Automatic visual inspection and defect detection on variable data prints

 Automatic visual inspection and defect detection on Variable Data Prints Marie Vans, Sagi Schein, Carl Staelin, Pavel Kisilev, Steven Simske, Ram Dagan, Shlomo Harush HP Laboratories HPL-2008-163R1 Variable data printing, high-speed inspection, print defect detection, scanning, GPU We propose a system for automatic, on-line visual inspection and print defect detection for Variable -Data Printing (VDP). This system can be used to automatically stop the printing process and alert the operator to problems. We present the components required for constructing a vision-based inspection system and show that our approach is novel for the high-speed detection of defects on variable data. When implemented in a high-speed digital printing press, the system will allow a single skilled operator to monitor and maintain several presses, reducing the number of operators required to run a shop floor of presses as well as reduce wasted consumables when a defect goes undetected. External Posting Date: June 21, 2010 [Fulltext] Approved for External Publication Internal Posting Date: June 21, 2010 [Fulltext] Copyright 2010 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. 1 Automatic visual inspection and defect detection on Variable Data Prints Marie Vans, Sagi Schein, Carl Staelin, Pavel Kisilev, Steven Simske,Ram Dagan, and Shlomo Harush Hewlett-Packard Labs, 3404 East Harmony Rd, MailStop 85, Fort Collins, CO, USA, 80528; Hewlett-Packard Labs, Technion City, Haifa, Israel, 32000; Hewlett-Packard Company, Einstein 10, Kiryat Weizmann , Ness Ziona, Rehovot, Israel,76101 Email: [email protected] We propose a system for automatic, on-line visual inspection and print defect detection for Variable Data Printing (VDP). This system can be used to automatically stop the printing process and alert the operator to problems. We present the components required for constructing a vision-based inspection system and show that our approach is novel for the high-speed detection of defects on variable data. When added to a high-speed digital printing press, the system allows a single skilled operator to monitor and maintain several presses, reducing the number of operators required to run a shop floor of presses as well as reduce wasted consumables when a defect goes undetected.