Abstract: A method and system for automatically helping a teacher/educator evaluate assessments administered to students for determining student's attributes. The teacher/educator reviews stored assessment forms at a digital user interface (DUI) at a multifunction device (MFD) and selects the desired forms and creates an Assessment Batch which includes a List of Students to be given the forms for marking. The system automatically codes each form with personalized student information and prints the individualized assessment forms. The system may include an assessment repository for storing assessment definitions, rubrics, and administered assessments (e.g., results sheets), an may additionally or alternatively include an assessment analyzer for interpreting scanned imaged of administered assessments.

Abstract: A system and method transmit and receive information through a telephony based communication channel by scanning a hardcopy image to convert the hardcopy image into an electronic image and adding non-facsimile-communication-protocol/non-facsimile-image digital data to an electronic image to be transmitted by a telephony based communication circuit. Non-facsimile-communication-protocol/non-facsimile-image digital data is detected within an electronic image received from another facsimile system transmitting the electronic image based upon a telephony based communication protocol.

Abstract: A system and method scan a document printed by a first document processing device (using a second document processing device separate from the first document processing device). The document has printed thereon machine readable markings that comprise information of a patient, information of at least one lab test to be performed, and formatting information for the return of the lab test results. The second document processing device identifies the lab test to be performed on the patient based on the machine readable markings. After the lab tests have been performed on the patient, the second document processing device prepares the lab test results by formatting them. These formatted lab test results are then output from the second document processing device to the first document processing device.

Abstract: Systems and methods are described that facilitate capturing promotional information details such as the number of promotional material items printed for a given vendor supported by a marketing agency, item size, placement details, price, and authentication information to prove that a print log or summary is genuine. The authentication information can include a timestamp, printer identity, job identity and run-length. This information is summarized in a message digest and is signed by the printing system using digital signatures, which are then verified by the marketing agency through a public key counterpart of a private key used to generate the signatures.

Abstract: An overall processing time to rasterize, at the first device, the electronic document to be rendered is computed. Also, a rendering time to render, at the first device, the electronic document to be rendered is computed. When the overall processing time to rasterize at the first device is greater than the rendering time to render at the first device, the electronic document to be rendered is parsed into a first document and sub-documents. A productivity capacity of each node is determined, the productivity capacity being a measured of the processing power of the node and the communication cost of exchanging information between the first device and the node. A sub-document is rasterized at a node when a productivity capacity of the node reduces the processing time to rasterize the electronic document to be rendered to be less than the computed overall processing time.

Abstract: A document layout is adjusted to alter the quality of the document by generating an initial document with a plurality of blocks. A user can manually adjust the parameters of the document. Thereafter, a base quantized quality score is generated for the document based upon the manually changed parameters of the document. The parameters of the document are changed and a first quantized quality score for the document is generated. The first quantized quality score is compared with the base quantized quality score. If the first quantized quality score is closer to a preferred quantized quality score than the bench quantized quality score, the base quantized quality score is changed to equal the first quantized quality score and the parameters of the document to equal the changes. The changed document may be displayed after each comparison so that the user can accept the changed document.

Abstract: This disclosure provides a document access method and system. The document access method and system are based on a social network model which interconnects members of the social network as a function of trust. This framework provides a basis for documents to be accessed by members which are not directly specified by a document's owner, while providing a certain degree of document security.

Abstract: A method for utilizing redundant color inks to improve image quality while minimizing any undesirable effects such as texture or graininess. The method comprises tessellating the available redundant color space as defined by the available redundant ink colorants into regions where the regions are arranged so as to minimize the range of luminance variation found within the regions. The result is perceived by the eye as less grainy in texture as well as much more pleasing to the eye.

Abstract: A system for enabling depth perception of image content in a rendered composite image, wherein illuminant/colorant depth discrimination encoding provides encoding of first and second source images in a composite image, for the purposes of subsequent illuminant/colorant depth discrimination decoding. Composite image rendering allows for rendering the composite image in a physical form. Illuminant/colorant depth discrimination decoding allows recovery of the first and second source images, thus offering to an observer the perception of spatial disparity between at least one of the recovered source images and some or all of the remaining image content perceived in the rendered composite image.

Abstract: A plurality of rendering devices in communication with a network are configured with an active mode and an inactive mode, wherein in the active mode a rendering device is either in a rendering state or constitutes components ready to render. In response to receiving a rendering job request, it is determined if any rendering device of the plurality of rendering devices is currently an active mode rendering device. If an active mode rendering device is available via the network, a rendering queue wait time is estimated with respect to the active mode rendering device and an activation wait time is estimated for an inactive rendering device on the network. The estimated rendering queue wait time is compared to the estimated activation wait time and the rendering job is rendered on the rendering device associated with a shorter estimated time, thereby saving energy by maintaining the majority of rendering devices in communication with the network in an inactive mode.

