Abstract: An imaging apparatus for fully automatic screen printer including two stacked light sources, two stacked beamsplitters, two stacked optical reflectors, two stacked imaging lens and two stacked image sensors, wherein the two stacked optical reflectors and the two stacked light sources are correspondingly disposed on two different sides of the two beamsplitters, the two stacked imaging lens are disposed on another side of the beamsplitters different from that of the optical reflectors and the light sources, the two stacked image sensors are disposed behind the imaging lens; the optical reflectors are provided with an upward reflection plane and a downward reflection plane, the optical axes of the imaging lenses are orthogonal to that of the light sources. The imaging apparatus is of two independent optical paths which capture the image of the printed circuit board and that of the screen respectively.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for submitting an electronic document to a printing system that includes a print controller having an input port and a print queue. Methods in accordance with this invention include coupling a portable media device to the input port, the portable media device including an electronic document and automatically copying the electronic document to the print queue. Apparatus in accordance with this invention include a portable media device that includes an electronic document. The portable media device is adapted to be coupled to the input port of the print controller, and the print controller is adapted to automatically copy the electronic document to the print queue.

Abstract: Outline font data showing the original outside shape having a single closed curve made up of a parenthesized outside shape portion of the parenthesized image and a connecting line portion to connect both open ends is stored. The height and line width are determined. Based on the above data, a first-size solidly shaded image is formed having the determined height and is entirely filled inside the original outside shape thereof with effective pixels of logic “1.” A second-size solidly shaded image is formed of a second size which is smaller by the line width than the first-size solidly shaded image, along the parenthesized outside shape portion. Non-equivalence operation is performed with corresponding pixels by displacing the first-size solidly shaded image and the second-size solidly shaded image by the line width along the parenthesized outside shape portion.

Abstract: An information managing apparatus which is connected to an information processing apparatus and image processing apparatuses has: receiving means for receiving a print document and an instruction manual from the information processing apparatus, in which layout information of the print document and attribute information of each of the layout information are included in the instruction manual; and selecting means for selecting the image processing apparatuses to which the arranged print document should be outputted on the basis of the instruction manual.

Abstract: System and methods for printing are provided. One such method includes determining a storage capacity available for use as a rasterizer buffer, and implementing a rasterizer buffer having a storage capacity that is responsive to the storage capacity determined to be available for use as a rasterizer buffer.

Abstract: A method in a data processing system for managing jobs. A change to a job receiving that is un-instantiated. A reservation for the job is created. Instantiated jobs for an instance of the job are monitored corresponding to the reservation, and applying the change to the instance of the job responsive to identifying the instantiated job.

Abstract: A printed media product, such as a trading card, that has a substrate and an encoded data element applied to a surface of the substrate containing information. The encoded data element includes first, second, and third data layers with first, second, and third patterns of encoded, colored dots defined by a binary encoding scheme. The dots of the first, second, and third layers are different colors separately resolvable by a scanner with decoding software. The colors of the dots are cyan, yellow, and magenta, and the layers are printed so that the dots overlap. The binary encoding scheme includes a two dimensional run length limited code. The printed media product includes a graphics element that can be interpreted by a human user, and typically, the information encoded in the encoded data element layers is related to the information in the graphics element.

Abstract: A print data generating apparatus to generate print data which is used for printing in a printing apparatus based on image data by using a white colorant and at least one non-white colorant is provided. The print data generating apparatus comprises an image data inputting system, whereby white image data indicating white density levels of an image to be printed is inputted, a colorant data generating system, which generates white colorant data wherein color information of each of a plurality of pixels configuring the white image data is converted into the white colorant level, and a print data generating system, which generates white print data to be used for printing with the white colorant in the printing apparatus based on the white colorant data.

Abstract: An image forming system, image forming apparatus, and method of correcting image density are provided. The system includes a forming unit that forms an image; an acquisition unit that acquires factor information corresponding to a factor which is capable of causing variations in density of the image; a first determination unit that determines a number of marks in accordance with the factor information; a control unit that provides the forming unit with, as the image data, data pertaining to a pattern comprising a plurality of density marks which are different from each other in density and which are equal in number to the number of marks; a detection unit that detects a density of the image formed on the target by the forming unit in relation to the pattern; and a correction unit that corrects the density of the image in accordance with a result of the detection.

Abstract: In an apparatus capable of handing data received by a communication function, such as facsimile function or the like, information for generating a file name to be set for received data is registered so as to correspond to receiving conditions (for example, in facsimile reception, a sender's telephone number, an F code, a password and the like). When data has been received, receiving conditions are determined, and a file name based on the information registered for the data is set in accordance with the result of the determination. Thus, the receiving side can easily discriminate the contents of the data.

Abstract: Methods and apparatus are provided for dynamically halftoning image data, substantially in real-time. Halftone threshold values are calculated and stored in memory, and halftone output values are calculated for the portions of the image data that will be displayed on a display device. Halftone screen parameters may be modified, and new halftone screen threshold values may be calculated for any affected halftone screens. For unaffected halftone screens, the previously stored threshold values may be retrieved from memory. In addition, the portion of the image to be displayed may be modified, and the halftone output values of the new portion may be calculated and then displayed.

