Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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FULL COLOR SCANNING PROTECTION OF A DOCUMENT
[0001] FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] This invention relates generally to color document protection methods
and
products, and more particularly to methods and products for printing and
obtaining original
documents that can be readily differentiated from copies made of those
documents. The
document protection methods and products also allow detection of an original
document by a
document reader.
[0003] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0004] Many methods and products have been developed, for example, to deter
counterfeiting of valuable documents including art work, identification
documents or financial
instruments such as currency, so that unauthorized copies attempted to be made
from those
documents can be readily distinguished from the originals. Most of these
methods and products
involve preparing an original document by printing or lithography on high
quality media such as
silk, rice paper, and hi~h contact rag pVer. The printing of oriaginal
documents may be done
either in black-and-white (B&W) or in color, and if in color, either in spot
color, colored
backgrounds and/or multicolor printing. In the case of color, the tendency has
been in the
direction of using multiple colors for original documents for aesthetic value,
for ease of
recognition, and originally for protection from copying by conventional means.
The common
printing processes of valuable originals, whether in B&W or in color, are
intaglio and gravure,
among others. These and the other processes mentioned in this application are
very well known
in the art and will not be discussed in great detail.
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[0005] Most of the useful examples in the prior art to deter counterfeiting
and the like are
intended to ensure that copies are produced either with a clear moire pattern
or with a"latent
image" indicia which is invisible or nearly invisible to the naked eye on the
original document.
The term "latent image" is used here not in the photographic sense of an
unseen image to be
developed after processing by chemical reaction, but to indicate indicia that
are printed on
originals so as to be nearly invisible to the naked eye.
[0006] These and other developments in the prior art for purposes of providing
document
protection are disclosed in the patent literature, as for example, in U.S.
Pat. No. 5,018,767 issued
May 28, 1991; U.S. Pat. No. 5,193,853 issued Mar. 16, 1993; and U.S. Pat. No.
3,675,948 issued
Jul. 11, 1972; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,143,967 issued Mar. 13, 1979, all to Ralph
C. Wicker; in U.S.
Pat. No. 4,227,720 issued Oct. 14, 1980 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,180 issued
Jan. 12, 1982 both to
William H. Mowry, et al, as well as U.S. Pat. No. 5,149,140 issued Sep. 22,
1992 to Mowry et al;
and in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,567 issued Jan. 30, 1996 to John R. Volpe. All of
these patents
disclose various means for providing methods and products to enable copies of
documents to be
distinguished from the originals, as for example, by a "large dot-small dot
pattern", a "close line-
spaced pattern", and images or indicia which are screen printed at minutely
varied spaces and/or
angles on the originals and are intended to produce a highly visible moire
pattern effect on the
unauthorized copies. In this specification, the words "print", "printed" and
"printing" are used to
refer to the making of an original document regardless of the techniques used,
and the words
"copy" and "copying" to refer to making copies from an original.
[0007] It is well known, however, that copier and computer scanner-printer
technology
has become even more sophisticated since the development of the prior art in
document
protection. The goal of copier technology, if not already achieved, has been,
especially in
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desktop publishing and the like, to obtain copies as good as an original.
"What you see is what
you get" in color documents has become very achievable in copier and
duplicator equipment
including scanning input devices. Even desk-top computers bave become
sufficiently
sophisticated in color reproduction, including color matching of copies to
color standards such as
the PANTONE® Color Matching System.
[0008] Many if not all of the document protection methods and products were
developed
before this very significant improvement in copier and computer reproduction
technology, and
have been found not be as effective in the newer color reproduction
technology. This is
especially the case on color copiers with a"photo" setting that intentionally
copies a document in
an "unsharp" focus so as to give the effect of a continuous tone image, the
effect of which is to
defeat the precise line variation between the copier scanner and the security
pattern on the
document original. These prior art techniques for document protection may not
work as reliably
against the many forms of copier/duplicator and computer scanner/output
equipment now or
soon to be available.
