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We present an ultra-high frequency radio frequency identification based wireless communication set-up for paper-based point-of-care diagnostic applications, based on a sensing radio frequency identification chip. Paper provides a low-cost, disposable platform for ease of fluidic handling without bulky instrumentation, and is thus ideally suited for point-ofcare applications; however, result communication – a crucial aspect for healthcare to be implemented effectively – is still lacking. Printing of radio frequency identification antennas and electronic circuitry for sensing on paper are presented, with read out of the results using a radio frequency identification reader illustrated, demonstrating the feasibility of developing integrated, all-printed solutions for point-of-care diagnosis in resource-limited settings.

Copyright: 2016 SPIE. Due to copyright restrictions, the attached PDF file only contains the abstract of the full text item. For access to the full text item, please consult the publisher's website.

In this paper, we present an industrial application of multispectral imaging, for density measurement of colorants in photographic paper. We designed and developed a 9-band LED illumination based multispectral imaging system specifically for this application in collaboration with FUJIFILM Manufacturing Europe B.V., Tilburg, Netherlands. Unlike a densitometer, which is a spot density measurement device, the proposed system enables fast density measurement in a large area of a photo paper. Densities of the four colorants (CMYK) at every surface point in an image are calculated from the spectral reflectance image. Fast density measurements facilitate automatic monitoring of density changes (which is proportional to thickness changes), which helps control the manufacturing process for quality and consistent output. Experimental results confirm the effectiveness of the proposed system.

The tone value increase in halftone printing commonly referred to as dot gain actually encompasses two fundamentally different phenomena. Physical dot gain refers to the fact that the size of the printed halftone dots differs from their nominal size, and is related to the printing process. Optical dot gain originates from light scattering inside the substrate, causing light exchanges between different chromatic areas. Due to their different intrinsic nature, physical and optical dot gains need to be treated separately. In this study, we characterize and compare the dot gain properties for offset prints on coated and uncoated paper, using AM and first and second generation FM halftoning. Spectral measurements are used to compute the total dot gain. Microscopic images are used to separate the physical and optical dot gain, to study ink spreading and ink penetration, and to compute the Modulation Transfer Function (MTF) for the different substrates. The experimental results show that the physical dot gain depends on ink penetration and ink spreading properties. Microscopic images of the prints reveal that the ink penetrates into the pores and cavities of the uncoated paper, resulting in inhomogeneous dot shapes. For the coated paper, the ink spread on top of the surface, giving a more homogenous dot shape, but also covering a larger area, and hence larger physical dot gain. The experimental results further show that the total dot gain is larger for the uncoated paper, because of larger optical dot gain. The effect of optical dot gain depends on the lateral light scattering within the substrate, the size of the halftone dots, and on the halftone dot shape, especially the dot perimeter.

Special fiber Bragg grating (FBG) sensor embedding and interrogation schemes have been designed to capture the momentary peak pressure forces in the nip of adjacent paper machine rolls, and the spatial distribution of these nip forces along circumference and length of the roll, for production speeds of up to 2000 m/min. Additionally, this FBG sensor system measures the temperature distribution in the roll cover. FBG sensor embedment has been investigated and optimized for the implementation of pressure force measurements in various roll cover materials. These measurements enable immediate quality control during various stages of the production process. Draw Tower Grating sensor arrays, simultaneously performing spectrometric interrogation, and autonomous power supply technologies result in an extremely robust fiberoptic sensor system operating at rotation speeds of 700 rpm, equivalent to centrifugal accelerations of 300 G.

Roughness of a paper surface is particularly important in paper and board destined to be printed. Surfaces are often coated and the amount of coating and method of application used depends on the roughness of the base paper. We present a method of measure of the roughness of the paper based in the analysis of speckle pattern on the surface. Images are captured by means of a simple configuration using a laser and a camera CCD. Then, we apply digital image processing using the co-occurrence matrix, so this method can be considered as a non-contact surface profiling method, that can be used online.

