TWAIN
Top  Previous  Next


TWAIN is a standard for getting input from scanners through an API for Microsoft Windows and Apple Macintosh operating systems. The standard was first released in 1992, and is currently ratified at version 1.9 as of January 2000. TWAIN is typically used as an interface between image processing software and a scanner or digital camera.

The word TWAIN is from Rudyard Kipling's "The Ballad of East and West" - "...and never the twain shall meet...", reflecting the difficulty at the time, of connecting scanners and personal computers. It was up-cased to TWAIN to make it more distinctive. This led people to believe it was an acronym, and then to a contest to come up with an expansion. None were selected, but the entry Technology Without An Interesting Name continues to haunt the standard.


2004 © 1STEIN GmbH - CodedColor

CodedColor PhotoStudio by 1STEIN is a powerful and versatile photo organizer and image editing software for digital camera users. Features include photo editing & printing, web album galleries, slide shows, photo management & cataloging, custom sorting, IPTC & EXIF display, thumbnail generation, resize & resample images, jp2000, batch conversion, database keyword searching, red eye removal, color / sharpness / brightness & contrast correction, artefacts removal, clone brush, scanner & TWAIN import, screen capture, lossless JPEG rotation, gamma correction and screenshows with transition effects, panorama stitch, RAW, photo books and layouts, collages, histograms, white balance, PDF export, watermarks, etc. Please visit the CodedColor FotoStudio homepage to learn more or download a free copy!