A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A drop feeder conveys the document packets to the feeder. A sensor provides information related to the thickness of the document packets and the drop feeder is controlled in response to the information related to the thickness of a packet in the feeder. The method includes the control of the drop feeder in response to information related to the thickness of a document packet at the feeder.

Provided is a sheet material end detection mechanism including: a sheet material information part indicating information on a sheet material wound around a core member in which a light passing part is formed; a reader configured to optically read the sheet material information part; and a detection unit configured to detect that the sheet material is used up. A forming part is attached to an outer surface of the core member and an inner surface of the sheet material. The sheet material information part is formed in a portion of the forming part corresponding to the light passing part. The detection unit detects that the sheet material is present when a read signal of the sheet material information part read by the reader is received and that the sheet material is used up when the read signal disappears.

Provided is a sheet material end detection mechanism including: a sheet material information part indicating information on a sheet material wound around a core member in which a light passing part is formed; a reader configured to optically read the sheet material information part; and a detection unit configured to detect that the sheet material is used up. The sheet material information part is held at an end of the sheet material wound around the core member at a position corresponding to the light passing part. The detection unit detects that the sheet material is present when a read signal of the sheet material information part read by the reader is received and that the sheet material is used up when the read signal disappears.

A method and apparatus for processing documents are provided. The apparatus includes a feeder for receiving a packet of a plurality of documents and separating the documents to serially feed the documents to a scanner. A retard adjacent the feeder is operable in first and second positions. In the first position the retard forms a nip with the feeder so that the retard is operable to impede the progress of one or more documents in the packet while the feeder feeds one of the documents in the packet. In the second position, the retard is spaced apart from the feeder to form a gap between the feeder and the retard. The system further includes a sensor for detecting a characteristic of the documents in a packet indicative of whether the number of documents in the packet exceeds a predetermined threshold. A drive mechanism automatically drives the retard pad between the first and second positions in response to the detected characteristic.

A sheet processing apparatus comprises a sheet placing section in which recording media are stacked, a storage section configured to record a total amount of toner on the recording media stacked in the sheet placing section, and a control section configured to determine whether or not the recording media stacked in the sheet placing section is likely to stick when a new recording medium is stacked thereon, based on the total amount of toner on the recording media stacked in the sheet placing section.

A drug packaging device is provided in which both sheets are easily connectable to each other with a simple construction. A working plate having a first portion for temporarily fixing an end portion of a sheet remaining at a drug filling unit side, and a second portion for temporarily fixing an end portion of a new sheet are provided. The end portions of the respective packaging sheets which are temporarily fixed at the first portion and the second portion are connectable to each other.

In one example, a printed output inspection unit (300) for a web printing system (100). The inspection unit has a first L-inverter (310) disposed in a first plane (315), and a second L-inverter (320) disposed in a second plane (325) offset from the first plane in a direction orthogonal to the first plane. The inspection unit (300) also has an inspection area (340,350) between the first and second L-inverters to view a side (307,309) of a web substrate (305), the inspection area extending in the direction orthogonal to the first plane.

A decoloring device according to an embodiment includes a decoloring unit that erases a first image formed with erasable colorant on a first side of a sheet and a second image formed with erasable colorant on a second side of the sheet. A reading unit reads the first and second sides of the sheet and determines whether the first side and the second side are reusable. A single-side reusable paper tray stacks the sheet if the reading unit determines that only one of the first and second sides is reusable. A marking unit adds a mark to the one of the first and second sides that is determined to be not reusable when only one of the first and second sides is determined to be reusable.

Disclosed is an image forming apparatus including a conveyance section, an attraction section, an image forming section, and a hardware processor. The conveyance section includes conveyance surfaces on each of which a sheet can be placed and that conveys the sheet placed thereon. The attraction section that attracts the sheet onto the conveyance surfaces by sucking air from suction holes. The image forming section forms an image on the sheet. When a decrease of an attraction force by the attraction section is caused in executing a print job, the hardware processor causes one or more of the conveyance surfaces to suck and convey a non-print job sheet and then causes the one or more of the conveyance surfaces to consecutively suck and convey a print job sheet, and does not perform image formation on the non-print job sheet and performs the image formation on the print job sheet.

A machine vision-based sheet defect labeling method and apparatus, a device and a medium are provided. The method includes: performing a defect inspection on a target sheet conveyed to a preset defect inspection position, specifically, the target sheet continues to be conveyed towards a preset labeling position after passing the preset defect inspection position by being conveyed; generating a defect label of the target sheet when a defect present in the target sheet is determined, specifically, the defect label carries defect information represented by a two-dimensional barcode symbol including discontinuous dots; and labeling the defect of the target sheet at the preset labeling position with the defect label of the target sheet.