A fiber optic Bragg grating (FBG) sensor and interrogation scheme has been designed to capture the momentary peak pressure forces in the nip of two adjacent paper machine rolls. The spatial distribution of these nip forces along circumference and length of the roll, for production speeds of up to 2000 m/min are investigated. Additionally, this FBG sensor system measures the temperature distribution in the roll cover. FBG sensor embedding has been optimized for the implementation of pressure force measurements in various roll cover materials. High strength draw tower grating (DTG) sensor arrays were used for the embedding process combined with spectrometric interrogation and autonomous power supply technologies. This results in an extremely robust fiber optic sensor system for operation at rotation speeds of 700 rpm, equivalent to centrifugal accelerations of 300 G. These measurements enable immediate quality control during various stages of the high-speed paper production process. © (2012) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

There are several paradigms for color generation in reflective displays (e-Paper) including RGBW color filtering or stacked RGB or CMY. Theoretically, the highest white state reflectance and best color gamut are achieved by stacking three layers of pixels. However, stacking 3 layers induces significant optical losses especially at high resolution and typically does not allow for video operation. Therefore RGBW color filtering is currently preferred for higher resolution and single-layer e-Paper, but only provides color at 25% of the area and a maximum theoretical white reflectance of 50%. Presented herein is a new bi-primary color-system that cooperatively displays two complimentary colors inside a single sub-pixel, and therefore doubles the white state reflectance and color gamut for single-layer e-Paper. Also discussed are candidate e-Paper technologies that may be able to adopt the bi-primary color system, including possible advantages and challenges for each technology.

We have developed thin and light weight flexible EPD (electronic paper display) using QR-LPD technology. QR-LPD suits for flexible display because of its simple display structure (no TFT) and robust image holding property. Novel types of thin and light weight flexible electronic paper display are discussed. This technology can realize the "real paper like" flexible electronic paper.

In order to consummate the management of bank paper, a new algorithm which can recognize the areas of paper tape in bundle of paper money is presented. Image segmentation is used to divide the image into several sub-blocks. Specifically, image entropy is computed in each sub-block. Experimental in different algorithms, including color training algorithm and the median filter and edge detection algorithm, demonstrates its real-time, effectiveness and robustness.

Technological development is seen as one of the fundamental forces in shaping the modern economies. The effects and the role of technological development are also central questions in many issues of environmental protection. This paper presents the results of a life cycle assessment study of the Finnish pulp an paper industry. Three comparative scenarios are drawn. Two scenarios describe the technological levels and production volumes of 1993 and 1997. A comparison scenario with the production volumes of 1997 and the technological level of 1997 describes the effects avoided by improvements. The results demonstrate that technological development has had considerable effects on the material flows of the industry within a relatively short period of time. Changes in most material flows result from various improvements. The environmental performance of the industry has been improved by both changes in operative practices as well as capital investments. The study fails to describe some aspects of realized developments and thus indicates that factors connected to technological change are highly problematic for LCA modelling.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

For the last eight years, the solar industry has experienced annual growth of over 40%. Concerns over the rising costs of conventional energy, as well as its environmentally damaging effects, have been driving this vigorous investment in solar energy. Now, with grid parity almost upon us, the solar industry is reassessing what it will look like as a commoditized, mainstream power source. Do the best opportunities for solar lie with a centralized or decentralized model of production? What are the most bankable PV technologies? How can costs be cut and efficiencies improved to take things to the next level and make that last push to reach grid parity? In this paper, we will examine Solaria's LCPV technology and approach to the future of solar power.

In this paper, we demonstrate an automatic image analysis for Micro Total Analysis Systems (μTAS) or Lab-on-Paper (LoP). By placing fiducial markers on μTAS, application can crop image and remove bending distortions, also it can perform colorimetric analysis. With previously taken photo of μTAS device with applied reagents, user can determine ie. illness presence by uploading photo into the program. In the paper was prepared μTAS sheet, algorithm for finding fiducial points and software for colorimetric analysis written in Matlab.

In this paper, we demonstrate a combination of foil and InkJet printed structures in Lab-on-Paper device. Such a device can be used to analyze a concentration of salt in water (or any other substance) by measuring the impedance of the analyte. Lab-on-Paper can perform an analysis on a microscopic volume of substances. Their advantages is low price, small size or can be easy disposable or stored. In the paper was presented manufacturing and testing of device with colorimetric pH testers and impedance measurement.