Abstract: What is disclosed is a system and method for specifying a custom document as a multi-criteria constraint optimization problem, and a method to automatically create the specified document using existing constraint optimization solving algorithms. The present method specifies the document, its content components, its layout requirements, and its desired aesthetic criteria are expressed as elements of a constraint optimization problem which when solved, results in an automated document layout for the set of content components that satisfies not only certain primitive content and layout constraints, but which also advantageously fulfills desired design properties and which provides a way to ensure that the generated document is well designed.

Abstract: Text, images, and/or graphics of variable content documents should be organized and laid out by a template to provide effective and quality documents. The best such template depends upon the variable content interaction with the template for each individual document. To analyze the qualitative nature of the template in quantifiable terms, the each variable content document is measure using various quantifiable factors; such as, balance, uniformity, white space management, alignment, consistency, legibility, etc.; that impact a qualitative nature of a document. Such quantifiable factors are then used to quantize the aesthetics, ease of use, eye-catching ability, interest, communicability, comfort, and convenience of the document, thereby giving a designer a measure of the quality of the template in the variable content document context.

Abstract: A printed image can be redundantly encoded by printing a visible image using a colorant with a luminance that contrasts with that of the output sheet and printing a redundant image using a colorant with a luminance that varies only slightly from that of the output sheet. Accordingly, the visible image can be easily read by a user while the redundant image is substantially invisible to the human eye at normal reading distances, yet capable of being captured by a conventional digital scanner. In one aspect, redundantly encoded images may be printed on a white background, with visible images printed in black text and redundant images printed in blue in content regions of the visible image and in yellow in its background regions.

Abstract: Methods and systems are provided relating to a decentralized algorithm for managing replicas of a resource in a peer-to-peer network to satisfy quality of service requirements. Individual nodes within the network storing a resource replica continually monitor the node performance against quality of service (QoS) parameters and when necessary, take appropriate action to either add or delete the resource, all the while informing the other nodes within the network that maintain a replica of the resource of the particular action for dynamic fluctuation of the count of resource replicas therein.

Abstract: A method and system for designing file replication schemes in file sharing systems consider node storage constraints and node up/down statistics, file storage costs, and file transfer costs among the nodes, user request rates for the files, and user specified file availability requirements. Based on these considerations, a systematic method for designing file replication schemes can be implemented. The method first determines the number of copies of the files to be stored in the system to achieve the desired goal (e.g., to satisfy file availability requirements, or to maximize the system hit rate), and then selects the nodes at which to store the file copies to minimize the total expected cost. The file replication scheme for a peer-to-peer file sharing system in a distributed and adaptive manner can scale to a large number of nodes and files and can handle changes in the user request pattern over time.

Abstract: A method is presented for extracting information from a document by separating the document into segments and organizing the segments into a hierarchical structure. An audio rendition of the segments is generated and presented aurally to the user for selection of the segment to be presented. The selected segment is then presented aurally to the user. If desired an audio rendition of a summary may be generated and presented aurally to the user.

Abstract: A printed image can be redundantly encoded by printing a visible image using a colorant with a luminance that contrasts with that of the output sheet and printing a redundant image using a colorant with a luminance that varies only slightly from that of the output sheet. Accordingly, the visible image can be easily read by a user while the redundant image is substantially invisible to the human eye at normal-reading distances, yet capable of being captured by a conventional digital scanner. In one aspect, redundantly encoded images may be printed on a white background, with visible images printed in black text and redundant images printed in blue in content regions of the visible image and in yellow in its background regions.

Abstract: A method for forming a multi-color, clustered dot-off-dot halftone screen, includes defining a range of density values for pixels of a first color and assigning those density values to positions along a pixel growth curve; defining a range of density values for pixels of a second color and assigning those density values to positions along the pixel growth curve; and defining the pixel growth curve, such that a plurality of consecutively filled pixels form a cluster along the curve and such that pixels widely separately along the curve are also widely separated within the halftone cell. Density values for pixels of third and fourth colors may be sequentially assigned to positions along the pixel growth curve.

Abstract: The present invention is directed to a method for determining a document's overall effectiveness or quality using a technique that employs detecting correlation between document citation rate and document presentation elements such as style and layout. A document's citation rate is the number of citations of or references to that document from other documents. This is taken as an indicator of a document's overall effectiveness. This invention employs automated means to obtain, for a sample of documents, both presentation data and citation rate data. Presentation data is obtained, for each document in the sample, by automated inspection of the document, for stylistic elements. The citation rate for each document is based on the number of citations (e.g., hyperlinks) to that document from another set of documents, the larger the set the better.

Abstract: System and method for device-independent color gamut mapping is disclosed. The system recognizes that a finite set of color gamut mapping intents form the basis for performing color gamut mappings during document rendering and implements a color mapping method for each of the color gamut mapping intents. For each color in a document to be rendered, the system obtains a desired color gamut mapping strategy expressed as a combination of the color gamut mapping intents and performs each of the color mapping methods on each color to obtain basis color maps for each color. The system then constructs a mapped color for each of the colors in the document based on the desired color gamut mapping strategy associated with each color. Furthermore, weight values may be used to further define the combination in the desired color gamut mapping strategy.