阅读说明：本技术 隐蔽标记 (Covert marker ) 是由 M·肖 K·S·莱恩 K·康 H-K·李 于 2018-08-01 设计创作，主要内容包括：本文中所描述的示例涉及与本公开一致的系统。例如,该系统可以包括打印设备,该打印设备包括在打印介质上形成图像的硬件、存储器资源和控制器,该控制器接收打印作业以在打印介质上形成标记,指定接收到的打印作业的像素以在标记上形成隐蔽点图案,其中所述像素对应于第一激光强度水平；以及基于指定像素的第一激光强度水平而将打印设备的激光强度调整到第二激光强度水平以形成隐蔽点图案。(Examples described herein relate to systems consistent with the present disclosure. For example, the system may include a printing device including hardware to form an image on a print medium, a memory resource, and a controller to receive a print job to form a mark on the print medium, to designate pixels of the received print job to form a hidden dot pattern on the mark, wherein the pixels correspond to a first laser intensity level; and adjusting the laser intensity of the printing device to a second laser intensity level based on the first laser intensity level of the designated pixel to form a hidden dot pattern.)

1. A system, comprising:

a printing device including hardware to form a mark on a print medium;

a memory resource; and

a controller to:

receiving a print job to form a mark on a print medium;

designating pixels of the received print job to form a hidden-dot pattern on the mark, wherein the pixels correspond to a first laser intensity level; and

the laser intensity of the printing device is adjusted to a second laser intensity level based on the first laser intensity level of the designated pixel to form a hidden dot pattern.

2. The printing device of claim 1, further comprising instructions to determine an object type image for a print job by rendering a page description language for the print job.

3. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the printing device is a monochrome printer.

4. The printing device of claim 1, wherein the specified pixel has a threshold laser intensity level value.

5. The printing device of claim 4, wherein the memory resource is to be used to store a laser intensity level conversion table, wherein the laser intensity level conversion table includes information to adjust a laser intensity level of a specified pixel based on a threshold laser intensity level value.

6. The printing apparatus of claim 5, the controller to adjust the laser intensity level of the specified pixel based on the laser intensity level conversion table and a threshold of the specified pixel.

7. A non-transitory machine-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a processing resource, cause the processing resource to:

receiving a print job to form a mark on a print medium;

determining an object type image by rendering a page description language of the print job;

designating pixels to form a hidden-dot pattern based on the determination of the object type image, wherein the pixels correspond to a first laser intensity level; and

the laser intensity of the printing device is adjusted to a second laser intensity level based on the first laser intensity level of the designated pixel to form a hidden dot pattern.

8. The medium of claim 7, further comprising printing indicia on the print medium, wherein the indicia comprises a hidden dot pattern.

9. The medium of claim 7, wherein the second laser intensity level is greater than the first laser intensity level.

10. The medium of claim 7, wherein the first laser intensity is greater than the second laser intensity level.

11. The medium of claim 7, further comprising instructions to enter threshold laser intensity level value information into a laser intensity level conversion table to determine a hidden dot pattern.

12. A method, comprising:

receiving, by a controller, a print job to form a mark on a print medium;

determining, by the controller, an object type image to form a marker;

designating, by a controller, pixels of an object type to form a hidden-dot pattern, wherein the pixels correspond to a first laser intensity level;

adjusting, by the controller, the laser intensity of the printing device to a second laser intensity level based on the first laser intensity level of the specified pixel to form a hidden-dot pattern; and

the indicia is printed on the print medium by the controller.

13. The method of claim 12, further comprising rendering the monochrome data of the print job, wherein the rendering of the monochrome data of the print job occurs after the specified pixels.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein embedding the hidden dot pattern into the designated pixels of the object type image occurs concurrently with printing.

15. The method of claim 12, further comprising determining whether the designated pixel is an image pixel or a non-image pixel.