Research on affordable point-of-care health diagnostics is rapidly advancing1. Colorimetric biosensor applications are typically qualitative, but recently the focus has been shifted to quantitative measurements2,3. Although numerous qualitative point-of-care (POC) health diagnostic devices are available, the challenge exists of developing a quantitative colorimetric array reader system that complies with the ASSURED (Affordable, Sensitive, Specific, User-friendly, Rapid and Robust, Equipment-free, Deliverable to end-users) principles of the World Health Organization4. This paper presents a battery powered 8-bit tonal resolution colorimetric sensor circuit for paper microfluidic assays using low cost photo-detection circuitry and a low-power LED light source. A colorimetric 3×3-pixel array reader was developed for rural environments where resources and personnel are limited. The device sports an ultralow-power E-ink paper display. The colorimetric device includes integrated GPS functionality and EEPROM memory to log measurements with geo-tags for possible analysis of regional trends. The device competes with colour intensity measurement techniques using smartphone cameras, but proves to be a cheaper solution, compensating for the typical performance variations between cameras of different brands of smartphones. Inexpensive methods for quantifying bacterial assays have been shown using desktop scanners, which are not portable, and cameras, which suffer severely from changes in ambient light in different environments. Promising colorimetric detection results have been demonstrated using devices such as video cameras5, digital colour analysers6, flatbed scanners7 or custom portable readers8. The major drawback of most of these methods is the need for specialized instrumentation and for image analysis on a computer.

Non-invasive measurement of paper porosity is an important problem for papermaking industry. Presently used techniques are invasive and require long time for processing the sample. In recent years optical coherence tomography (OCT) has been proved to be an effective tool for non-invasive study of optically non-uniform scattering media including paper. The aim of present work is to study the potential ability of OCT for sensing the porosity of a paper sample by means of numerical simulations. The paper sample is characterized by variation of porosity along the sample while numerical simulations allow one to consider the samples with constant porosity which is useful for evaluation of the technique abilities. The calculations were performed implementing Monte Carlo-based technique developed earlier for simulation of OCT signals from multilayer paper models. A 9-layer model of paper consisting of five fiber layers and four air layers with non-planar boundaries was considered. The porosity of the samples was varied from 30 to 80% by varying the thicknesses of the layers. The simulations were performed for model paper samples without and with optical clearing agents (benzyl alcohol, 1-pentanol, isopropanol) applied. It was shown that the simulated OCT images of model paper with various porosities significantly differ revealing the potentiality of the OCT technique for sensing the porosity. When obtaining the images of paper samples with optical clearing agents applied, the inner structure of the samples is also revealed providing additional information about the samples under study.

In present work the capabilities of an optical coherence tomography (OCT) setup to visualize paper structure are analyzed by means of Monte Carlo-simulation of the OCT images. The OCT setup at 910 nm was considered. Efficiency of several different optical clearing agents (OCA) for increasing the quality of the obtained images was studied. A multilayer non-planar edged paper model was developed for the characterization of a paper sample and simple recovery of its parameters. The effect of the setup parameters on the obtained OCT-images was studied. It was shown by comparison with the experimental data that the developed model provides satisfactory resemblance of simulated and experimental images of papers sample structure.

The proliferation of digital information is leading to a wide range of applications which make it desirable to display data easily in many locations, all changeable and updateable. The difficulty in achieving such ubiquitous displays is the cost of signage, the cost of installation, and the software and systems to control the information being sent to each of these signs. In this paper we will talk about a networked system of such signs which are made from gyricon electronic paper. Gyricon electronic paper is a reflective, bistable display which can be made in large web sheets at a reasonable price. Since it does not require a backlight nor does it require power to refresh the display image, such technology is ideal for making signs which can be run on batteries with extremely long battery life, often not needing replacement for years. The display also has a very broad illumination scattering profile which makes it readily viewable from any angle. The basic operating mechanism of the display, its manufacturing technique, and achieved performance will be described, along with the description of a networked solution using many such signs controlled with system software to identify speakers and meetings in conference rooms, hospitality suites, or classrooms in universities. Systems will also be shown which are adapted to retail pricing signage and others which can be used for large format outdoor billboards.

The paper presents benefits of optical time-of-flight spectroscopy for the pulp and paper characterization. A semiconductor pulse laser and a streak camera as the photodetector were utilized in experimental part of research described in this paper. Distribution of the time of flight of photons through various kinds of wood pulp (e.g. pulp after mechanical treatment coming both fi-om tree species giving hard and soft wood and pulp after thermo-mechanical treatment) was measured. The pulp samples used in the measurements had consistency ranging from 0 to 5% of dry mass in the suspension. The influence of additives (kaolin, talc and calcium carbonate) present in the suspension on the time of flight distribution of photons was studied as well. Finally, dependence of the time of flight of photons through various kinds of the paper (i.e. newspaper, copy paper, and tissue) on the thickness of the sample was investigated.

