Embedded data controlled digital highlight color copier

• US 5,668,636 A
• Filed: 12/20/1995
• Issued: 09/16/1997
• Est. Priority Date: 12/20/1995
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Xerox Corporation (Xerox Holdings Corp.)
• Inventors: White, John R., Beach, Richard J., Brown, John Seely
• Primary Examiner(s): Wong, Peter
• Assistant Examiner(s): TOATLEY, GREGORY J
• Application Number:
  US08/575,764
• Time in Patent Office: 636 Days
• Field of Search: 358/296, 358/500, 358/501, 358/518, 358/520, 358/523, 358/504, 235/375, 235/470, 235/432
• US Class Current: 358/296
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/507 being interleaved with the original or directly written on he original, e.g. using a control sheet
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 1/0028 Adaptive watermarking, e.g. Human Visual System [HVS]-based watermarking
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0051 Embedding of the watermark in the spatial domain
• CPC Class Codes: G06T 2201/0081 whereby both original and watermarked images are required at decoder, e.g. destination-based, non-blind, non-oblivious
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32144 embedded in the image data, i.e. enclosed or integrated in the image, e.g. watermark, super-imposed logo or stamp
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/32309 in colour image data
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 1/56 Processing of colour picture signals H04N1/52 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/3242 of processing required or performed, e.g. for reproduction or before recording H04N2201/3256 and subgroups take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 2201/327 which are undetectable to the naked eye, e.g. embedded codes

Abstract

Digital machine readable full color specifications of full color source images are embedded in the printed hardcopy versions of those images; typically through the use of a self-clocking glyph code to minimize the visual impact of the embedded data. This color specification then can be recovered from a hardcopy version of the original source image, even if the hardcopy is monochromatic. Thus, a digital highlight color copier can use this color specification to index into a plurality of different full-color to highlight-color transformse to select the transform or transorms that are most appropriate for rendering a highlight color copy of the source image.

Claims

1. A process for reproducing highlight color copies of full color source images from hardcopy versions of said source images that are of unknown color fidelity;

said process comprising the steps of

embedding a digital machine readable full color specification for at least a portion of a source image in a hardcopy version of said image;

scanning said hardcopy version of image to produce a digital representation thereof, including said digital full color representation;

processing said digital representation of said image to recover said full color specification;

indexing into a plurality of different full-color to highlight-color transforms in accordance with said full color specification to select at least one of said color transforms for rendering a highlight color copy of said image; and

printing said highlight color copy.

2. The process of claim 1 wherein

said digital full color specification includes an image information type characterizer for at least one portion of said source image;

and

said type characterization governs the selection of the color transform for the rendering of at least said portion of said image.

3. The process of claim 1 wherein

different full color specifications are digitally embedded in said hardcopy version of said source image for different regions of said source image;

the digital color specifications for at least certain of said regions of said source image include respective type characterizers; and

said type characterizers govern the selection of the color transforms that are used for rendering those respective regions of said image.

4. The process of claim 1 wherein

the digital color specification for at least one region of said source image includes a pointer to a designated one of said full-color to highlight-color transforms;

and

said designated color transform is selected for rendering said region of said source document.

5. The process of claim 4 wherein

different full color specifications are digitally embedded in said hardcopy version of said source image for different regions of said source image;

the digital color specifications for certain of said source image regions include characterizers which type characterize those regions of the image by image information type; and

said type characterizers govern the selection of the color transforms that are used for rendering the type characterized regions of said.

6. The process of any of claims 1-5 wherein said transforms map full color images into a two color, highlight color space.

7. The process of claim 6 wherein the printing of said highlight color copy is performed by a two color, single pass highlight color print engine.

8. The process of any of claims 1-5 wherein

said color specification is embedded in said hardcopy version of said image in a self-clocking glyph code;

said glyph code is composed of a machine readable pattern of elongated slash-like symbols which are written on a spatially periodic lattice of centers at a sufficient density to cause said code to have a substantially uniform visual appearance;

said symbols are written at a plurality of different angular orientations to encode different digital values.

9. The process of any of claims 1-5 wherein said transforms map full color images into a three color, highlight color space.

10. The process of claim 9 wherein the printing of said highlight color copy is performed by a two color, single pass highlight color print engine.