JP2007208436A - Image processor and image processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain good padding results for each output device which combines and outputs additional information, depending on the performance of the output device, and to eliminate such troubles that the embedding system or the printing format is altered arbitrarily by an installed application or external user operation. <P>SOLUTION: Embedding system of positional information is managed in units of jobs, and a job and a device that are to be used in a job tree are decided (step S12). When only a color printer is used, a system for embedding positional information, by varying the pixel value of original image data (color or color tone), e.g. digital watermarking for multi-value color image, is selected as the padding system of positional information (step S13). In case of an Fax module, a system for embedding positional information by depicting a combination of points, e.g. a two-dimensional bar code, is selected as the embedding system of positional information (step S14). <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus and an image processing method, and in particular, an image processing apparatus that embeds information different from image information as additional information in a visible or invisible state on a paper surface of printing paper (recording paper) and prints it out. The present invention relates to an image processing method.

  In recent years, in offices, digitization of storing documents as electronic data has become common, and image forming apparatuses such as copiers and printers that convert electronic data into paper documents have become widespread. Along with this, leakage of confidential information from inside the company has become a serious problem, with highly confidential information such as customer lists and information on products under development leaking out of the company.

  However, due to recent advances in encryption technology, authentication technology, access restriction technology, etc., it is relatively difficult to take out electronic documents if appropriate measures are taken. On the other hand, once an electronic document is printed on paper and converted into a paper document, there is no way to prevent copying or taking it out of the office. As one of countermeasures against confidential leakage of a paper document, a technique for embedding tracking information as additional information in a paper document in advance is known.

  A representative technique is a digital watermark technique. Digital watermarking technology uses human perception (visual and auditory) characteristics, and embeds information other than the content in digital content such as still images, video, and audio so that it cannot be perceived by humans. Technology. By embedding tracking information as additional information in a visible or invisible state in this paper with this digital watermark technology, even if a paper document printed with confidential information leaks outside the company, the tracking information recorded on the paper document It becomes possible to identify the source of the spill.

  Various image processing apparatuses using this digital watermark technology have been conventionally proposed. For example, in Patent Documents 1 and 2 below, in order to realize more flexible embedding of additional information, the additional information embedding method and print format are changed in accordance with an installed application or an external user operation. An image processing apparatus as described above is described.

JP 2003-101760 A Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-072845

  However, in the above prior art, in the case of always embedding tracking information in an image processing apparatus that embeds additional information in a visible or invisible state on all printed paper surfaces to be printed out, an operation by an installed application or an external user There is a problem that the embedding method and the printing format are arbitrarily changed depending on the case. For example, when trying to redistribute a printed material in black and white copies to enable visual tracking, the print format is arbitrarily changed by the user's intention and the tracking information is invisible due to, for example, a yellow color material. If it is copied by, it is a problem because visual tracking becomes impossible.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to the present invention, in an image processing apparatus that embeds information different from image information as additional information in a visible or invisible state and prints it out on the surface of the printing paper, The additional information embedding method or embedding parameter is selected according to the combination of devices used in the above, and the additional information is encoded based on the selected embedding method or embedding parameter to generate code image data. Then, an image based on the code image data is synthesized with the output image.

  In the image processing apparatus configured as described above, a method for embedding position information is managed on a job basis, and an additional information embedding method or embedding parameter is selected according to a combination of jobs and devices used in the job tree. For each output device that synthesizes and outputs, an additional information embedding method or embedding parameter according to the performance of the output device can be set.

  According to the present invention, since an additional information embedding method or embedding parameter according to the performance of the output device can be set for each output device that synthesizes and outputs the additional information, a favorable embedding result according to the performance of the output device can be set. In addition, there is no problem that the embedding method and the print format are arbitrarily changed by an installed application or an external user operation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an example of an image information processing system to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 1, the image information processing system according to this application example includes one or more clients, for example, three clients 1, 2, and 3, and one or more servers, for example, one server 4. The client 1, 2, 3 and the server 4 are connected via a network 5 so that they can communicate with each other.

  Here, as the clients 1, 2, and 3, for example, a digital multi-function peripheral having a combination of functions such as a copy function, a print function, and a facsimile (Fax) function is used, and as the server 4, for example, an image using a personal computer An information processing system is shown as an example. However, the combination of the digital multi-function peripheral and the personal computer is only an example, and is not limited to this combination.

