer. As a result, you must be able
to build end users' confidence about security issues.

When a publisher marks a control as 'safe for scripting', the
publisher promises that the control will not intentionally harm the
end users' computer system. If the control intentionally damages the
system, the publisher assumes legal responsibility.

If the component is digitally signed, a dialog box with the
publisher's legal name will appear when a customer uses the scanning
component for the first time. The user can choose whether they want to
install the component during the download and install process. If the
control is altered after the publisher has signed it, the digital
signature will be broken and the user will be informed. This makes it
impossible for the signed control to be infected by a virus or
maliciously changed by hackers.

At the same time, if a control is not marked as safe for scripting or
is not digitally signed, the default setting of popular browsers--like
Internet Explorer and FireFox--will simply prevent the control from
downloading or initializing.

Web Browser Compatibility
Rule #7: The scanning control must support all major web browsers.

In many cases, you won't know which browser your end users will use--
Microsoft Internet Explorer, FireFox, or others. If you only support
one or two browsers, you significantly limit your ability to reach a
broad range of customers. Even if you know which web browser your
customers are using now, it's highly likely you will need to expand
your web scanning application to other browsers in the future.

Web Server and Industry Standard Support
Rule #8: The scanning control must use standard technology protocols
and support all major web servers.

HTTP and FTP are standard Internet protocols. A component that uses
any non-standard protocol seriously increases deployment costs for
your web application. It's possible your existing infrastructure or
team expertise may require you to use a specific web server. A
component that uses an upload and download protocol that's not
compatible with your chosen web server can cause serious headaches for
your team.

Technical Support
Rule #9: The web scanning component vendor must provide great
technical support.

TWAIN can require special expertise and experience. Without prompt and
accurate support from your vendor, you won't be able to get the most
out of your TWAIN component. Poor technical support can result in
hours spent struggling with technical issues, or even unsatisfied
customers.

Our Solution - Dynamic Web TWAIN

Dynamic Web TWAIN enables you to acquire images from any TWAIN-
compatible device. It includes a variety of features specifically
designed for the web environment. It's been developed with four core
objectives in mind:
1. User Experience - To provide applied function and powerful
interaction for users
2. Security - To offer a safe component over the web
3. Compatibility - To support different browsers, web servers and
protocols
4. Development - To save the time and energy for developers

Dynamic Web TWAIN is also backed by unrivalled industry technical
support.

User Experience - Powerful Interaction for Users
* Reduced web page load time
The Dynamic Web TWAIN distribution file is only 161k. It takes seconds
to download and install to the users' web browser.
* Reduced image upload time
Dynamic Web TWAIN supports major compression methods, including JPEG,
TIFF and PNG. It also supports multi-page TIFF and PDF formats.
* User interaction
Dynamic Web TWAIN lets you use a scanner's built-in user interface or
build your own UI to control the scanner. Additionally, Dynamic Web
TWAIN includes a built-in image editor to enable your end users to
edit the image in their browser.

Security - Safe Component over the Web
* Marked as safe for scripting
Dynamic Web TWAIN is marked as 'safe for scripting'. Dynamsoft assumes
the legal responsibilities if Dynamic Web TWAIN does any intentional
damage to your users' computer.
* Digitally Signed
Dynamic Web TWAIN is signed by VeriSign.

Compatibility - Supports Different Browsers, Servers and Protocols
* Browsers
Dynamic Web TWAIN has ActiveX and Plug-In editions. It supports
Microsoft Internet Explorer, Mozilla, NetScape, FireFox and other
browsers on Windows platform.
* Servers
Dynamic Web TWAIN is compatible with all major web servers, including
Microsoft IIS (Internet information server), IBM Notes, Websphere,
Apache, Tomcat on Windows, Linux and other platforms.
* Protocols
Dynamic Web TWAIN is compatible with File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and
Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It also supports Secure Sockets
Layer (SSL) encryption.

Development - Give Your Team a Competitive Advantage
* Reduced development time
Dynamic Web TWAIN is compatible with TWAIN specification V1.9 and with
built-in TIFF, JPEG and PNG encoder and decoder, Upload/download and
ActiveX/Plug-in technology. Your team can forget about the scanning
component and only needs to focus on business requirement.

Technical support
* Unrivalled support
Dynamsoft provides unrivalled technical support in the TWAIN component
industry. The technical support options include: email support; phone
support; LiveHelp support, which is available 16 hours per day Monday
to Friday; and scheduled desktop sharing support for complex issues.
* Virtual Developer Service
Dynamsoft offers a Virtual Developer Service. With this service, our
developers participate in the implementation of your web scanning
module as an active team member from requirements analysis, design,
coding, testing and deployment to maintenance.

About Dynamsoft Corporation

Dynamsoft is a software publisher developing SDKs, version control and
issue tracking tools for professional development teams. Our products
are well thought-out, carefully implemented, heavily tested and well
documented. Dynamsoft is striving to make the life of software
developers more enjoyable. We pay special attention to details to
ensure that you can focus on what's important - your business.

For more information about Dynamsoft Corporation, please visit:
http://www.dynamsoft.com

For more information about Dynamic Web TWAIN, please visit:
http://www.dynamsoft.com/Products/We..._Overview.aspx

To see a demo of how Dynamic Web TWAIN can help you build a rich
interactive application, please visit:
http://www.dynamsoft.com/Demo/DWT5/O...Demo_Scan.aspx

All Dynamsoft brand, Dynamic Web TWAIN and product names are
trademarks or registered trademarks of Dynamsoft Corporation in the
United States and other countries. All other trademarks or registered
trademarks including Microsoft, Internet Explorer, FireFox, VeriSign,
Webphere, IBM, Apache, Tomcat and others are property of their
respective owners.