[0009] Most copying and scanning machines currently in use perform a geometric
horizontal and vertical scan of documents to produce the image of the
document. In order to
accurately scan a colored document, such as a poster, for reproduction,
several scans may be
taken of the document at several angles, such as 90 degrees, 45 degrees and 0
degrees. Then the
images produced from the scan may be provided to a software program, sucli=as
PHOTOSHOP
'' m, and color separated to form separate images in each of the primary
printing colors, e.g. cyan,
yellow, magenta and black. Once the document has been color separated, a
skilled artisan can
readily identify defects in each color image separately, allowing them to
defeat most security
markings on the document, such as watermarkings and distortion producing
pattems. After
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correcting the defects in the separate color images, the artisan can recombine
the color images to
produce a near identical copy of the original document.
[0010] Thus it has become imperative for purposes of document security and
safety that
further improvements in the area of document protection for color documents be
found,
especially where there is a need to prevent copying or duplicating of valuable
originals and
readily distinguishing the copies from the originals.
[0011] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0012] It is an object of the invention to overcome the above problems and
provide
enhanced security for documents.
[0013] A document carrying an image may comprise: a first image portion formed
at a
first color, the first image portion having a pluralzty of lines at a
frequency of about 80, 95, 105,
245 or 2001pi or any combination of lines dots or spots or images when printed
in colors by
themselves or incorporated into artwork pictures or indicia that would create
distortions, moire
patterns, color shifts and density gain when said document is scanned by a
scanning device.
[0014] A document carrying an image, the image may comprise: first lines
having a first
line frequency, a first angle and a first color; and second lines placed over
the first lines and
having a second line frequency, a second angle aid a second color, wherein at
least one of the
first line frequency and the second line frequency are an interference
scannirig frequency.
[0015] A-document carrying an image, the image may comprise: first lines
having a first
line frequency, a first angle and a first color; second lines placed over the
first lines and having a
second line frequency, a second angle and a second color; and third lines
placed over the second
lines and having a third line frequency, a third angle and a third color,
wherein at least one of the
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first line frequency, the second line frequency and the third line frequency
are an interference
scanning frequency.
[0016] A document carrying an image, the image may comprise: first lines
having a first
line frequency, a first angle and a first color; second lines placed over the
first lines and having a
second line frequency, a second angle and a second color; third lines placed
over the second lines
and having a third line frequency, a third angle and a third color; and fourth
lines placed over the
third lines and having a fourth line frequency, a fourth angle and a fourth
eolor, wherein at least
one of the first line frequency, the second line frequency, the third line
frequency and the fourth
line frequency are an interference scanning frequency, or the combination of
images create
interference frequencies.
[0017] A document carrying an image, the image may comprise: first lines
having a first
line frequency, a first angle and a first color; and second lines placed over
the first lines and
having a second line frequency, a second angle and a second color, wherein
white space is
formed between the first lines and the second lines as a result of the
intersection between the first
lines and the second lines, the white space having at least one interference
scanning frequency.
[0018] A document carrying an image, the ima,ge may comprise: first Zines
havina a first
line frequency, a first angle and a first color; second lines placed over the
first lines and having a
second line frequency, a second angle and a second color; and third lines
placed over the second
lines and having a third line frequency, a third angle and a third color,
wherein white space is
formed between the first lines, the second lines and the third lines as a
result of the intersection
between the first lines, the second lines and the third lines, the white space
having at least one
interference scanning frequency.
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[0019] A document carrying an image, the image may comprise: first lines
having a first
line frequency, a first angle and a first color; second lines placed over the
first lines and having a
second line frequency, a second angle and a second color; third lines placed
over the second lines
and having a third line frequency, a third angle and a third color; and fourth
lines placed over the
third lines and having a fourth line frequency, a fourth angle and a fourth
color, wherein white
space is formed between the first lines, the second lines, the third lines,
and the fourth lines as a
result of the intersection between the first lines, the second lines, the
third lines and the fourth
lines, the white space having at least one interference scanning frequency.
