Ya cannon and Lexmark are two brands to be avoided when dealing with Linux. They just don't offer good supoprt at all.
(since printing is related), for recommendations on good printers check out
linuxprinting.org suggested printers for free software users.
Here is a listing of supported scanners by make and model. Looks like Epson is safest to buy from.
They have several "complete" supported scanners, and actually do actively maintain their part of the scanner system. Also keep in mind that this is for the latest and greatest version of SANE (linux's scanning system), if you have a older distro it will have a older version and slightly less support for many scanners. Check the versioning numbers to be sure.
they have a listing of supported scanners by version here.
Both Windows and OS X use something that is called TWAIN for their scanning needs. SANE, while it is not actively supported by many manufacturers, has several advantages. For example it is possible to use a
scanner over a network (even from a Windows/OS X machine with proper Twain translater) like you would with a printer.
Hope that helps.
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