  In the image information processing system having the above-described configuration, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention can be used in the clients (multifunction devices in this example) 1, 2, 3, or the clients 1, 2, 3 individually and the server (in this example It is built in combination with (computer 4). Further, the image processing method according to the present invention is realized in each of the clients 1, 2, 3, or in a combination of the clients 1, 2, 3 and the server 4.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the basic configuration of the image processing apparatus according to the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, an image processing apparatus 10 according to the present invention includes an image data input unit 20, a processing control unit 30, and an image data output unit 40. What is image information on the surface of printing paper (recording paper)? Other information is embedded as additional information in a visible or invisible state and printed out from the image data output unit 40.

  Here, the additional information is information different from the content of the image data in which the additional information is embedded. Tracking information for specifying the outflow source for the purpose of preventing leakage of confidential information, or printing paper (recording paper) For example, position information for uniquely specifying an absolute position on an individual page. In the present embodiment, as an example, a case where position information is embedded as additional information will be described as an example.

  This position information is embedded in the visible or invisible state as different information for each position over the entire surface of the printing paper. By tracing, for example, with a pen-type scanner on the printing paper surface in which this position information is embedded, the position information is read by the pen-type scanner, so that the trace traced by the pen-type scanner is captured based on the position information. Can do. Further, by changing the position information of the absolute position for each print sheet, each print sheet can be uniquely specified by the position information of the same absolute position.

  In the image processing apparatus 10, the image data input unit 20 includes, for example, a scanner device such as a flat head scanner, a handy scanner, or a pen-type scanner and its control means, a Fax reception device and its control means, a storage such as a magnetic disk or a memory card. It is realized by a medium read / write device and its control means, a data transfer means for transferring data via a network or the like, or a means for rasterizing a file created by application software into a bitmap image.

  The image data input unit 20 receives image data read by the scanner device, image data received by the fax receiving device, image data read from the storage medium by the read / write device, image data received by the data transfer unit, or bit Map image data is input to the processing control unit 30.

  The processing control unit 30 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 31, an I / O circuit 32, a ROM 33, a RAM 34, and an HDD (Hard Disk Drive Device) 35, and these components are mutually connected via a bus line 36. The position information is generated as additional information for the image data input from the image data input unit 20, and the generated position information is embedded in the image data.

  In the processing control unit 30, the CPU 31 controls the processing of the entire processing control unit 30 including arithmetic processing. The I / O circuit 32 manages input / output with peripheral devices of the image data input unit 20, the search operation unit 40, and the image data output unit 50. The ROM 33 stores processing programs for various processes executed under the control of the CPU 31. The RAM 34 is a primary storage device used when executing the various processes. The HDD 35 stores image data processed under the control of the CPU 31.

  The image data output unit 40 is realized by, for example, a printer device (color / monochrome) and its control means, or a fax printing apparatus and its control means, and image data instructed for print output or image data in which position information is embedded. Is printed out in a predetermined format. That is, the image data output unit 40 outputs image data instructed to be output or image data in which position information is embedded as a document printed on paper.

  Here, the additional information to be embedded in the image data is generated in the processing control unit 30, but the generation of the additional information is not limited to the processing control unit 30, and is generated by another client or server. Thus, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the data is taken into the processing control unit 30 via the network 5. In the following description, the former, that is, a case where additional information embedded in image data is generated in the processing control unit 30 will be described as an example.

  FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a functional configuration example of the processing control unit 30 according to the present invention. As illustrated in FIG. 3, the processing control unit 30 according to the present embodiment includes an image data storage unit 301, a job / device configuration extraction unit 302, a location information issue unit 303, an information management unit 304, an encoding method / parameter selection unit. 305, a position code image generation unit 306, an image data synthesis unit 307, an image data separation unit 308, a position code image decoding unit 309, and an information storage unit 310.

  The image data storage unit 301 corresponds to the HDD 35 in FIG. 2 and stores (stores) image data input from the image data input unit 20. When the job / device configuration extraction unit 302 allocates requests from a plurality of clients to devices and executes processing, the job / device configuration extraction unit 302 acquires the configuration of jobs and job trees and the configuration of input / output devices used therein.

  Here, the job refers to a minimum processing unit and a minimum charging unit when processing is executed by allocating requests from a plurality of clients to devices that output image data. The job tree refers to one or more jobs (groups) associated with a predetermined rule in order to realize one service and application.