Background

Image forming systems such as printers, copiers, and the like may be used to form indicia, such as text, images, and the like, on print media. The imaging system may form a mark and/or form a three-dimensional object on a print medium by employing a printing substance, such as ink, toner, and/or a three-dimensional printing substance, such as a three-dimensional printing powder, and the like.

Drawings

Fig. 1 illustrates an example system consistent with the present disclosure.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of a printing device consistent with the present disclosure.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example diagram of a non-transitory machine-readable medium suitable for a system for concealing indicia consistent with the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example of a method for concealing a mark consistent with the present disclosure.

Detailed Description

A printing device may form indicia on a print medium (e.g., paper, photopolymer, plastic, composite, metal, wood, etc.) by transferring a printing substance (e.g., ink, toner, etc.) to the print medium. The printing device may render a page description language of the print job to form the mark on the print medium. Further, the printing device may form covert indicia on a print medium while forming a physical representation of text, images, models, etc. on the print medium. As used herein, the term "printing device" refers to a hardware device having the functionality to physically produce representation(s) of text, images, models, etc. on a physical print medium. Examples of printing devices may include, among other types of printing devices, printing devices such as ink/toner printers and/or three-dimensional printers.

During the printing process, the printing device may transfer covert marks, such as a pattern of dots, on the print medium by transferring a barely visible colored covert mark. For example, the covert indicia may be concealed using a yellow channel. However, monochrome printing devices are not configured to transfer color covert marks. Furthermore, attempting to hide the dot pattern using a black channel may make the dot pattern visible.

Thus, as described herein, a hidden-dot pattern is formed on both image and non-image portions of a print medium using laser intensity modulation to adjust the grayscale of the hidden-dot pattern. Thus, the present disclosure describes a hidden-dot pattern generated by designating pixels of a received print job to form a hidden-dot pattern on an image, where the pixels correspond to a first laser intensity level, and adjusting the laser intensity of the printing device to a second laser intensity level based on the first laser intensity level of the designated pixels to form the hidden-dot pattern.

Fig. 1 illustrates an example of a system 100 consistent with the present disclosure. The system 100 may be implemented in various imaging systems, such as, for example, printers, copiers, and so forth. In some examples, system 100 may include a printing device 102, where printing device 102 includes hardware 104 to form a mark and/or representation(s) on a print medium. Printing device 102 may utilize hardware 104 to deposit a printing substance on a print medium to form a mark and/or a physical representation on the print medium. As used herein, "print medium" refers to a single sheet of paper, photopolymer, plastic, composite, metal, wood, or other material upon which indicia can be formed to make up a print job output or a physical representation of a portion of a print job output. As used herein, the term "print job" refers to a signal or state that may be stored in a file and/or set of files and that may be used to direct a printing device to form indicia, such as text, images, etc., on a print medium and/or an object, such as a three-dimensional object.

The printing device may be a monochrome printer. Monochrome printers are configured to print indicia on a print medium, where the indicia consists only of black printing material (e.g., ink). Adjusting the laser intensity of a monochrome printer may allow for grayscale (e.g., black or gray) marks to be printed on the printed material. The laser intensity level may correspond to a gray marking to be printed by the printing device. Thus, the existing pixel laser intensity level may be adjusted to a different laser intensity level to change the gray scale of the existing pixel to a different gray scale. For example, an existing white pixel (e.g., a non-image pixel) may be changed to a black or gray pixel by adjusting the laser intensity level of the pixel. The marks printed by the printing device may include pixels with altered laser intensity levels. In another example, an existing black pixel (e.g., an image pixel) may be changed to a lighter shade or white pixel by adjusting the laser intensity level of the pixel. Again, the indicia printed by the printing device may include pixels having altered intensity levels.

