Scan images without extra drivers
Windows Image Acquisition (WIA) is Microsoft’s built-in API for scanners, cameras, and video devices — no additional drivers required. GdPicture’s WIA SDK gives your .NET applications full access to WIA capabilities, and it works with devices that don’t support TWAIN.
What GdPicture’s WIA SDK provides
Control imaging devices through the WIA model in native 32-bit or 64-bit mode. The API is compact and stable — most integrations require just a few lines of code.
Device management
Enumerate and select available devices programmatically. Detect device type and control both automatic document feeders and flatbed scanners.
Acquisition modes
Memory and file transfer modes, duplex scanning, and single-page or multipage acquisition. Use the standard Windows acquisition wizard or build custom dialogs.
Scan settings
Configure color intent, resolution, brightness, contrast, and page dimensions for full control over image quality.
Output formats
Save scans to PDF/A, searchable PDF, encrypted PDF, multipage TIFF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, JBIG2, GIF, PNG, or EXR. Process images, run OCR, or upload directly from the same API.
Why GdPicture WIA SDK
Camera and video device support
Build applications that acquire images from digital cameras and video devices — not just scanners. Let us know if you need help with a specific device.
Actively maintained
Regular updates keep pace with new devices, OS changes, and feature requests. See the version history or subscribe to the developer newsletter for the latest improvements.
TWAIN + WIA in one SDK
Compatible with both major scanning protocols. Acquire images from scanners and digital cameras in 32-bit or 64-bit environments.
get started
How to use
Download and install the GdPicture.NET package to access compiled demo applications and multi-language sample projects with full source code.
Explore demo apps
Find compiled demo applications in
\Samples\Bin\.Explore multi-language source code
Find C# and VB.NET demo apps and source code in
\Samples\WinForm\ (see WIA Scanning app).Visit reference guide
Explore other code snippets within the online reference guide.
Trusted by 3,000+ customers and Fortune 500 companies
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More than 15 years of experience developing our SDK
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Trusted by more than 10,000 developers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the differences between TWAIN and WIA scanning?
Here are a few things to keep in mind when working with both protocols:
- WIA offers better support for digital cameras and video devices.
- The dialog interface is always the same for WIA, regardless of the device. This means that only basic features are available, without the ability to customize the dialog interface, contrary to TWAIN.
- Duplex scanning support is basic with WIA, which uses the same settings for both sides of a page.
- WIA has two transfer modes (Memory, File), while TWAIN has three (Native, Memory, File).
- Most of the time, acquisition via the automatic document feeder (ADF) of a scanner is better supported with TWAIN.
- WIA does not save the settings of the previous scan (TWAIN does).
What is WIA support with the TWAIN compatibility layer?
WIA provides a TWAIN compatibility layer that allows TWAIN-aware applications to communicate with WIA devices but doesn’t provide full access to WIA features — for instance, an application cannot suppress the user interface using the TWAIN compatibility layer.
If your device supports both TWAIN and WIA, we recommend using TWAIN.
Do you provide WIA support for web scanning?
We provide web scanning support via DocuVieware, our HTML5 viewer and document management kit.
DocuVieware can handle both protocols. It will offer WIA support through TWAIN 1.9 if no TWAIN driver is available.
You can learn more about web scanning and try our live demo on the DocuVieware website.
Is GdPicture’s WIA scanning part of the broader Nutrient product suite?
Yes. GdPicture.NET belongs to the Nutrient product family. The WIA scanning technology is built by the same team behind Nutrient’s web and mobile capture solutions, providing Windows-native scanner integration for desktop environments.
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