[0020] A document carrying an image, the image may comprise: first lines
having a first
line frequency, a first angle and a first color; second lines placed over the
first lines and having a
second line frequency, a second angle and a second color; third lines placed
over the second lines
and having a third line frequency, a third angle and a third color; and fourth
lines placed over the
third lines and having a fourth line frequency, a fourth angle and a fourth
color, wherein white
space is formed between the first lines, the second lines, the third lines,
and the fourth lines as a
result of the intersection between the first lines, the second lines, the
third lines and the fourth
lines, the white space having at least one interference scannin~frequency.
(0021] A document for deternuning interference scanning frequencies of a
scanning
device may comprise: a plurality of rows of images having a line frequency,
each row having a
line frequency which is different from line frequencies in other rows. In the
document the line
frequencies range from 501pi to 4001pi. In the document, each row contains a
plurality of
blocks having lines printed at different densities.
[0022] An apparatus for determining interference frequencies of a scanning
device may
comprise: a processor configured to receive an image from a scanning device,
and configured to
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compare the image from the scanning device with an original copy of the image,
wherein the
image has a plurality of image portions, each image portion having a different
line frequency
from other image portions, at least one line frequency being an interference
frequency.
[0023] A method of determining interference frequencies in a scanning device
may
comprise: scanning a plurality of images and generating a plurality of scanned
images, each
image having a unique line frequency; comparing the scanned images to the
images and
determining if the scanned images contain distortions, moire patterns, color
shifts and density
gain, wherein at least one image contains a line frequency which produces
distortions, moire
patterns, color shifts and density gain.
[0024] A computer readable medium may carry instructions to cause a
microprocessor to
perform a method of determirung interference frequencies in a scanning device
comprising:
scanning a plurality of images and generating a plurality of scanned images,
each image having a
unique line frequency; comparing the scanned images to the images and
determining if the
scanned images contain distortions, moire patterns, color shifts and density
gain, wherein at least
one image contains a line frequency which produces distortions, moir6
patterns, color shifts and
density gain.
[0025]
[0026] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0027] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and form a part of
the
specification, together with the description serve to explain the principles
of the invention. In the
drawings:
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[0028] Figure I illustrates a document having an image which was produced in
accordance with the principles of the present invention;
[0029] Figure 2 illustrates a magnification of the image of Figure 1;
[0030] Figure 3 illustrates another embodiment of a document which was
produced in
accordance with the principles of the present invention;
[0031] Figure 4 illustrates a magnification of the image of Figure 3;
[0032] Figure 5 illustrates a further magnification of the image of Figure 3;
[0033] Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary test pattern 600 that may be used to
determine
interference frequencies of scanning and copying devices;
[0034] Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary apparatus for determining
interference scanning
frequencies; and
[0035] Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for a method of
determining
interference scanning frequencies.
[0036] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0037] Most copying and scannin~ equipment in use scan documents in a4eometric
horizontal and vertical scan and input images to a CCD array, which produces
pixels used to
make a digital image. The term scanning device is used hereaffter to refer to
any device which
performs an optical scan to obtain an image of a document, including
photocopying and scanning
equipment. These devices have various interference scanning frequencies, i.e.
line frequencies
which do not scan accurately. These interference frequencies also may have one
or more orders,
fn, which also do not scan accurately. For example, typical scanning devices
have interference
frequencies of more than one first order moir6 at 80, 95, 105, 245 and 2001pi.
The present
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invention produces a color image which is resistant to being color separated
from a scan at any
angle, making the document resistant to being copied accurately.
[0038] Figure 1 illustrates a document 1 having an image 2 which was produced
in
accordance with the principals of this invention. Document 1 may be any type
of printed
document, including security notes, trading cards, etc. Image 2 is preferably
formed by printing
a plurality of lines having a color. The term "lines" as used in this
application means solid lines,
dots or spots or any other printing technique to form a line in an image.
[0039] Figure 2 illustrates a magnification of image 2 to illustrate an
exemplary layer of
lines of image 2. A layer 21 having a first line density and a first angle of
printing. First layer
21 is preferably printed at an interference frequency which produces a moir6
effect when it is
scanned by a conventional scanner or photocopier, such as a line frequency of
about 80, 95, 105,
245 and 200 lpi (lines per inch). In this manner, moire patterns do not appear
in the original,
while appearing in a copy of the original. Preferably, the density of each
scanned color lines is
substantially increased in the copy, e.g. by about 200% or up to about 400% or
more, creating a
distorted image.