The refractive index of paper was determined by measuring the propagation delay of photons in optically cleared paper boards. The determination was based on the assumption that photon propagation delay achieves minimum value as the paper is optimally cleared. The measured paper sheets was made from elemental chlorine-free market pulp, i.e. fully bleached, unbeaten, softwood kraft pulp. Nine different clearing agents with a refraction index between 1.329 and 1.741 were eLuperimented with. According to the streakmem measurements, the refractive index of the test paper was 1.557.

This paper considers the classic non-causal state information problem in channel coding where non-causal channel state knowledge at the transmitter, which is also called the Gel'fand Pinsker problem. This paper determines Lagrangian dual expression for this problem, illustrating that Costa's dirty paper coding result can be replicated using the dual-problem methodology.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Phenylketonuria is a genetic disease, which causes the metabolization disorder of phenylalanine, this disorder would damage the neural system of infants as a result of the accumulation of phenylalanine in blood. Therefore, it is of great importance to diagnose and treat phenylketonuria as early as possible for newborns. The aim of this paper is to develop a fluorescence detection system to measure blood phenylalanine concentration of new-born infants. In this design, a high luminance ultraviolet LED is used for excitation source, and a kind of bifurcated optical fiber assembly is applied for conduction of light. The excitation source is filtered and coupled into quartz fibers of the bifurcated fiber assembly for conduction of light to excite the fluorescence of phenylalanine in blood sample. The collected fluorescence is transmitted along the glass fibers of the assemblies and coupled to a photomultiplier tube. The fluorescence is filtered with 470~500 nm band-pass filter to subdue scattered excitation light and to limit the spectral width of the detected fluorescence. By the comparison with a standard instrument, the new system with low power consumption, low cost and small size is also proven sensitive and accurate, which meets the demand of clinical phenylketonuria screening.

Due to the increased used paper collection rates in Western Europe, more recycled fibre will be used in the manufacture of paper. This will affect both the environmental and economic performance of the pulp and paper industry. The potential for the increase of the collection rate varies significantly in different countries in western Europe. In some countries the collection rate is already close to 70% (Austria, Germany) and in others it is around 45% (Italy, United Kingdom). With the increased demand for recycled fibre also the collection will increase. When the collection of waste paper is increased something has to be done with the collected paper. Different utilisation modes results in different emission profiles. They also have different economic consequences. In this article the environmental and economic impacts of an increased paper collection rate are studied with three alternative scenarios. These scenarios are drawn using a dynamic material flow modelling such as Joined Time Projection (JTP). The results show, that a clear trade off between harmful environmental impacts and economic benefits exists.

There are several important standard laboratory experiments for determining the quality of produced paper in the paper making industry. To know the quality is essential since it defines the use of paper for various purposes. Moreover, customers are expecting a certain degree of quality. Many of paper printability tests are based on off-line visual inspection. Currently these tests are done by printing test marks on a piece of paper and then observing the quality by a human evaluator. In this report visual inspection on paper by machine vision is discussed from a point of off-line industrial measurements. The work focuses on the following paper printability problems: missing dots (Heliotest), print dot density, unevenness of printing image, surface strength (IGT), ink setting, linting, fiber counting, and digital printing. Compared to visual inspection by human evaluation, automated machine vision systems could offer several useful advantages: less deviations in measurements, better measurement accuracy, new printability parameters, shorter measurement times, less manpower to monotonic measurements, many quality parameters by one system, and automatic data transfer to mill level information systems. Current results with paper and board samples indicate that human evaluators could be replaced. However, further research is needed since the printability problems vary mill by mill, there is a large number of various paper and board samples, and the relationships between off-line and on-line measurements must be considered.

This paper studies the correlation between the time-of-flight (TOF) of laser pulses and paper density, basis weight, thickness and the beating of pulp. Paper samples made from unbeaten and beaten pulp were compressed from 500kg/m3 to 1100kg/m3 and laser pulses were shot through them during pressing. Changes were observed in the thickness of the samples and in the TOF of the laser pulses. The results show that TOF decreases during comrpession. This indicates that distances between the various scattering surfaces decrease. This phenomenon becomes more pronounced as the basis weight increases. The beating of the pulp before papermaking increases the number of scattering surfaces, thus broadening the laser pulse and causing delay. These two effects cannot be separated with the equipment used. Papers made from different pulp types each have unique delay constants.© (2003) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This technical paper describes the requirements to effectively use thermal imaging as a means of monitoring rotating machine components in a paper machine. The present efforts are focused mainly on monitoring polymer-covered rolls in paper machine calenders, but the studies will be expanded in the future to monitoring the temperature profiles of paper machine press fabrics and press belts in shoe presses. The main challenges in these areas are the high speeds of the target surfaces, obtaining adequate temperature difference resolution at relatively low surface temperatures and challenging environmental conditions. Adaptive triggering is discussed as a synchronization method for obtaining an adequate number of images from the target. Also some image processing techniques, test results and required qualities of infrared camera technology are presented.

