I also have an avision-based scanner (Xerox DocuMate 510), and encountered the reported issue with the version of sane-utils in wheezy.
I downloaded the later version of the package source from unstable, built the package, and verified it resolved the problem.
kbare@musicality:~$ scanimage -L
device `v4l:/dev/video0' is a Noname BT878 video (Hauppauge (bt878)) virtual device
device `avision:libusb:002:012' is a Xerox DocuMate510-G flatbed scanner
kbare@musicality:~$ scanimage -d avision --help
Usage: scanimage [OPTION]...
Start image acquisition on a scanner device and write image data to
standard output.
Parameters are separated by a blank from single-character options (e.g.
-d epson) and by a "=" from multi-character options (e.g. --device-name=epson).
-d, --device-name=DEVICE use a given scanner device (e.g. hp:/dev/scanner)
--format=pnm|tiff file format of output file
-i, --icc-profile="" include this ICC profile into TIFF file
-L, --list-devices show available scanner devices
-f, --formatted-device-list=FORMAT similar to -L, but the FORMAT of the output
can be specified: %d (device name), %v (vendor),
%m (model), %t (type), %i (index number), and
%n (newline)
-b, --batch[=FORMAT] working in batch mode, FORMAT is `out%d.pnm' or
`out%d.tif' by default depending on --format
--batch-start=# page number to start naming files with
--batch-count=# how many pages to scan in batch mode
--batch-increment=# increase page number in filename by #
--batch-double increment page number by two, same as
--batch-increment=2
--batch-prompt ask for pressing a key before scanning a page
--accept-md5-only only accept authorization requests using md5
-p, --progress print progress messages
-n, --dont-scan only set options, don't actually scan
-T, --test test backend thoroughly
-A, --all-options list all available backend options
-h, --help display this help message and exit
-v, --verbose give even more status messages
-B, --buffer-size=# change input buffer size (in kB, default 32)
-V, --version print version information
Options specific to device `avision':
Scan mode:
--mode Lineart|Dithered|Gray|Color [Color]
Selects the scan mode (e.g., lineart, monochrome, or color).
--resolution 75..600dpi (in steps of 1) [150]
Sets the resolution of the scanned image.
--speed 0..4 (in steps of 1) [0]
Determines the speed at which the scan proceeds.
--preview[=(yes|no)] [no]
Request a preview-quality scan.
--source Normal|ADF Front [Normal]
Selects the scan source (such as a document-feeder).
Geometry:
-l 0..216mm [0]
Top-left x position of scan area.
-t 0..297mm [0]
Top-left y position of scan area.
-x 0..216mm [216]
Width of scan-area.
-y 0..297mm [297]
Height of scan-area.
--overscan-top 0..4mm [inactive]
The top overscan controls the additional area to scan before the paper
is detected.
--overscan-bottom 0..4mm [inactive]
The bottom overscan controls the additional area to scan after the
paper end is detected.
--background-lines 0..50pel [inactive]
The background raster controls the additional background lines to scan
before the paper is feed through the scanner.
Enhancement:
--brightness -100..100% (in steps of 1) [0]
Controls the brightness of the acquired image.
--contrast -100..100% (in steps of 1) [0]
Controls the contrast of the acquired image.
--quality-scan[=(yes|no)] [yes]
Turn on quality scanning (slower but better).
--quality-cal[=(yes|no)] [yes]
Do a quality white-calibration
--gamma-table 0..255,... [inactive]
Gamma-correction table. In color mode this option equally affects the
red, green, and blue channels simultaneously (i.e., it is an intensity
gamma table).
--red-gamma-table 0..255,...
Gamma-correction table for the red band.
--green-gamma-table 0..255,...
Gamma-correction table for the green band.
--blue-gamma-table 0..255,...
Gamma-correction table for the blue band.
--exposure 0..1000% (in steps of 1) [inactive]
Manual exposure adjustment.
--infra-red[=(yes|no)] [inactive]
Enable infra-red scan mode.
--multi-sample[=(yes|no)] [inactive]
Enable multi-sample scan mode.
Scan mode:
--frame 0..0 [inactive]
Selects the number of the frame to scan
--power-save-time <int> [15]
Allows control of the scanner's power save timer, dimming or turning
off the light.
--paper-length[=(yes|no)] [inactive]
Newer scanners can utilize this paper length to detect double feeds.
However some others (DM152) can get confused during media flush if it
is set.
--flip-page[=(auto|yes|no)] [inactive]
Tells page-flipping document scanners to flip the paper back to its
original orientation before dropping it in the output tray. Turning
this off might make scanning a little faster if you don't care about
manually flipping the pages afterwards.
Type ``scanimage --help -d DEVICE'' to get list of all options for DEVICE.
List of available devices:
v4l:/dev/video0 avision:libusb:002:012
kbare@musicality:~$ dpkg -l sane-utils
Desired=Unknown/Install/Remove/Purge/Hold
| Status=Not/Inst/Conf-files/Unpacked/halF-conf/Half-inst/trig-aWait/Trig-pend
|/ Err?=(none)/Reinst-required (Status,Err: uppercase=bad)
||/ Name Version Architecture Description
+++-==============-============-============-=================================
ii sane-utils 1.0.23-3 amd64 API library for scanners -- utili