[0040] Figure 3 illustrates a document 11 having a color image 12 which was
produced
in accordance with the principals of this invention. Document 14 may be any
type of printed
document, including security notes, trading cards, etc. Color image 12 is
preferably fornled by
printing a plurality of lines having a color over each other at predetermined
angles from each
other. The composite image from the colored lines forms color image 12.
[0041] Figure 4 illustrates a magnification of image 12 to illustrate four
exemplary layers
of lines of image 12. A first layer of lines 4 has a first line density and a
first angle of printing.
A second layer of lines 6 is placed over lines 4, the second layer has a
second line density and a
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second angle of printing. The second angle of printing is preferably 5-25
degrees apart from the
first angle of lines 4. A third layer of lines 8 is placed over lines 6 at a
third line density and a
third angle of printing. A fourth color may be printed with lines 10 at a
fourth angle and fourth
line density. The four base colors which are typically used for printing are
cyan, yellow,
magenta and black. The first to fourth line densities may be the same line
density or different
line densities depending on the desired color. Those of skill in the art will
appreciate, that
although image 12 is illustrated as using all four colors for purposes of
illustrating the operation
of the invention, the desired color of the image will dictate the relative
proportions of the base
colors to be used, which may result in as few as one color being used up to as
many as all four
colors being used with various densities.
[0042] Figure 5 illustrates a fiu-ther magnification of image 2 to illustrate
an exemplaiy
interaction between the lines 4, 6, 8 and 10. As illustrated in Figure 5 lines
4, 6, 8 and 10 are
preferably printed at different angles and "white" spaces 16 are formed
between the intersection
of the lines. The combination of lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 and white spaces 16
forin a frequency and
are preferably produce an interference frequency of the scanning device.
Preferably, the angle
and frequency of lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 produce white space 16 which have a
frequency which
corresponds with an iinterference frequency of a scanning device. White spaces
16 may have
any number of frequencies at various scan angles, including 0, 45 and 90
degrees, and may
include more than one interference frequency and/or several orders of an
inteiference frequency.
[0043] More particularly, interference frequencies may be introduced by
printing one or
more of lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 at an interfering frequency, or by placing one or
more of lines 4, 6, 8
and 10 at an appropriate angle with respect to the other lines so that the
white space formed has
one or more interference frequencies. The former technique may be achieved by
printing one or
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more of lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 at about 80, 95, 105, 245 and 200 lpi. The latter
technique may be
achieved by selecting angles for lines 4, 6, 8 and 10 which produce white
space 16 at an
interference frequency.
[0044] Using either technique, In this manner, although no morie' patterns
will be seen in
the original document, When a scanner or copier scans image 2, numerous moire
distortions are
created due to the presence of line and/or white space frequencies at the
interference frequencies.
The image corruption preferably works at any scanning angle, including 0, 45,
and 90 degree
scans by having interfering frequencies at various scanning angles. The
corruption also
preferably increases, gets worse, with higher line frequencies since more
interference frequencies
may be utilized. Preferably, the interfering frequencies cause the scanner to
increase or multiply
the intensity of each of the colors in color separation (yellow, cyan, magenta
and black) to have a
density 300 to 700% their density on the original image 2. Thus, when a
counterfeiter attempts
to make a copy of an original document, the resulting copy preferably contains
significant
distortions which may even appear as a muddy blend of colors. Moreover, a
typical scanning
device also will not be able to provide an accurate image to a computer,
effectively making it
impossible to use a computer to perform a counterfeiting operation.
[0045] In an exemplary embodiment, lines 4 may be cyan at a density of 801pi
and an
angle of 0 degrees, lines 6 may be yellow at a density of 2451pi and an angle
of 105 degrees,
lines 8 may be magenta at a density of 1051pi and an angle of 105 degrees and
lines 10 may be
black at a density of 951pi and an angle of 90 degrees.
