An image reading device and an image forming apparatus. The image reading device includes a scanned-image acquisition unit configured to scan a mounting table to obtain image data of a to-be-scanned object placed on the mounting table, a capturing unit configured to capture an image of the to-be-scanned object to obtain image data of the to-be-scanned object, and a shape measuring device configured to perform a shape measurement process to measure a shape of the to-be-scanned object placed on the mounting table based on the image data of the to-be-scanned object obtained by the scanned-image acquisition unit and the image data of the to-be-scanned object obtained by the capturing unit. The image forming apparatus includes the image reading device and an image recording unit configured to record an image on a recording material.

An image scanner including a two-dimensional matrix sensor, a scanning plane defined by the axes, an optical system, an optical axis perpendicular to the scanning plane and coinciding with an axis, a lighting system including at least four light sources that have its own main axis and are positioned so that each light source is adjacent to one side of the scanning plane and illuminates it from a different direction. Each light source is arranged with its own main axis in a plane parallel to a facing mirror-reflecting surface above said facing mirror-reflecting surface and is oriented so as to radiate the scanning plane by specularly reflecting its light beams on the respective mirror-reflecting surface situated on the opposite side of the scanning plane with respect to the light source.

Disclosed is a printing device including: a finger stage which has a nail rest, having an identifier, to place a tip of a nail, the nail being a printing target, and on which a finger corresponding to the nail is placed; and at least one camera which obtains an image from a first direction and an image from a second direction. The identifier which detects a position of the nail is provided on one surface of the nail rest such that the identifier does not exist in the image from the first direction but the identifier exists in the image from the second direction.

An image reading apparatus includes a first holding member that is provided with a first holding surface opposed to a placement surface, a second holding member that is provided with a second holding surface opposed to the placement surface, a guide member that is disposed on a front side of the first holding member and the second holding member, and an imaging unit that capture a medium placed on the placement surface, wherein the guide member is provided with a guide surface coupled to the first holding surface and the second holding surface and is disposed such that a distance from the placement surface to a first portion of the guide surface is smaller than a distance from the placement surface to a second portion of the guide surface disposed closer to the front side than the first portion.

Disclosed herein is a method, comprising: scanning a scene for a first scan in a scanning direction with M detector blocks (detector blocks (i), i=1, . . . , M), wherein the M detector blocks are physically arranged in the order of the detector blocks (1), (2), . . . , (M) in the scanning direction during the first scan, M being an integer greater than 1; and after the first scan, scanning the scene for a second scan in the scanning direction with the M detector blocks, wherein the M detector blocks are physically arranged in the order of the detector blocks (M), (1), (2), . . . , (M−1) in the scanning direction during the second scan.

A reading device includes a carriage movable in a sub-scanning direction, an optical sensor mounted on the carriage, the optical sensor being configured to scan an object placed on a contact glass, a reference scale used as a reference when a dimension of the object is computed based on an image obtained as the optical sensor scans the object, a flat gauge to be scanned by the optical sensor to calculate a corrective value used to correct the image obtained by the optical sensor, and circuitry to calculate the corrective value based on a scanned image including the reference scale and the flat gauge obtained by the optical sensor, and correct, based on the corrective value, a measurement image including an image of the object and an image of the reference scale obtained by the optical sensor and compute the dimension of the object based on the corrected measurement image.

An information processing apparatus includes a controller and a display. The controller is configured to (a) acquire first image data, (b) acquire multiple sets of image data, each set of image data corresponding to a reading of an object by a scanner, and (c) generate second image data corresponding to the object based on the sets image data. The display is configured to display both (a) a first image based on the first image data and (b) a second image based on the second image data, the first image being superimposed on the second image.

A printing system and method of printing a digital image resulting in an elevated print on a support. The elevated print has a surface of varying height. The printing system is configured to print a number of pass images on top of each other in a number of passes. The definition of the digital image comprises color data for each pixel of the digital image and height data for indicating a height of each pixel of the digital image. A raster image processor is connected to the printing system and rasterizes the digital image into a raster image. A digital slicer is connected to the printing system and derives from the raster image a number of pass images to be printed on top of each other. The printing system is then printing the pass images on top of each other by applying a number of recording materials on the support. The printing system receives information related to the print order of the recording materials in the pass images for each pass pixel for establishing a special effect. From the received information the print order of the recording materials in the pass images for each pass pixel is derived and the recording materials are printed according to this print order for each pass pixel of each pass image.

An image reading apparatus is provided, including a platen glass having opposed upper and lower surfaces, a support frame supporting a peripheral portion of the platen glass, a reading device reciprocable in a first direction and disposed on an inner side of the support frame so as to be nearer to the lower surface than to the upper surface, a guide formed on an inner bottom surface on the inner side of the support frame and extending in the first direction so as to guide reciprocation of the reading device, a controller that controls operations of the reading device, a harness connecting the reading device and the controller to each other, and a harness accommodating portion accommodating the harness and constituted by a groove having a recessed shape, extending in the first direction, and formed at the inner bottom surface at a position located in front of the guide.

An imaging device comprises an imaging sensor and a pulsed LED for illuminating an imaging object of the imaging sensor, performs respective imagings according to respective imaging conditions each including an exposure time te of the imaging sensor and a lighting time tr of the pulsed LED, stores respective combinations of brightness index values D1 of respective images obtained by the respective imagings and the imaging conditions of the respective images, obtains estimates of exposure contribution degree k_off indicating degree of influence of variation of the exposure time te on brightness index value and a lighting contribution degree k_on indicating degree of influence of variation of the lighting time tr on brightness index value, based on the stored combinations of the brightness index values D1 and the imaging conditions, and determines an imaging condition to be used in the next imaging based on the estimates of k_on and k_off.