In some examples, system 100 may include memory resource 132 to store information. The memory resource 132 may store a laser intensity level conversion table for the system 100. In some examples, a laser intensity level conversion table stored in memory device 132 may assist printing device 102 in forming a hidden dot pattern on a print medium. In some examples, the hidden-dot pattern is formed by converting an existing pixel laser intensity level to a different laser intensity level based on information in the laser intensity level conversion table. Each pixel used to form the mark and/or the representation(s) may have a threshold laser intensity level value. The threshold laser intensity level value may be used to determine a corresponding laser intensity level in a laser intensity level conversion table. For example, the laser intensity level conversion table may cause the printing device to generate different laser intensity levels based on the threshold laser intensity level values of the pixels. That is, the threshold laser intensity level value of the pixel is input into the laser intensity level conversion table, and the new laser intensity level of the pixel is determined based on the output value of the laser intensity level conversion table.

In some examples, the system 100 may include a controller 106. The controller 106 may receive a print job to form a mark and/or representation(s) on a print medium. Controller 106 may cause hardware 104 included in printing device 102 to form a covert dot pattern while forming a mark and/or representation(s) on a print medium. As used herein, a "hidden dot pattern" refers to a pattern of dots that penetrates a sheet of print medium that is not readily detectable by the unaided human eye. That is, controller 106 may alter the marking and/or representation(s) of the print job to include a hidden dot pattern. For example, the laser intensity level of the mark and/or the selected pixel group(s) of the representation may be altered and/or changed to create a hidden-dot pattern. In some examples, the covert dot pattern included in the marking and/or representation(s) may not be readily detectable with the unaided human eye.

In some examples, the controller 106 may render a page description language of the print job to form the mark-up and/or representation(s) on the print medium. In some examples, the page description language of the print job may be rendered before the printing device 102 forms the mark-up and/or representation(s) on the print medium. The page description language may specify the arrangement of print pages by commands from the computing device. As used herein, "page description language" refers to a computer language that describes the appearance of indicia and/or representation(s) formed on a print medium. In some examples, the controller 106 rendering the page description language of the print medium may assist the printing device in forming the mark-up and/or physical representation on the print medium. The controller 106 may perform a separate rendering of the page description language for each print job.

In some examples, the controller 106 may determine the indicia and/or the object type image(s) that may be printed on the print medium. In some examples, the controller 106 may determine an object type image for each print medium of a print job. The controller 106 may determine an object type image once for the entire print job. In some examples, the controller 106 may determine an object type image of the print job after rendering the page description language. That is, the controller 106 may determine an object type image of the print job using the rendered page description language. As used herein, an "object type image" refers to a description of pixels that states what type of marking the pixels that make up the marking will produce. For example, pixels may be used to create alternating text, vectors, and/or raster content. In some examples, once the object type image is determined for the print job, the pixels forming the mark may be specified to create the hidden point pattern.

For example, the controller 106 may specify certain pixels of the determined object type image to form a hidden point pattern on the marker and/or representation(s). For example, the controller 106 may specify which pixels of the marker and/or representation(s) are to create the hidden-dot pattern, thereby producing a unique pattern. Further, the controller 106 can determine a unique portion of the hidden dot pattern at a time from the entire print job to improve the performance of the printing process. In some examples, the controller 106 may designate pixels to form the hidden point pattern prior to rendering the monochrome data. That is, determining the hidden dot pattern before rendering the monochrome data can allow for a faster printing process than determining the hidden dot pattern after rendering the monochrome data. As used herein, a "printing process" refers to a process of transferring a printing substance to a printing medium and/or forming a three-dimensional object using a three-dimensional printing substance. In some examples, the controller 106 can store information from the specified pixels on the memory resource 108 to recreate the hidden-dot pattern. For example, controller 106 can cause hardware 104 to repeatedly embed and/or emboss a hidden dot pattern into each print medium of a print job without any additional performance impact on printing device 102. In some examples, system 100 can use existing hardware 104 to embed the covert dot pattern into a mark and/or representation(s) printed on a print medium. As used herein, "designated pixel" refers to a particular pixel that is selected and/or designated by the controller.