[0046] In another exemplary embodiment, lines 4 may be black at a frequency of
2451pi
and an angle of 0 degrees, lines 6 may be magenta at a frequency of 951pi and
an angle of 15
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degrees, lines 8 may be cyan at a frequency of 1051pi and an angle of 90
degrees and lines 10
may be yellow at a frequency of 80 lpi and an angle of 105 degrees.
[0047] In another exemplary embodiment, only two colors may be used. For
example,
lines 4 may be black at a frequency of 2451pi and an angle of 0 degrees and
lines 6 may be cyan
at a frequency of 801pi and an angle of 15 degrees.
[0048] In another exemplary embodiment, one or more of the colors may be
printed in
dots in between the lines. For example, lines 4 may be printed in cyan at a
frequency of 105 lpi
at 0 degrees and a dot may be printed in between line 4 in magenta with a
frequency of 285 lpi at
0 degrees as well. White space is formed between lines 4 and the dots and also
between the dots.
[0049] Preferably, the density of lines 6 and 7 are controlled by controlling
the pitch
(distance between lines), thickness of the lines 6 and 7, or by controlling
the density of the
medium, such as ink, used to print lines 6 and 7. The density of lines 6 and 7
may range from
5% to 95% depending on the colors selected for lines 6 and 7, the density of
the medium, the
thickness of the lines, and the desired appearance of image 2. In an exemplary
embodiment, a
density of 50% for each of lines 6 and 7 may be used, =with a red color for
line 6 and a green
color for line 7. Also in an exemplary embodiment, lines 6 and 7 may be
printed at a different
angle than used to print background 3.
[0050] In an exemplary implementation of a security document using the
principles
illustrated in Figure 3, lines 24 in background area 21 -may have a frequency
of at least 175 lines
per inch and preferably of 300 lines per inch, and a line width of 0.0025
inches at a 45 degree
angle, and lines 23 in image 14 may have a frequency between 100-1331ines per
inch and
preferably a frequency of 951ines per inch at a 30 degree angle.
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[0051] Figure 6 illustrates an exemplary test pattern 600 that may be used to
determine
interference frequencies of scanning and copying devices. Test pattern 600
preferably has a
plurality of rows 602 of different line frequencies ranging from about 501pi
to about 4001pi.
Each row 602 preferably has a separate line frequency. Each row 602 preferably
has a series of
blocks 604 ranging in densities from about 20% to 80%. Preferably, when test
pattern 600 is
scanned, the scanner operator can view the scanned copy to determine which
line frequencies
provide the greatest distortion. The line frequencies which provide the
greatest distortion may be
used as the interference frequencies in a printing operation in accordance
with the principles of
the present invention. Accordingly, even if conventional scanning devices are
modified in a
manner which alters their current interference frequencies, newly created
interference scanning ~
frequencies may be readily identified.
[0052] Figure 7 illustrates an exemplary apparatus for determining
interference scanning
frequencies. As illustrated in Figure 7, scanning device 700 preferably
receives a document
bearing test pattern 600, or any other suitable test pattern, and scans the
document. The scanning
device 700 may be any conventional type of scanning or photocopying unit,
including scanning
units capable of providing a digital image of a photograph or of providing an
electronic word
processor document from a text scan. Scanner 700 may be of the type suitable
for use with
photographic and text scanners, photocopiers, facsimiles. Scanner 700
preferably generates a
scanned representation of a scan of document 600, such as a digital
representation, and provides
this information to a processor 702. Scanner 700 may contain one or more
storage devices (not
shown), such as a RAM, floppy disk drive, writeable CD drive, or the like,
which may be used to
store the scanned representation prior to being sent to the microprocessor.
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[0053] Data of the scanned image is preferably provided to processor 702
through I/O
ports 706, which may be connected to scanner 700 by a cable or a wireless
connection or may be
remotely located and connected through a suitable communication architecture,
such as the
internet, or telephone network. Processor 702 preferably contains the test
pattern in a memory
708, which may be any type of memory such as a RAM, a ROM, a hard disk etc.
