An image forming apparatus includes circuitry to: receive an instruction for copying an image of a document from a user; acquire biometric information of the user; and embed user information in the image, the user information including one of the biometric information of the user and information for specifying the biometric information of the user; and an image forming device to print the image having the user information embedded, on a recording medium to output a copied image.

A system of devices receives and stores documents based on confidential information redacted from the documents. An electronic document is analyzed to identify character blocks having confidential information. The confidential information can be in different formats within the document. Redaction rules are applied to the character blocks to identify confidential categories for the confidential information within the blocks. The confidential information is redacted based on the rules such that the confidential information is removed from the document. A new electronic document is generated with the information redacted such that it is not viewable or printable. The two documents with different levels of confidential information is then stored on separate devices within the system.

An information processing apparatus including a processor, and a memory for storing a printer driver. The processor causes the printer driver to perform accepting, from software different from the printer driver, first drawing data including rasterized object data and information of a print processing type, specifying, in a case where the print processing type included in the first drawing data is a predetermined print processing type, a target area in the rasterized object data, and generating second drawing data based on the accepted drawing data so that the specified target area of the rasterized object data is not drawn. The printer driver also generates PDL data based on the second drawing data, and transmits the PDL data to an image forming apparatus. The software performs raster image generation processing based on object data received from an application different from the software to generate the rasterized object data.

A visual privacy system unilaterally blocks rolling shutter cameras by providing a periodically interrupted ambient light source imposing bright and dark bands on the image yet at a frequency imperceptible to human observers in the environment. Communication of the modulation pattern to authorized cameras allows unaffected imaging in these regions by authorized individuals. The system also contemplates operation in a barcoding mode with a light modulation providing embedded barcodes that can be extracted from images taken in the region to indicate that the images were improperly acquired and to block the images in certain applications.

An image forming apparatus includes a control unit and an image forming unit. The control unit generates image data of a first image based on a designated image or a designated character string designated by a user. The image forming unit forms the first image in a predetermined area based on the image data using a decolorizing recording agent. The image forming unit forms the first image on at least one of a front surface, on which a second image is formed, of a medium with the second image formed thereon, or a surface opposite to the front surface using a non-decolorizing recording agent.

A visual privacy system unilaterally blocks rolling shutter cameras by providing a periodically interrupted ambient light source imposing bright and dark bands on the image yet at a frequency imperceptible to human observers in the environment. Communication of the modulation pattern to authorized cameras allows unaffected imaging in these regions by authorized individuals. The system also contemplates operation in a barcoding mode with a light modulation providing embedded barcodes that can be extracted from images taken in the region to indicate that the images were improperly acquired and to block the images in certain applications.

An encryption circuit includes a fundamental vector generation circuit configured to generate a random number sequence for serving as a fundamental vector based on an initial vector, an image mask generation circuit configured to generate an image mask with a mask value set for each pixel in a region to be encrypted smaller than a frame size of the image, based on the fundamental vector and coordinate information for specifying the region to be encrypted, and an XOR operation circuit configured to compute an exclusive OR between each mask value of the image mask and each pixel value of the image data to generate encrypted image data.

An image processing apparatus includes a detection unit configured to detect a predetermined object in a captured image captured by an imaging unit, a first acquisition unit configured to acquire, as a first image, a captured image captured during a time period in which the object is not detected, based on detection of the predetermined object by the detection unit, a second acquisition unit configured to acquire, as a second image, a captured image in which the predetermined object is detected by the detection unit, a generation unit configured to generate a mask image of the predetermined object based on the first and the second images, and a combination unit configured to combine the mask image with the first image or the second image.

Provided is an image forming apparatus that is capable of protecting the confidentiality of an image that is printed and outputted on paper. The image forming apparatus according to this disclosure is an image forming apparatus that outputs paper on which an image is formed. The image forming apparatus includes an imaging unit, a user-recognizing unit, a person-recognizing unit, and a control unit. The imaging unit performs imaging of the surroundings. The user-recognizing unit recognizes a user of the image forming apparatus. The person-recognizing unit recognizes persons in imaging data obtained by the imaging unit. The control unit performs confidentiality-protected output of outputting the paper so that the image on the paper is shielded when the person-recognizing unit recognizes another person who is other than the user in the imaging data.

A system and method for obfuscating indicia on reused printing media includes a scanner and a printer. A sheet feeder communicates a paper sheet for scanning and the sheet is scanned to generate a digital image which is analyzed to determine a presence of indicia on the paper surface. One or more areas of the paper surface containing indicia are identified and an overprint is commenced in the one or more areas encompassing identifiable indicia. The overprinted sheet containing the indicia and the overprint is then erased.