In some examples, controller 106 may designate certain pixels of the determined object type image to form the hidden point pattern in place of the marker and/or representation(s). For example, the controller 106 may replace the object type information with hidden point pattern information, resulting in the formation of a hidden point pattern, rather than a mark/(one or more) representation within a specified pixel. In such an example, the hidden dot pattern may be printed on a non-image portion of the print medium.

In some examples, the controller 106 may adjust the laser intensity level of a given pixel to form a hidden dot pattern on the mark and/or representation(s) formed on the print medium. The designated pixels may be adjusted using a laser intensity level conversion table stored on the memory resource 108. That is, the laser intensity level conversion table may include information that adjusts the laser intensity level of the specified pixel based on the threshold laser intensity level value of the specified pixel. For example, each pixel of the designated pixels may include a threshold laser intensity level value that may be input into a laser intensity level conversion table to determine an adjusted laser intensity level for the pixel to form a hidden dot pattern in the mark. In some examples, the controller 106 may individually adjust the laser intensity level of a given pixel based on the laser intensity level conversion table and individual thresholds for each pixel of the given pixel. The hidden dot pattern may be embedded into the object type image when the mark and/or representation(s) are printed on the print medium. As used herein, "adjusted laser intensity level" refers to a modified or altered laser intensity level.

Although the controller 106 is illustrated in fig. 1 as being included in the system 100, examples of the present disclosure are not so limited. For example, controller 106 may be remote from system 100 and/or printing device 102 and may communicate with system 100 and/or printing device 102 via a network relationship such as a wired or wireless network.

Fig. 2 illustrates an example of an apparatus 210 suitable for a system consistent with the present disclosure. As illustrated in fig. 2, the apparatus 210 includes processing resources 212 and memory resources 208. The processing resource 212 may be a hardware processing unit such as a microprocessor, a special purpose instruction set processor, a coprocessor, a network processor, or similar hardware circuitry that may cause machine-readable instructions to be executed. In some examples, the processing resource 212 may be a plurality of hardware processing units that may cause machine readable instructions to be executed. The processing resources 331 can include, among other types of processing units, a Central Processing Unit (CPU). The memory resource 208 may be any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or storage device, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read Only Memory (ROM), a storage volume, a hard disk, or a combination thereof.

Memory resource 208 may store instructions thereon, such as instructions 214, 216, and 218. The instructions, when executed by the processing resource 212, may cause the apparatus 210 to perform particular tasks and/or functions. For example, the memory resource 208 may store instructions 214, which instructions 214 may be executed by the processing resource 212 to cause the apparatus 210 to receive a print job to form a mark and/or representation(s) on a print medium. In some examples, the controller may receive a print job containing information about the mark and/or representation(s) to be formed on the print medium. In some examples, the print job information may inform the controller of, among other possibilities, the type of mark and/or representation(s) to generate, the laser intensity levels of the pixels that will make up the mark and/or representation(s), and how many sheets of print media will create the mark and/or representation(s). That is, when the controller receives a print job, the controller can receive information to create the mark and/or representation(s).

Further, the memory resource 208 may store instructions executable by the processing resource 212 to cause the apparatus 210 to determine an object type image by rendering a page description language of a print job. In some examples, an object type image may be determined when rendering a page description language for a print job. The object type image may include information about the type of marking and/or representation(s) to be generated by the printing device. In some examples, the controller may render the page description language once for the print job. Further, an object type image of a print job may be determined for the print job at one time. In some examples, when determining the object type image, a laser intensity level of the pixel may be determined.

The memory resource 208 may store instructions 216, which instructions 216 may be executed by the processing resource 218 to cause the apparatus 210 to designate pixels of the received print job to form a hidden dot pattern on the mark and/or the representation(s), where the pixels correspond to the first laser intensity level. As described herein, the laser intensity level may correspond to a gray scale, such as a shade of black, white, or gray. In some examples, determining the object type image may allow the controller to determine pixels that will have the adjusted laser intensity level. For example, to form a hidden-dot pattern, the controller may use the laser intensity level information in the imaged object type to determine which pixels will receive the adjusted laser intensity level, and what the adjusted laser intensity level of the pixels will be. In some examples, when determining pixels to form a hidden-dot pattern, the controller may determine the adjusted laser intensity level for a given pixel individually.