  The position information issuing unit 303 selects an area where an arbitrary area can be uniquely specified based on a predetermined standard, and serves as a reference point on the paper surface of the printing paper or the entire surface of the paper according to the size information of the printing paper and the resolution information of the position information. Issue location information for minutes.

  Specifically, the position information issuing unit 303 issues position information as follows. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, a sufficiently wide area is divided into x steps (x = 0, 1, 2,...) In the horizontal direction and y steps (y = 0, 1, 2,...) In the vertical direction. Assuming that the region XY is assumed, for example, in order to acquire position information with a predetermined resolution on an A4 size sheet, a region of horizontal m steps and vertical n steps is required.

  When the image data input from the image data input unit 20 is printed on A4 size paper, the position information issuing unit 303 extracts empty areas of m steps in the horizontal direction and n steps in the vertical direction in the region XY, and the position Publish information. Alternatively, areas with different resolutions are prepared, and an area to be issued is selected according to the resolution of the output device to be used.

  The information management unit 304 registers and manages the position information issued by the position information issuing unit 303 together with related information in a database. In addition, when adopting a configuration in which the position information is generated by another external client or server, the information management unit 304 registers and manages the position information generated by the other client or server in the database. .

  The encoding method / parameter selection unit 305 selects a position information embedding method (encoding method) and an embedding parameter according to a combination of devices used in the job tree acquired by the job / device configuration extraction unit 302. . As a technique for embedding position information, a well-known digital watermark technology (for example, JPO General Affairs Department Technical Research Section Technical Trends Group, “Standard Technology Collection Digital Watermark”, [online], March 28, 2003, JPO, [ Search on June 21, 2005], the Internet <URL: http://www.jpo.go.jp/shiryou/s_sonota/hyoujun_gijutsu/denshi_sukashi/index.htm>) can be used.

  Here, the position information embedding method includes, for example, a method of embedding information by a combination of pixel values (color and gradation) of image data, a method of embedding information by a combination of points, and the like. The embedding parameters are resolution information and thinning rate of position information corresponding to image contents and output device performance, or a color material for printing position information.

  The position code image generation unit 306 encodes the position information issued from the position information issue unit 303 using the embedding method (encoding method) or the embedding parameter selected (set) by the encoding method / parameter selection unit 305. The converted position code image data is generated. For example, as shown in FIG. 5, when generating position code data from position information using a technique that can represent character information and numerical information as image information, such as a two-dimensional barcode, the performance of the output device, for example, resolution To generate position code data having a resolution corresponding to. Alternatively, position code data is generated by thinning out position information issued at a fixed resolution from the position information issuing unit 303 at a thinning rate corresponding to the resolution of the output device.

  When the position information issued from the position information issuing unit 303 is only one point as a reference, the position code image generation unit 306 determines the size and position of the printing paper based on the reference position information. In accordance with the resolution information of the information, position code data is generated for position information for the entire surface of the printing paper.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the image data synthesizing unit 307 generates a process for synthesizing (embedding) position information in the input image by the input image data from the image data input unit 20 and the position code image generating unit 306. This is performed by combining the position-coded image data. For example, a specific gradation or color tone is removed from the input image data, and the position code image data is corrected so as to be expressed by the specific gradation or color tone and synthesized as image data.

  Here, it is assumed that the position information for the input image is synthesized on the image data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the image data output unit 40 optically combines the input image data and the position code image data. It is also possible to synthesize on the paper surface by printing on the same paper surface with printing materials having different characteristics. Here, the printing materials having different optical characteristics differed significantly in, for example, the absorption rate, reflectance, and transmittance of infrared light and ultraviolet light, and the absorption rate, reflectance, and transmittance of visible light. For example, ink or toner.

  The image data storage unit 301, job / device configuration extraction unit 302, position information issue unit 303, information management unit 304, encoding method / parameter selection unit 305, position code image generation unit 306, and image data composition unit 307 described above are This is a component that functions when embedding position code image data (position information) in input image data.

  Subsequently, components that function when separating and decoding the position code image data from the input image data in which the position code image data (position information) is embedded, that is, the image data separation unit 308, the position code image decoding unit 309, and The information storage unit 310 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the image data separation unit 308 separates position information from the input image by separating the position code image data from the input image data in which the position code image data is embedded. For example, the position code image data is separated by separating a specific gradation or tone from the image data obtained by combining the input image data and the position code image data.

