A document approval management system includes an image forming apparatus, a document management server, and a mail server, connected via a network. The image forming apparatus includes an image acquisition device, a character recognizer, a workflow information acquirer that acquires workflow information from character information recognized, a coded image creator that creates a coded image including the workflow information, a generator that generates an image with coded image, a workflow creator that creates a workflow of the image with coded image, an output device that outputs the image with coded image of the workflow to the document management server, an e-mail transmission device that transmits an e-mail accompanied with the coded image to an approver, an image forming device that forms the image with coded image on a recording sheet, and a signed image acquirer that acquires a signed image, when an approval receiver receives the approval.

The invention relates to systems and methods of securely transmitting an image stored in the memory of an identity document to a first terminal that is suitable for receiving the image. In various implementations, operations are performed by the identity document, including the identity document receiving an attribute transmitted by the first terminal; generating a marker from the attribute received from the terminal; including the marker in the image; and transmitting the image containing the marker, which may be referred to as the modified image, to the terminal.

Certain examples described herein relate to the embedding a pattern in an output content having at least two-dimensions, for example a printed output. Content data having at least two dimensions is processed to generate an array of spatial elements, each spatial element corresponding to a respective location in the output content and comprising a probabilistic distribution for a set of output material compositions. A threshold matrix is generated using pattern data corresponding to a pattern, and the array of spatial elements is halftoned using the threshold matrix. The threshold matrix is generated such that the pattern is embedded in the output content.

The present disclosure relates to advanced signal processing including signal embedding, digital watermarking and steganography. One method includes: obtaining image data representing imagery; using one or more multi-core processors, embedding a machine-readable signal into the image data, thereby generating transformed image data; obtaining substrate data, the substrate data associated with a substrate upon which the transformed image data is to be printed upon; obtaining printer data, the printer data associated with a printer that is anticipated to print the transformed image data upon the substrate; processing the transformed image data with reference to the substrate data and the printer data, thereby generating processed, transformed image data; estimating a signal strength of the machine-readable signal embedded within the processed, transformed image data, in which said estimating yields an estimated signal strength; and visually displaying the estimated signal strength spatially relative to the image data. Of course, other combinations are described as well.

A watermark adjustment method and a watermark adjustment device are provided. The method includes determining whether a user clicks on a watermark preview interface in a predetermined manner; when it is determined that the user clicks on the watermark preview interface in the predetermined manner, generating a text box control according to a watermark pattern that is currently displayed to activate a watermark preview editing status; displaying the watermark pattern on the text box control; determining a text box display parameter according to a user setting for the text box control; and when the watermark preview editing status is ended, adjusting the watermark pattern according to the text box display parameter and displaying the adjusted watermark pattern in the watermark preview interface.

A transmission system includes a first fax apparatus, and a second fax apparatus, wherein the first fax apparatus includes a transmission unit that performs fax communication, and an acquisition unit that acquires information by decoding code information included in image data, wherein the transmission unit transmits the image data and the acquired information via the fax communication, and wherein the second fax apparatus includes a reception unit that performs the fax communication, a generation unit that generates code information by encoding the information received by the reception unit via the fax communication, an addition unit that adds the generated code information to the image data received by the reception unit, and a printing unit that prints an image on a sheet based on image data obtained by adding the generated code information to the received image data.

A method for identifying whether a standard picture contains a watermark is provided. After obtaining a set of sample standard pictures, one or more sample pictures in the set of sample standard pictures are adjusted to a preset size. The sample pictures in the set of sample standard pictures do not contain watermark information. Next, an average of pixel attribute values of the sample pictures at pixel positions of the preset size is calculated. The average of the pixel attribute values at the pixel positions of the preset size is normalized to obtain the watermark-presence probabilities of the pixel positions of the preset size. Then, a target picture is adjusted to the preset size and a sum of products of pixel attribute values of the target picture at the pixel positions of the preset size and the corresponding watermark-presence probability are calculated. Finally, it is determined whether the target picture contains a watermark according to the sum of products.

This disclosure relates to advanced signal processing technology including signal encoding and image processing. One implementation describes an encoding system including a masking module. The masking module scales or eliminates signal encoding adjustments based on an image's luminance or chrominance values. Of course, other implementations, combinations and claims are also provided.

To enable tracking of a document's history, each time an electronic document is opened, an embedding module obtains one or more document history parameters. The document history parameters may include a MAC address or the computer used to open the document, an operating system, a file size of the document, time of opening the document, a user ID, etc. The embedding module encrypts the document history parameters and embeds them into the document, for example using steganography techniques.

Systems and methods are provided for document classification and digitization. One or more physical documents may have a classification code applied thereon. The classification code may be a unique identifier for the document and/or page of the document. The classification code may utilize ink outside the visible spectrum for the purpose of being machine readable. A digital version of the physical document may be created. The digital version may include a visible reproduction of the document without showing the classification code.