The TWAIN Working Group is a not-for-profit organization which represents the imaging industry. TWAIN’s purpose is to provide and foster a universal public standard which links applications and image acquisition devices. The ongoing mission of this organization is to continue to enhance the standard to accommodate future technologies.
TWAIN Initiative
The TWAIN initiative was originally launched in 1992 by leading industry vendors who recognized a need for a standard software protocol and applications programming interface (API) that regulates communication between software applications and imaging devices (the source of the data). TWAIN defines that standard. The three key elements in TWAIN are the application software, the Source Manager software and the Data Source software. The application uses the TWAIN toolkit which is shipped for free.
NEW!! TWAIN Direct
TWAIN Direct addresses the need for something simple and direct that expedites application development and results in a feature-rich end user experience. TWAIN Direct eliminates the need for users to install vendor specific drivers as communication between scanning devices and image capture software applications. It supports direct network communication between mobile and desktop applications and scanning devices, including cloud platforms.
About the TWAIN Organization
TWAIN is a not-for-profit association of industry leaders who have gathered to create a standard that benefits the industry as a whole. If you would like information on joining the TWAIN Working Group, please contact us. If you are interested in becoming a member, please see our Membership page.
The Objectives of the TWAIN Working Group:
- Ensure users of image acquisition software and devices experience success each and every time.
- Ensure image-handling software and hardware compatibility.
- Define and distribute the TWAIN specification.
- Keep the specification current with state of practice software and hardware.
- Promote the adoption of the specification.
- Maintain and distribute a developer’s toolkit.
- Define TWAIN Test Guidelines.