  Here, the position information is separated from the input image on the image data. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and image data input means corresponding only to a printing material having specific optical characteristics is provided. It is also possible to prepare separately so that only position information is captured at the stage of capturing an image. Here, the image data input means corresponding only to a printing material having a specific optical characteristic is, for example, taking in only an image printed with a printing material having a high absorption rate of infrared light and absorbing the visible light. A scanner or a camera that does not capture an image printed with a printing material such as reflectance or transmittance.

  Based on the position code image data separated by the image data separation unit 308, the position code image decoding unit 309 decodes the position code printed by, for example, a two-dimensional bar code as shown in FIG. If information is given, it is decoded based on the information and the position information is taken out. The information storage unit 310 stores (stores) the position information decoded by the position code image decoding unit 309.

  Here, the input / output devices acquired by the job / device configuration extraction unit 302 are a scanner device and its control means in the image data input unit 20, a read / write device for a storage medium such as a magnetic disk and a memory card, and its control means, Data transfer means, means for rasterizing a file created by application software into a bitmap image, and a printer device (color / monochrome) in the image data output unit 40. Further, when a facsimile (Fax) function is provided, the Fax module is also a device acquired by the job / device configuration extraction unit 302.

  Each component of the processing control unit 30 described above, that is, the image data storage unit 301, the job / device configuration extraction unit 302, the position information issue unit 303, the information management unit 304, the encoding method / parameter selection unit 305, the position code image. The generation unit 306, the image data synthesis unit 307, the image data separation unit 308, the position code image decoding unit 309, and the information storage unit 310 execute an information storage processing function by executing a predetermined program like a PC (personal computer). It can also be realized by using a computer device that realizes an image processing function, an arithmetic processing function, and the like.

  In the image processing apparatus 10 configured as described above, in the present embodiment, information different from the image information is embedded as additional information in a visible or invisible state on the surface of the printing paper (recording paper) and printed from the image data output unit 40. When outputting, a position information embedding method or embedding parameter as additional information is set according to a combination of devices used in the job tree.

  Hereinafter, a specific example of image processing executed in the processing control unit 30 under the control of the CPU 31 when the position information is embedded will be described.

Example 1
FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of image processing according to the first embodiment. The present embodiment is a processing example in the case of setting a position information embedding method according to a combination of jobs and devices used in the job tree.

  First, based on the selection of the application, the configuration of the job and the device used in the job tree is determined (step S11), and then it is determined what the selected device is (step S12).

  Here, for example, if only a color printer is used, the pixel value (color or color tone) of the original image data is changed as a position information embedding method, such as a digital watermark for multi-valued color image data. By doing so, a method of embedding position information is selected (step S13).

  On the other hand, if the selected device is a Fax module, as the position information embedding method, for example, a method of embedding position information by drawing a combination of points such as a two-dimensional barcode is selected (step S14). ).

  When the position information embedding method is selected in step S13 or S14, image data is taken in from the image data input unit 20 (step S15), and then position-coded image data (position information) is added to the input image data by the selected (set) embedding method. ) Are embedded and synthesized (step S16). The combined image data is printed out on the surface of the printing paper by the image data output unit 40 (step S17).

  As described above, a method for embedding position information is managed for each job, and a position information embedding method is used according to a combination of devices used in a job and a job tree, for example, a method for embedding position information by a combination of pixel values. And a method of embedding position information by combining points, a preferable embedding result corresponding to the performance of the output device can be obtained, and embedding can be performed by an installed application or an external user operation. The method and print format are not changed arbitrarily.

  More specifically, for example, when the device is a color printer, for example, the position information is embedded using a combination of pixel values (colors and color tones), so that the position information is expressed using a multi-value expression when the position information is embedded. Because it can be embedded, it can be embedded more finely (higher resolution), or by embedding the position information by changing the original image data to the extent that humans cannot perceive, so that the position information does not stand out It can be embedded.

  Further, by embedding position information by drawing a combination of points, the position information can be obtained even when a device that can handle only black and white (binary) image data, such as a Fax module, is used. There is no loss.

  In this embodiment, as a method for embedding position information set according to a combination of a job and a device used in the job tree, a method for embedding position information by a combination of pixel values and a method for embedding position information by a combination of points. Although the method is given as an example, these are only examples, and are not limited thereto.

(Example 2)
FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of image processing according to the second embodiment. The present embodiment is an example of processing when setting resolution (density) information of position information, which is a position information embedding parameter, according to a combination of jobs and devices used in the job tree.

