Research in document composition: Printing forensics and layout aesthetics

Maria Valezzka Ortiz Segovia, Purdue University

Abstract

This investigation is composed of two projects that were carried out independently. Both projects are related to document composition analysis. The applications of the first study correspond to the area of printer forensics, and the second study concerns to the area of document layout aesthetics. Common forensics tasks such as verifying ownership, authenticity, and copyright of a document can be accomplished through the use of imperceptible marks or signatures contained in an electrophotographic (EP) hard-copy document. These signatures can be inherent or intrinsic to the printing process, or they can be artificially produced and embedded in the document at any stage of the printing pipeline. In the past, our laboratory has reported techniques to embed extrinsic information at a printer mechanism level in electrophotographic text documents and halftone images through the modulation of the laser beam intensity. But in the absence of suitable halftone patches or text characters, another strategy to embed signatures in the document is needed. In this study, the use of forms, such as the frames that surround the contents of bank statements, event tickets, and boarding passes, among other security documents, is proposed. This new embedding context broadens the embedding domain and offers the possibility of using error-correcting coding techniques from the area of communications. On the other hand, technology has allowed us to measure many different aspects of images, but it is still a challenge to objectively measure their aesthetic appeal. A more complex challenge is presented when an arrangement of images is to be analyzed, such as in a photo-book page. In general, the studies that have attempted to measure the appeal of a document layout make use of geometric features such the position and size of single objects. But many of the aesthetic characteristics that graphic designers and artists use in their daily work have been left out of the analysis. The main goal of our study is to incorporate aesthetic graphic design concepts within an automated photo layout generation tool. Among other design techniques, the tool makes use of layering and transparency in the layout to produce a professional-looking arrangement of the pictures.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

ALLEBACH, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Electrical engineering

COinS