The memory resource 208 can store instructions 218, which instructions 218 can be executed by the processing resource 212 to cause the apparatus 210 to adjust the laser intensity of the printing device to a second laser intensity level to form the hidden-dot pattern based on the first laser intensity level of the specified pixel. In some examples, the designated pixels may be converted into the hidden-dot pattern by adjusting the laser intensity level of the designated pixels. That is, the laser intensity level of a given pixel can be adjusted to produce a hidden dot pattern. The laser intensity level of a given pixel may be adjusted when the printing device prints a mark on a print medium. In some examples, the adjusted laser intensity level of a given pixel may not be detectable by the unaided human eye when in proximity to other pixels. Further, the controller may determine an adjusted laser intensity level for a given pixel based on the laser intensity levels surrounding the pixel.

Fig. 3 illustrates an example diagram of a non-transitory machine-readable medium 310 suitable for a system consistent with the present disclosure. The non-transitory machine-readable medium 310 may be any type of volatile or non-volatile memory or storage device, such as Random Access Memory (RAM), flash memory, Read Only Memory (ROM), a storage volume, a hard disk, or a combination thereof.

The medium 310 stores instructions 322 executable by the processing resource to receive a print job to form a mark on a print medium. Information from the print job may provide available instructions for forming the mark and/or representation(s) on the print medium. Receiving a print job may allow the printing device to create the mark and/or representation(s). In some examples, the marking and/or representation(s) of the print job may be altered to form a covert marking on the print medium. Furthermore, the human eye may not be able to detect the altered pixels without assistance from the device and/or enlarging the print medium.

The medium 310 stores instructions 324 executable by a processing resource to determine an object type image by rendering a page description language of a print job. In some examples, a page description language of a print job may be rendered to form a mark-up and/or representation(s) on a print medium. The page description language of the print job may be rendered before the printing device forms the mark-up and/or representation(s) on the print medium. Further, the controller may determine an object type image of the print job after rendering the page description language. In some examples, once the object type image is determined, pixels may be designated to create a hidden point pattern. In some examples, the object type image may be determined prior to rendering the monochrome data.

The medium 310 stores instructions 326 executable by the processing resource to specify pixels to form a hidden-dot pattern based on the determination of the object-type image, wherein the pixels correspond to a first laser-light intensity level. In some examples, pixels of an object type image may be used to create a hidden point pattern. All pixels of the object type image may not be used to form the hidden point pattern. That is, only specified pixels of the object type image may create the hidden point pattern, and the controller may determine the pixels to create the hidden point pattern.

The medium 310 stores instructions 328 executable by the processing resource to adjust the laser intensity of the printing device to a second laser intensity level based on the first laser intensity level of the specified pixel to form the hidden dot pattern. The first laser intensity level may be greater than the second laser intensity level. For example, if the designated pixel is initially at a laser intensity level corresponding to black, the laser intensity level may be decreased to change the laser intensity to a level that is not likely to be detected by the human eye. In another example, the second laser intensity level may be greater than the first laser intensity level. In such an example, if the designated pixel is initially a laser intensity level corresponding to white (e.g., a non-image pixel), the laser intensity level may be increased to change the laser intensity to a level that is not likely to be detected by the human eye. As described herein, the second laser intensity level is based on the first laser intensity level input into the laser intensity level conversion table.

In some examples, when an image is printed, the specified pixels are converted into a hidden-dot pattern. The controller may convert the specified pixel by adjusting a laser intensity level of the pixel and embedding the adjusted laser intensity level into the object type image. Adjusting the embedded laser intensity level into the object type image may create a hidden dot pattern. In some examples, the controller may embed the hidden dot pattern into the object type image while printing.