  First, based on the selection of the application, the configuration of the device used in the job and job tree is determined (step S21), and then it is determined what the selected device is (step S22).

  Here, for example, if the selected device is a color printer, the same high resolution as the resolution of the original image data (input image data) is selected as the resolution information of the position information (step S23). If it is a Fax module, a low resolution lower than the resolution of the original image data is selected as the resolution information of the position information (step S24).

  When the resolution information of the position information is selected in step S23 or S24, the image data is fetched from the image data input unit 20 (step S25), and then the position code image data (position information) is embedded in the input image data with the selected resolution information. Synthesis (step S26). The combined image data is printed out on the surface of the printing paper by the image data output unit 40 (step S27).

  As described above, the resolution information of the position information is managed in units of jobs, and the resolution information of the position information is selected according to the combination of devices used in the job and job tree, thereby improving the performance of the output device. A suitable embedding result can be obtained, and the embedding method and the print format are not arbitrarily changed by an installed application or an external user operation.

  More specifically, for example, when the only device used in a job or job tree is a printer, it is expected that the device is a print instead of a copy. Thus, the absolute position can be specified more precisely by using the Fax module. By embedding the position information at a low resolution, the position information can be embedded even in a device having a relatively low resolution.

  Further, when the additional information is position information, the position information is embedded as information in which the information content of the absolute position is different for each print sheet in order to be able to specify each print sheet from the position information. Specifically, for example, if a number is embedded as position information in the order of 1, 2, 3,... From a reference position on a certain printing paper, 11, 12, 13,. Numbers are embedded as position information in order. When embedding the position information, the information management unit 304 extracts the position information of a specific area from the area of the managed position information (for example, a collection of points) in association with the resolution information for each print sheet. By embedding at the time of printing, it is possible to embed the upper position corresponding to the absolute position on each printing paper regardless of the capability of the device used for printing, and accurately acquire or specify the absolute position on each printing paper It becomes possible.

  The resolution information of the position information is used as the embedding parameter of the position information selected according to the combination of devices used in the job and job tree, and the resolution of the position information is reduced according to the combination of devices used in the job and job tree. By setting the resolution, since the amount of data representing the position information can be reduced due to the low resolution, there is an advantage that the position information, which is a finite resource managed by the information management unit 304, can be used effectively. .

  In this embodiment, the case where the resolution information of the position information is used as an embedding parameter set according to the combination of the job and the device used in the job tree is described as an example, but this is only an example. The present invention is not limited to this. Even if the thinning rate of the position information is used as the embedding parameter, the same effect as that obtained when the resolution information of the position information is used can be obtained. At this time, although a part of the position information, which is a finite resource managed by the information management unit 304, is wasted, the information management unit 304 does not need to be aware of the resolution of the position information on each print sheet. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the processing load in managing information.

  When the position information thinning rate is used as the embedding parameter, the rule in the flowchart of FIG. 10 is that if the determination result in step S22 is a color printer, the thinning rate corresponding to the performance of the color printer is set by the Fax module. If so, a thinning rate corresponding to the performance of the fax module is selected.

  More specifically, if the output device used in a job or job tree is a 400 dpi printer, for example, the position information is not thinned out (thinning rate is 0%). For example, if the output module is a 200 dpi Fax module, the position information is 1 / 2 (decimation rate 50%). This thinning process of position information is executed in the position information issuing unit 303 that issues the position information.

  Furthermore, it is also possible to use a color material for embedding position information as an embedding parameter set according to a combination of jobs and devices used in the job tree. A case where a color material for embedding position information is used will be described below as a third embodiment.

(Example 3)
FIG. 11 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of image processing according to the third embodiment. This embodiment is an example of processing when setting a color material for embedding position information in accordance with a combination of jobs and devices used in the job tree.

  First, based on the selection of the application, the configuration of the device to be used in the job and job tree is determined (step S31), and then it is determined what the selected device is (step S32).

  Here, for example, if the selected device is a color printer, Y (yellow) is selected as a color material for embedding position information (step S33). If the selected device is a Fax module, position information is selected. K (black) is selected as a color material for embedding (step S34).

  When a color material for embedding position information is selected in step S33 or S34, image data is fetched from the image data input unit 20 (step S35), and then an input image with the selected color material (color material for embedding position information). The position code image data (position information) is embedded in the data and synthesized (step S36). Then, the synthesized image data is printed out on the surface of the printing paper by the image data output unit 40 (step S37).

