Retaining color fidelity in multiple generation reproduction using digital watermarks
Zhigang Fan, Shen-Ge Wang, Hui Cheng · Proceedings of SPIE, the International Society for Optical Engineering/Proceedings of SPIE · 2003
In most existing color reproduction systems, color correction is performed in an open-looped fashion. For multiple generation color copying, color fidelity cannot be guaranteed as the errors introduced in color correction may accumulate. In this paper, we propose a method of solving the error accumulation problem by embedding color information as invisible digital watermark in hardcopies. When the hardcopy is scanned, the embedded information can be retrieved to provide real-time calibration. As the method is close-looped in nature, it may reduce error accumulation and improve color fidelity, particularly when copies go through multiple generation reproduction.