We present in this article the different problems we have been facing with the design of an artificial vision inspection system for metallic tubes. We focus on the adopted solutions, the implementation of these solutions, and an estimation of the system performance in an industrial environment. Our solution is based on the use of a set of linear CCD cameras. The displacement of the object under inspection ensures rite achievement of a two dimensional image. The choice of two different points of view enables tis to consider tint and embossing variations. The introduction of an angular correction reduces the scattering of the response due to the nonplanarity of the surface under control. The calculation of the parameters in a low level language enables us to perform a real time inspection (running speed: 1 m/s [3.3 ft/s]).