Processor 702
also preferably contains a microprocessor 710 which is programmed to compare
each line
frequency and corresponding density in the original test pattern 600 recalled
from memory 708
with the scanned image provided by scanner 700. Although I/O ports 706 and
memory 708 are
illustrated as being in separate units from microprocessor 710 for purposes of
illustrating the
invention, those of skill in the art will appreciate that I/0 ports 706 and/or
memory 708 may be
integrally contained in microprocessor 710. Preferably, the microprocessor
determines if any
moir6 patterns are produced by determining if there are distortions in the
lines such as by
determining if the direction(s) or orientation(s) of the lines are different
in the copy than the test
pattern 600 or if the lines in the copy are wavy or have a greater density
than in the original.
Line frequencies in the original which produce the greatest distortions in the
scan copy, e.g.
significant moire patterns are produced, and/or line frequencies that cause
the line density to
increase by more than two times, are considered to be the interfering line
frequencies.
Microprocessor 710 may instruct display 704 to display a message indicating
whether an
interference scanning frequency has been found and/or may display the scanned
image by itself
or with the original image.
[0054] Figure 8 illustrates an exemplary flow diagram for a method of
determining
interference scanning frequencies. As illustrated in Figure 8, data indicative
'of a scanned image,
which is preferably ari image of a block 606 or a row 602, is received by
processor 702 (step S1)
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which attempts to identify or discriminate lines in the scanned image (step
S2). If lines cannot
be discriminated in the scanned image, e.g. lines in a scanned block 606
cannot be determined,
such as if significant distortions or moird patterns are present in the
scanned image, NO in step
S2, processor 702 preferably determines the line frequency in the original
image is an
interference scanning frequency. If lines can be discriminated, YES in step
S2, processor 702
preferably retrieves data indicative of the original image (step S3) and
compares attributes of the
original image to the scanned image (step S4). The compared attributes may
include comparing
the line frequency in the scanned image with the original, distortions of the
lines in the scanned
image (e.g. a straight line in the original being a wavy line in the scanned
image), density gain of
the lines, and/or convergence or divergences of the lines in the scanned image
which are parallel
in the original. IF the compared attributes are greater than a predetermined
amount, e.g. if the
density gain is about 200% or more, Yes in step S4, then the line frequency of
the original image
is identified as an interference scanning frequency. Otherwise, No in step S5,
the line frequency
is not identified as an interference scanning frequency.
[0055] The architecture illustrated in each of Figure 7, may be entirely
contained in a
single device or multiple devices, and the functions associated with the
architecture in Figure 7
may be performed by programmable software. Moreover, the operations
illustra.ted in Figure 8
may be performed by programmable software on an internal or external memory
(not shown)
associated with microprocessor 710, such as a ROM or a RAM or any other
memory. The
software that performs the operations illustrated in Figure 8 may be embodied
in the form of data
in a computer readable medium. A computer readable medium within the scope of
this
disclosure includes any medium, physical or metaphysical, which is capable of
carrying
information in a form which can be read by an appropriately configured
computer or mobile
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communication device and associated peripheral devices of the computer or
station, including,
but not limited to: an optical readable/writeable disc, a magnetic disk, a
readable/writeable card,
a magnetic tape, an electrical transmission signal for wireline or wireless
transmission or optical
transmission of data using electrical and/or electromagnetic signals. The data
associated with the
programmable software, including any data to implement the method illustrated
in Figure 8 and
data associated with the scanned image or the original image, may be in the
form of packetized
digital data and may configured for transmission over the internet.
[0056] Those of skill in the art will appreciate that a variety of images may
be printed in
accordance with the principles of the present invention to prevent
unauthorized copying of those
images. For example, the present invention may be used to print currency so
that the currency
could not be scanned and color separated to thwart counterfeiting efforts.
Artwork, such as
prints and posters, may also be printed in accordance with the principles of
the present invention
to thwart unauthorized copying, duplication or use of the artwork. The
principles of the present
invention may also be used to print security images, including latent security
images, which may
be used on a variety of documents, including identification cards, drivers
licenses, currency, etc.
[0057] The invention may be embodied in other spcific forms without departin~
from
the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. The present embodiments are
therefore to be
considered in atl respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of
the invention being
indicated by the appended claims rather than by the foregoing description and
all changes which
come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are therefore
intended to be
embraced therein.
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