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Scanning with Preview using a new Brother MFC-J6995DW results in low quality scan results

I have an issue with Preview when scanning. Image Capture isn't much better. Preview is my goto scanning software.


The quality of scans was fine when using my old MFC6490CW A3 scanner/printer.


When the printer finally ceased to work last week, I replaced it yesterday with a Brother MFC-J6955DW A3 scanner/printer.


The problem now is that when scanning at any resolution on the new printer/scanner, all the scans are very low quality. It's like every image is converted to very low quality jpg before being displayed as a png, tiff or PDF.


I'm using an M2 Max Mac Studio. Whatever resolution is selected, the images are highly compressed. There should be no compression at all.


Preview also crashes on selecting Image Correction > Manual, so there are no manual image correction tools available in Preview anymore. This was the case with the old printer/scanner, but was never a problem with my old 2012 iMac. It's only a problem with the M2 Max Mac Studio.


Fixing the quality of the scans is the priority for me. I don't want to have to return the new printer scanner and I have disposed of the old printer/scanner. If anyone knows how to get Preview working properly with the scanner, I'll be very grateful.


Many Thanks

Chris


Mac Studio

Posted on Apr 21, 2024 12:45 AM

Reply
14 replies

Apr 21, 2024 6:54 AM in response to chrisheath

Adjust the Resolution: to a higher dpi on the Scan panel.


If that doesn't help, try using Print/Scan software or Image Capture in your Applications > Utility folder.

see > Scan images or documents using a scanner and your Mac - Apple Support

and/or > Scan images in Image Capture on Mac - Apple Support


I personally prefer using Image Capture and keep an Image Capture icon on my Dock for quick access.

Apr 22, 2024 3:18 AM in response to chrisheath

Here is the difference in 300DPI scans to PDF using Preview using the old MFC-6490CW on the left, and the new MFC-J6955DW on the right. The difference is huge!


The images on the left are crisper and cleaner than the images on the right. It's really obvious when the wall tiles are compared in the second set of images.


Given the difference in age (approximately 12 to 14 years) between these two machines, I was expecting an improvement with the new machine, or for the quality to at least be the same. I wasn't expecting it to be worse.


I'll be emailing these along with some other images to Brother.


Apr 21, 2024 1:03 PM in response to den.thed

Thanks @den.thed


The problem isn't related to the resolution.


It looks more like a compression problem that is applied at all resolutions. That is, Preview and Image Capture convert the scan as it arrives into a heavily compressed jpg by default. This affects both the overview scan and the final scan. I have tried Brother's clunky software, and it's a bit better, but no matter what I use on the Mac, I can't get a crisp clean scan. I'll attach some examples later on.


I also tried scanning directly into Affinity Photo. One of the settings (I can't recall whether it was the B&W or the Colour setting), resulted in an absolute indecipherable mess and looked nothing like what was scanned.


Scanning to file directly from the scanner and bypassing the Mac results in a better scan, but it's still not great, and there is no control over the scanner's default resolution as far as I can see.


By the way, this is a 1200 dpi scanner, but I'm only seeing 600 dpi as the highest setting in Preview and Image Capture.


I was thinking of buying VueScan, however, it doesn't seem right to by a third party product to fix the new Mac and the new Brother printer/scanner.


I am wondering if CUPS is faulty.

Apr 21, 2024 3:29 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder

Thanks Grant. The problem is with the scanned image; not the export formats.


It doesn't matter what the export format is if the image from the scanner is low quality, even when scanned at high resolution.


Either the scanner is sending a heavily compressed image to the computer that cannot be upscaled to look clean, or the Mac is compressing it as it arrives. I did not have this problem with the old printer/scanner.

Apr 21, 2024 5:23 PM in response to den.thed

Thanks. I've done all of that too. : )


I just got off the phone with a Brother technical specialist. The upshot is that Apple is not keeping its software/drivers up to date, and that Brother recommends using their iPrint&Scan app which is extremely clunky from a workflow point of view. It does a better job, but it's still artifacted.


He remoted into my Mac so he could see what I see and he seemed to think all the smudgy artifacts were fine! even at 600 DPI.


So I am going to retrieve my old scanner from the store and run some side by side tests.


I want to keep the machine, so I may have to test Vuescan as a long-term option. It's a shame that I can no longer use Preview or Image Capture.

May 10, 2024 10:23 PM in response to chrisheath

Update 11 May 2024


Brother asked me to perform a few tests and concluded that the printer was faulty. They have replaced the printer/scanner. However, the replacement has the same scanning fault.


It turns out that Brother does not create drivers anymore and instead relies on AirPrint. It is not fully compatible with AirPrint.


I have tested the new scanner out using the following Macs:

2012 iMac

2023 Mac Studio with M2 Max

2023 Mac mini with M2


I have performed scans with Image Capture, Preview, Affinity Photo and Pixelmator Pro. In all cases the scans are heavily artifacted and pretty much unusable.


The Brother iPrint and Scan app does work, but this app is incredibly cumbersome to use and it can't be integrated into any useful workflow.


I just downloaded and tested Vuescan and that works fine, but it costs an additional $200.00 NZD


So the upshot is, this Brother multifunction's scanner does not work to an acceptable standard out of the box. I am considering returning it and looking around for something else.


I am also considering buying Vuescan and keeping the MFC-J6955DW because the printer functionality is great.


The other option is to keep the old MFC-6490CW as a scanner and only use the new MFC-J6955DW for printing. This means having an old multifunction printer for scanning, and a new multifunction printer for printing. This is nuts!


Brother needs to do better. This is their top-of-the range A3 multifunction inkjet printer/scanner, and its scanner is not fit for purpose when hooked up to a Mac.



Scanning with Preview using a new Brother MFC-J6995DW results in low quality scan results

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