Abstract: The present invention provides methods and apparatus for embedding an identifying pattern of visible speckles into the digitized image of each page of a document. A speckle is a cluster of black or white pixels. Speckles are printed as black speckles on the white paper, or conversely, as areas of missing black removed from the black text characters, called white speckles. The collective pattern of all embedded black and white speckles on a single document page is called a specklemark. A specklemark can survive contrast manipulations on photocopiers and binary rasterization done by fax scanning prior to data transmission. The random pattern of the black and white speckles visible in the digitized image of a document page can be detected automatically, and by systematically matching the detected pattern with those known to have been embedded into marked copies of a document page, a specific document copy can be identified.

Abstract: An image processing method involves processing image data indicative of an image represented with a prescribed number of input tones by each of pixel groups composed of a plurality of print pixels, and generating dot data representing a status of dot formation on each of the print pixels to be formed on a print medium. The method includes preparing a first conversion table and a second conversion table, determining the pixel group tone value in response to the input tone value corresponding to the pixel group, converting the determined pixel group tone value into the code values for each of the pixel groups, by referring to the first conversion table, decoding the acquired code value into the output dot arrangement for each of the pixel groups, by referring the second conversion table, and outputting the dot data in response to the output dot arrangement.

Abstract: A system and method are provided for delivering document print instructions in a system of network-connected devices. The method comprises: accepting printer control data at a network-connected email address; generating the printer-controller form in response to the printer control data; calling the printer-controller form; populating printer-controller form parameters; attaching a document to the printer-controller form; emailing the printer-controller form, with attachment, to a network-connected printer; and, printing the attached document in response to the printer-controller form parameters. Printing the attachment in response to the printer-controller form parameters includes the printer: opening the emailed printer-controller form; parsing the printer-controller form parameters; and, printing in response to the parsed parameters.

Abstract: This disclosure relates to decreasing the required buffer memory capacity while reducing the impact of an arithmetic error in error diffusion processing. A quantization circuit (4) quantizes input image data and outputs an output code. The quantization error generated in the quantization circuit (4) is calculated by an inverse quantization circuit (5) and subtracter (6). The calculated quantization error is stored in a buffer (8). Since the buffer (8) only needs to have a size capable of storing the quantization error, the size can be made smaller than before. A diffusion filter (9) diffuses the quantization error using a quantization error or the like, which is stored in the buffer (8). A latch (3) and bit connector (1) can usefully reduce the impact of an arithmetic error in error diffusion processing on the next input image data.

Abstract: In case of transmitting a document file such as a PDF file to a printer without converting it into print data, a PC extracts from the document file to be printed information to be accessed when starting an analysis of the document file and transmits the information to the printer. The PC extracts a specified data from the document file and transmits it to the printer each time when the specified data is requested by the printer.

Abstract: This invention aims at conducting a scheduling work of print processing efficiently. A device scheduler refers to print job composition information registered in step control information of the step “printer reservation” of other print job (other order) in a workflow information table, and a schedule information table. The device scheduler searches both other print jobs (proof print jobs and regular print jobs) that a to-be-registered proof print job having a processing time of the proof print job described above affects and other print jobs (proof print jobs and regular print jobs) that affect the to-be-registered proof print job. The device scheduler determines whether the to-be-registered proof print job can be registered in a schedule (there is no search result in Step 2017 described above). When the registration is not possible, the device scheduler informs an operator of the result that automatic scheduling is impossible.

Abstract: There is described an image forming apparatus, which makes it possible to realize a high productivity in the booklet outputting operation. The apparatus comprises: an image data acquiring section to acquire consecutive image data, which include main content image data and at least a part of cover sheet image data succeeding the main-content sheet image data; an image forming section to conduct an image forming operation based on the main content image data and the cover sheet image data, acquired by the image data acquiring section; an image data presence-or-absence detecting section to detect a presence or absence of (i+1)th image data acquired by the image data acquiring section, wherein “i” represents a page number of image data sets necessary for forming cover sheet images on a cover sheet; and a control section to control the image forming section so as to commence the image forming operation.

Abstract: Determination of a grid structure for a set of values in a device color space, in which heuristics are applied to a collection of color sample data in order to determine the structure of a look-up table that best fits the samples. Sampling data is sorted for each channel thereof, and the number of steps in each channel is counted. The data is checked for completeness. Steps are removed if they do not correspond to steps on the axes of a three-dimensional cube. If, as a result of step removal, a full LUT has been obtained, then the structure of the LUT has been determined and the process ends. On the other hand, if a full LUT has not been obtained, then steps are removed if they are under-correlated with other steps.

Abstract: The color management system comprises a state-space based model for a pixel element in a dynamically varying color marking device. A sensor measures the color of the printed output for construction of a selected set of sensitivity functions representative of color output relating to inputs. The gradients of the sensitivity functions are extracted and used to develop the corresponding discrete multivariable state-space model of the pixel element. More particularly, the model is constructed from the Jacobian matrix characterizing a change in measured color output for a change in input color values of the pixel. Extension of modeling methodology for a single pixel is applied to multiple pixel elements.