Abstract: An image processing apparatus and method include a plurality of different background suppression data acquisition modes selectable by a user in order to obtain background suppression data from a document being reproduced. The obtained background suppression data is used by an image processing unit to suppress the background region of the document being reproduced. The user is able to select one of the plurality of background suppression data acquisition modes depending upon the user's desire for high speed document reproduction versus the required quality of background suppression. In this manner, the user is able to determine whether document reproduction speed or background suppression quality is to be emphasized.

Abstract: In a document feeding and imaging system with a document input tray for sequentially feeding a set of plural document sheets to a document imaging station to be respectively imaged with variable image processing conditions dependent on the size of the document sheet, including a document sheet size measurement system for measuring at least one dimension of the document sheets, wherein the input tray has associated document size measurement sensors, wherein the set of documents loaded into the input tray may be a mixed size set of different sheet sizes or a set of the same sheet sizes; there is provided an operator selectable input for a mixed size set providing a mixed size set control signal which actuates a special prescan document size sensing operational mode for sensing the sheet size as the document is fed past the document imaging station without its being imaged, and then automatically re-feeding that document to the imaging station to be imaged under image processing conditions controlled by the docu

Abstract: A printing system, for merging a scanned image with a merge image to produce a composite image, is provided. The printing system includes a memory for storing the merge image, in the form of a first set of image data, and a decompression device for decompressing the first set of image data. The printing system further includes a scanner, for reading a hard-copy page to generate a second set of image data, and a annotate/merge device, the annotate/merge device electronically merging the decompressed first set of image data with the second set of image data to produce the composite image.