This disclosure relates to advanced image signal processing technology including encoded signals and digital watermarking. We disclose methods, systems and apparatus for selecting which ink(s) should be selected to carry an encoded signal for a given machine-vision wavelength for a package design. We also disclose product packages, and methods to generate such, including a sparse mark in a first ink and an overprinted ink flood in a second ink. The first ink and the second ink are related through tack and spectral reflectance difference. Of course, other methods, packages, systems and apparatus are described in this disclosure.

An electronic device includes a controller coupled to a device via a signal line. The controller includes an outputter configured to output a predetermined signal to the device by using the signal line, when a predetermined abnormality occurs at the controller; and a power controller configured to control an operation of cutting off power supplied to the device, after a predetermined assurance time has passed from when the predetermined signal has been output.

An image processing apparatus includes: a display; a memory that stores multiple key frames of a video guide on how to recover from an operating error; an error sensor that detects the operating error; and a display processor that allows the display to display at least one of the multiple key frames as a still frame for a digest along with an operation button for video playback, when the error sensor detects the operating error, the multiple key frames being stored on the memory, and that further allows the display to play back the video guide by serially displaying the multiple key frames, when the operation button is pressed.

A communication apparatus capable of wireless communication with an external apparatus, the communication apparatus comprises: a broadcast unit that broadcasts an advertisement signal prior to establishing a connection by wireless communication with the external apparatus; and a determination unit that determines a type of error that occurred in the communication apparatus, wherein when an error occurs in the communication apparatus, the determination unit determines the type of the error that occurred in the communication apparatus and the broadcast unit broadcasts, at an output radio wave intensity set for the type of the error, an advertisement signal that includes information indicating that the error occurred.

An image processing apparatus performs: acquiring instruction data including notification data and location information indicative of a location of next instruction data; controlling at least one of a display and an image processor to perform an operation instructed by the instruction data acquired most recently; when controlling the at least one of the display and the image processor, connecting a first communication interface with a mobile terminal within a particular distance range from the image processing apparatus, in accordance with a near-field wireless communication protocol; when controlling, transmitting the notification data extracted from the instruction data acquired most recently, to the mobile terminal through the first communication interface, the notification data being data for specifying an operation to be performed by the mobile terminal; and acquiring the next instruction data based on the location information extracted from the instruction data acquired most recently.

A method for picture-based barcode encoding and decoding is provided herein. The method for picture-based barcode encoding includes: transforming an original data into an original data bitstream; performing an error correction on the original data bitstream for translating the original data bitstream into an error corrected bitstream; selecting all or part of the picture as an encoded area; calculating a data storage capacity of the encoded area; adjusting a size of the error corrected bitstream or a size of the encoded area for equalizing a data storage capacity of an encoded data bitstream and the data storage capacity of the encoded area; and adjusting a pixel value of the encoded area according to the encoded data bitstream.

A method for picture-based barcode decoding is provided herein. The method for picture-based barcode decoding includes the following steps: capturing all or part of a picture as a captured image; normalizing the captured image for generating a transformed image; calculating a mean color value of a plurality of blocks of the transformed image for generating a decoded data; performing an inverse error correction on the decoded data for generating an original data bitstream; transforming the original data bitstream into an original data; and outputting the original data with an output device.

A printer maintenance guide device includes a guide command button for commanding a maintenance guide for a maintenance work, and a moving image memory storing moving images for successively and continuously displaying a whole process of the maintenance guide from start to end at once on a display unit by the operation of the guide command button.

A distributed computing system for managing solutions for print device support requests includes a solution data store and a solution processing system. The system receives a support request via the user interface that includes input data and search terms that pertain to an issue with a print device. The system uses the input data and the search terms to generate a search query, and queries the solution data store using the search query to identify a list of possible solutions for the support request. The system receives a selection of the possible solutions. For each selection, the system generates a session record for the support request, correlates the possible solution associated with the selection with the input data and search terms, generates factors based on the correlation, and uses the generated factors to update fields of a solution index in the data store for the possible solution.

An image forming apparatus combines a plurality of sub-movies representing operation procedures to be performed to perform maintenance on the image forming apparatus and plays the combined sub-movies sequentially as one movie. In response to stopping the movie being played, the image forming apparatus displays a replay mark for use to issue a command to replay the movie from the beginning of a sub-movie corresponding to a position where the movie is stopped.