You can connect  and acquire images from the most available scanners  using the JTwain (http://asprise.com/product/jtwain/) library. it supports all scanners and digital cameras which support the TWAIN standard. But it is a commercial software(u can download a trial version from the site and use it in your projects, but it prompts for the license from time to time). the usage is simple , follow the manuals and user guides available on the product site.