Case study

OpticFilm 135i: reconstructing native USB scanning on Linux

OpticFilm 135i reconstructs USB control of the Plustek OpticFilm 135i film scanner for Linux. Its Python driver handles calibration, film movement and 16-bit image capture at five resolutions, while a separate SANE backend exposes scanning to standard frontends; research notes record protocol and calibration findings.

Targets: Protocol
Category: Independent reconstruction cases
Relationship: Independent reconstruction project
Sources reviewed: 2026-11-06
Evidence class: C2 code & docs, no demo or download

Stars: 3
Last commit: 2026-11-09
Language: Python
License (GitHub): GPL-2.0

GitHub data as of 2026-11-10

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Evidence

Observed: Code and documentation observed; no download method or demo found.
Checked: 2026-11-08

How evidence classes are assigned

Requirements & limits

Prerequisites: Requires a Plustek OpticFilm 135i scanner and Linux; the Python CLI requires Python 3.10 or later, pyusb and numpy.
Testing evidence: The author reports CLI testing on one development unit and scans on two other units, with cross-unit compatibility still under study.
Scope: The SANE backend is installed from this repository's build while its upstream submission is under review.
License: Driver code is licensed GPL-2.0-or-later or MIT; documentation is CC BY 4.0.

Cite

BibTeX

@misc{opticfilm-135i-linux-case,
  title = {{OpticFilm 135i: reconstructing native USB scanning on Linux}},
  howpublished = {\url{https://github.com/cgillinger/opticfilm135i-linux}},
  url = {https://github.com/cgillinger/opticfilm135i-linux},
  urldate = {2026-11-06},
  note = {Awesome REA entry: \url{https://awesomerea.org/resources/opticfilm-135i-linux-case/}}
}

Plain text

OpticFilm 135i: reconstructing native USB scanning on Linux. https://github.com/cgillinger/opticfilm135i-linux (accessed 2026-11-06). Awesome REA entry: https://awesomerea.org/resources/opticfilm-135i-linux-case/

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About this entry

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Primary sources

README.md GitHub · cgillinger/opticfilm135i-linux · Revision b345152
docs/cal-analysis.md GitHub · cgillinger/opticfilm135i-linux · Revision b345152