  As described above, by selecting a color material for embedding position information in units of jobs and selecting a color material for embedding position information according to the combination of devices used in the job and job tree. A preferable embedding result according to the performance of the output device can be obtained, and the embedding method and the printing format are not arbitrarily changed by the installed application or an operation by the user from the outside.

  More specifically, when embedding position information using a method of embedding information by a combination of points, such as a two-dimensional barcode, for example, if a color printer is used as the output device, a yellow dot By embedding the position information with, the position information can be typed in without being relatively visually noticeable, and if the Fax module is used as an output device, the position information is embedded using black dots. Thus, even when a device capable of handling only black and white, such as a fax module or a monochrome printer, is used, position information is not lost.

  In addition, the position information thinning rate is used as an embedding parameter of the position information selected according to the combination of devices used in the job and job tree, and the position information is thinned out according to the combination of devices used in the job and job tree. By setting the rate, and issuing the location information according to the thinning rate on the side that issues the location information (for example, the location information issuing unit 303), the output device issues the information that can not be written, Since it is not necessary to transmit the position information, processing of the position information on the side that issues the position information is facilitated, and the time required for transmitting the position information is also reduced.

  In the above embodiment, the position information is generated inside the image processing apparatus 10 (clients 1, 2, and 3 in FIG. 1), specifically, the position information issuing unit 303 in the processing control unit 30. Although it is generated, it is not limited to internal generation. In FIG. 1, it is possible to adopt a configuration of external generation generated by the server 4 connected via the network 5.

  In the above embodiment, as the additional information to be embedded on the paper surface, the case of embedding position information for uniquely specifying the individual print paper and the absolute position on the paper surface has been described as an example. The information is not limited to this, and may be other information such as tracking information for specifying the outflow source for the purpose of preventing leakage of confidential information.

It is a block diagram which shows an example of the image information processing system to which this invention is applied. It is a block diagram which shows the basic composition of the image processing apparatus by this invention. It is a block diagram which shows the function structural example of the process control part which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing when issuing position information. It is explanatory drawing when producing | generating position code image data. It is explanatory drawing when combining position information with an input image. It is explanatory drawing when isolate | separating positional information from an input image. It is explanatory drawing when decoding position information. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of image processing according to the first embodiment. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of image processing according to the second embodiment. 12 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a processing procedure of image processing according to a third embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 2, 3 ... Client, 4 ... Server, 5 ... Network, 10 ... Image processing apparatus, 20 ... Image data input part, 30 ... Processing control part, 40 ... Image data output part, 301 ... Image data storage part, 302 ... job / device configuration extraction unit, 303 ... position information issuing unit, 304 ... information management unit, 305 ... encoding method / parameter selection unit, 306 ... position code image generation unit, 307 ... image data composition unit, 308 ... image data Separation unit, 309 ... position code image decoding unit, 310 ... information storage unit

Claims (5)

An image processing apparatus that embeds information different from image information as additional information in a visible or invisible state on a paper sheet, and prints it out.
Issuing means for issuing the additional information;
Selecting means for selecting an embedding method or embedding parameter of the additional information according to a combination of a job and a device used in the job tree;
Generating means for encoding the additional information issued by the issuing means based on the embedding method or embedding parameter selected by the selecting means to generate code image data;
An image processing apparatus comprising: combining means for combining an image based on the coded image data with an image based on the output image data. The image processing according to claim 1, wherein the embedding parameter is thinning rate information for thinning out the additional information that has already been issued according to a predetermined rule and embedding the additional information in a visible or invisible state for printing. apparatus. The embedding parameter is resolution information indicating an interval or density when embedding the additional information in a visible or invisible state,
The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an information management unit that stores and accumulates the additional information and the resolution information in association with each other. The image processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the additional information is position information for uniquely specifying an individual print paper or an absolute position on a paper surface. An image processing method for embedding information different from image information as additional information in a visible or invisible state on a paper surface of printing paper, and printing it out,
An issuing step for issuing the additional information;
A selection step of selecting an embedding method or embedding parameter of the additional information according to a combination of a job and a device used in the job tree;
A generation step of generating encoded image data by encoding the additional information issued in the issuing step based on the embedding method or the embedding parameter selected in the selecting step;
An image processing method comprising: a combining step of combining an image based on the encoded image data with an image based on the output image data.

Images