Fig. 4 illustrates an example of a method 430 consistent with the present disclosure. The method 430 may be performed, for example, by a controller (e.g., the controller 106 described in fig. 1) of a system (e.g., the system 100 described in fig. 1).

At 432, the method 430 may include receiving, by the controller, a print job to form a mark on a print medium. The printing device may be a monochrome printer configured to form the grayscale marking and/or representation(s) on the print medium. Further, the printing device may render a page description language of the print job to form an image. When a print job is received by a printing device, hardware included in the printing device can create a hidden dot pattern on a print medium. The pixels forming the marking and/or representation(s) may be altered to create a covert dot pattern. However, the controller may render the page description language for the print job before the pixels that created the markup and/or representation(s) are altered. That is, the controller may determine the arrangement of the objects to be formed on the printing medium. In some examples, a print job may render a page description language once during the entire print job. The rendered page description language may be used to determine the object type image of the markup and/or representation(s).

At 434, the method 430 can include determining, by the controller, an object type image to form the marker. In some examples, the object type image may be determined after rendering a page description language of the print job. Further, the controller may determine an object type image based on the rendered page description language. With the object type image, the controller may be able to determine the laser intensity levels of the pixels making up the mark and/or the representation(s) and the type of mark that may be produced. That is, determining the object type image may determine whether the marker and/or representation(s) include communication text, vectors, and/or raster content. Further, determining the object type image may determine the laser intensity level of each individual pixel of the marking. In some examples, an object type may be determined once for a print job. That is, for the entire print job, the controller may determine the object type once for each print medium of the print job.

At 436, the method 430 may include designating, by the controller, pixels of the object type to form a hidden-dot pattern, wherein the pixels correspond to the first laser intensity level. In some examples, the controller may specify pixels based on the object type image to form a hidden point pattern. That is, the controller may determine which pixels of the object type image will form the hidden point pattern by picking the pixels that will have the adjusted laser intensity level. In some examples, the controller may determine the pixels constituting the hidden point pattern before rendering the monochrome data. In some examples, the controller may store information to create a hidden-dot pattern in a memory resource (e.g., memory resource 132 of fig. 1). The information stored on the memory resource can be used to create a hidden dot pattern on other sheets of print media. In some examples, reusing the determined hidden-dot pattern can create a fast printing process.

At 438, the method 430 may include adjusting, by the controller, the laser intensity of the printing device to a second laser intensity level to form the hidden dot pattern based on the first laser intensity level of the specified pixel. In some examples, a hidden point pattern is embedded into an object type image. That is, the laser intensity level of a given pixel is adjusted and/or changed to create a hidden-dot pattern in the mark and/or representation(s). For example, the designated pixels of the object type image may be adjusted to form a hidden point pattern. Further, the specified pixels may be adjusted in such a manner as to produce a hidden dot pattern that cannot be easily detected by the unaided human eye.

At 442, the method 430 may include printing, by the controller, the mark. In some examples, after rendering the pagination description language, determining the object type image, and the controller having designated pixels to create the hidden dot pattern, the printing device may print the mark-up and/or representation(s) on a sheet of print media. Further, when embedding the hidden dot pattern into the object type image, the controller may cause the printing device to print the mark and/or representation(s) on the print medium.

The figures herein follow a numbering convention in which the first digit corresponds to the drawing figure number and the remaining digits identify an element or component in the drawing. Elements shown in the various figures herein may be capable of being added, exchanged, and/or eliminated so as to provide a number of additional examples of the present disclosure. Further, the proportion and the relative scale of the elements provided in the figures are intended to illustrate examples of the present disclosure, and should not be taken in a limiting sense.

It should be understood that the description of the various examples may not be drawn to scale and, thus, the description may have different sizes and/or configurations than those shown therein.