A digital watermark analysis apparatus, comprising an image capturing unit for capturing a printed product where additional information is embedded by superimposing a pattern on an image to acquire a captured image, a calculation unit for calculating a spatial frequency characteristic of each small area in the captured image, a specifying unit for specifying an embedded signal strength and an embedding position of the additional information, a decision unit for deciding, based on the embedding position information and the embedded signal strength information, a position in the captured image of a marker detection area for detecting a marker as a reference position for acquiring the additional information, and an acquisition unit for detecting a marker in the marker detection area and acquiring the additional information in the captured image with reference to the detected marker.

An image processing apparatus includes: a first obtaining unit configured to obtain an original image; a second obtaining unit configured to obtain region information indicating first and second regions, the first region read in reading of a print original to have a higher density than the second region, the second region read in the reading to have a lower density than the first region; an embedding unit configured to embed information in the original image by embedding a pattern with a directivity in the first region and embed, in the second region, a pattern in which the number of pixels printed adjacent to printed pixels is smaller than that in the first region; and a control unit configured to perform control of outputting the print original by using a print image in which the patterns of the first and second regions are embedded by the embedding unit.

Optical code signal components are generated and then transformed into signal bearing art that conveys machine readable data. The components of an optical code are optimized to achieve improved signal robustness, reliability, capacity and/or visual quality. An optimization program can determine spatial density, dot distance, dot size and signal component priority to optimize robustness. An optical code generator transforms tiles of an optical code or image embedded with the optical code into signal-bearing art using stipple, Voronoi, Delaunay or other graphic drawing methods so as to retain prioritized components of the optical code. The optical code is merged into a host image, such as imagery, text and graphics of a package or label, or it may be printed by itself, e.g., on an otherwise blank label or carton. A great number of other features and arrangements are also detailed.

This disclosure relates to advanced image signal processing technology including encoded signals and digital watermarking. One implementation is directed to a printed object comprising: a white substrate or background comprising a first area; an ink mixture printed at a first plurality of spatial locations within the first area, the ink mixture printed such that the first area comprises a second plurality of spatial locations without the ink mixture, the ink mixture comprising extender white and Green 7 ink, the ink mixture comprising a volume or weight ratio of 97.5% to 99.75% white extender and 2.5%-0.25% Green 7 ink; in which the first plurality of spatial locations is arranged in a pattern conveying an encoded signal, and in which the white substrate or background and the ink mixture comprise a spectral reflectivity difference at or around 660 nm in a difference range of 8%-30%. Of course, other implementations, methods, packages, systems and apparatus are described in this patent document.

Techniques are described for auditing print content during printer redirection in a virtual desktop. The ability to audit redirected print content allows an organization to pre-define certain sensitive data and to track whether print redirection requests in the virtual desktop environment contain any such sensitive data. If such sensitive data is contained in a printer redirection request, a file is generated containing information about the sensitive data, as well as a watermark that encodes information about the printer redirection request, such the user identifier of the user who initiated the print request and a timestamp of when the print request occurred. The generated file is transmitted to one or more registered recipients.

Techniques are described for auditing print content during printer redirection in a virtual desktop. The ability to audit redirected print content allows an organization to pre-define certain sensitive data and to track whether print redirection requests in the virtual desktop environment contain any such sensitive data. If such sensitive data is contained in a printer redirection request, a file is generated containing information about the sensitive data, as well as a watermark that encodes information about the printer redirection request, such the user identifier of the user who initiated the print request and a timestamp of when the print request occurred. The generated file is transmitted to one or more registered recipients.

This disclosure relates to advanced signal processing technology including signal encoding and digital watermarking. Image areas are selected in an encoded digital design, and corresponding areas from a printed version of the encoded digital design are evaluated to determined signal robustness after printing. One claim recites an image processing method for selecting image areas to test for robustness of encoded signals, the method comprising: obtaining digital artwork comprising a plurality of colors, the digital artwork comprising multiple instances of an encoded signal; selecting a set encoding tiles, and for each encoding tile determining encoding detectability measure associated therewith; creating a bin for each encoding technology used to encode the encoded signal; for each bin, removing any encoding tile having a detectability measure below a predetermined threshold; for each bin, prioritizing remaining encoding tiles; selecting an encoding tile based on the prioritization per bin, and spatially locating the selected encoding tile relative to the digital artwork. Other technology is described in this patent document.

Generation of one dimensional guilloche patterns able to be affixed on a document, each guilloche pattern being able to encode variable alphanumeric data providing a different appearance to each guilloche pattern, by formatting alphanumeric data to be encoded in the form of a predefined number of data blocks with a predefined size, generating a carrier function having a plurality of parameters, the formatted data blocks forming at least one of the parameters, and modulating the carrier function by the formatted data blocks so as to encode the alphanumeric data graphically, each data block defining a guilloche pattern, the number of data blocks defining the number of guilloche patterns, the carrier function associated with a formatted data block is modulated locally, each datum of the block being encoded locally in the guilloche pattern, by interpolation of a predefined point associated with the carrier function.

According to implementations of the subject matter described herein, there is provided a solution for data embedding and data extraction in images. To perform data embedding, a target region for data embedding is determined from a source image, such as a chart image. Target data to be embedded is converted into a sequence of logical values represented in a predetermined format. Based on the sequence of logical values, image values of one or more image elements in the target region are changed such that the changed image values in the target region can be used to convey the sequence of logical values corresponding to the target data. The variations in image values are within a predetermined range such that no significant data distortion of perception distortion is caused by the data embedding. In a subsequent process, the embedded data can also be easily extracted from the image for use.

Optical code signal components are generated and then transformed into signal bearing art that conveys machine readable data. The components of an optical code are optimized to achieve improved signal robustness, reliability, capacity and/or visual quality. An optimization program can determine spatial density, dot distance, dot size and signal component priority to optimize robustness. An optical code generator transforms tiles of an optical code or image embedded with the optical code into signal-bearing art using stipple, Voronoi, Delaunay or other graphic drawing methods so as to retain prioritized components of the optical code. The optical code is merged into a host image, such as imagery, text and graphics of a package or label, or it may be printed by itself, e.g., on an otherwise blank label or carton. A great number of other features and arrangements are also detailed.