Plastic passive matrix (PM) and active matrix (AM) electronic paper displays (EPDs) have been prepared by SiPix's Microcup® roll-to-roll manufacturing processes using ITO/PET films. The Microcup® displays have shown outstanding environmental stability and excellent physico-mechanical properties such as scratch, impact and flexure resistances even in high temperature and humidity conditions. A PMEPD recently prepared on inexpensive row-and-column patterned ITO/PET films has shown a contrast ratio of >10, ta n 15 V. More than 8 levels of grayscale with outstanding bistability have been demonstrated by either pulse width or pulse count modulation. No noticeable degradation of the mid-tone images has been observed even after the power was turned off for more than 5 days. Moreover, the electro-optical responses, particularly the threshold voltage and gamma of the PMEPDs remain essentially the same within a wide range (20-60°C) of operation temperature.

Many paper mills use ultrasonic techniques to measure the Tensile Stiffness Index, TSI, of the paper sheet. They then assume that the TSI value is the same as the fibre orientation anisotropy. This is true if the paper is allowed to dry without any internal tension or elongation, but does not apply to paper manufactured in a paper machine. The paper machine introduces tension and elongation as soon as the fibre is placed on the forming fabric. These factors increase through the press section and are accentuated in the drying section. In order to uniquely measure the fibre orientation anisotropy on the surfaces, the proposed method uses replicas of both paper surfaces to produce a laser diffraction pattern. The obtained pattern reveals an elliptical shape, which is related to the fibre orientation anisotropy of the paper surface. By measuring the ellipticity of the diffraction pattern and the deviation with respect to the machine direction, one can quantify the fibre orientation distribution. Different papers from the bench market have been successfully tested with the developed system. This article describes the new developed optical system and its innovative capabilities in the field to produce maps of the fibre orientation of a complete paper sheet surface. A selection of the obtained results to prove its feasibility is also presented.

We built a hyperspectral imaging apparatus using middle-infrared light of 8–14 μm, which has a strong ability to identify organic materials, and attempted visualization of the distribution of organic materials that could not be identified by a naked eye. For this purpose, we utilized a low-cost bolometer camera (Nippon Avionics co., ltd. C100V, Japan) for its easy availability rather than an expensive mercury cadmium telluride (MCT) array sensor. To compensate for the low sensitivity of this bolometer, we adopted a Fourier-type spectroscopic system (Aoi Electronics co. ltd., Japan) using an imaging interferometer devised by the Kagawa University, Japan; this interferometer has higher light-utilization efficiency than Michelson interferometers, which are used in popular interferometry techniques. In this study, 4 types of adhesives, 9 types of varnishes and more than 50 types of inks were put on Al plates of size 10 cm × 10 cm and were used as samples. Glossy paper for printing photos with an inkjet printer was also used as a sample. A 300 °C black body of size 15 cm × 15 cm was used as a light source. Spectra of 320 × 240 points were measured at a wavelength resolution of approximately 9 cm−1. The mirror was scanned only once. The measurement time was approximately 30 s. Hyperspectral images of adhesives, varnishes and inks on Al plate and paper were successfully measured. Spectra over a 5 × 5-pixel neighborhoods were averaged, and the averaged spectra were compared with those measured by a commercially available Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy. The averaged and measured spectra had absorption peaks at the same wavelengths. Furthermore, by analyzing the measured spectra, the distribution of substances invisible to the naked eye was visualized. Our results show that if low-absorbance organic materials are put on a high-reflectance surface such as an Al plate, the middle-infrared hyperspectral imaging could be measured using a bolometer. Additionally, hyperspectral imaging of high-reflectance paper, such as glossy paper, could also be measured. Because a bolometer camera is much cheaper than an MCT array, hyperspectral imaging with such a camera has many potential applications. Moreover, an imaging interferometer, with its high efficiency of light utilization, is very suitable for the purpose.

Given monochromatic infrared LED (light emitting diode) device best modulation current, frequency, distance to reach its maximum output power and improve the measuring accuracy of quantifier. Design a wavelength of 2.12 μm, 1.89 μm monochromatic infrared emissions and detection optical path, two monochromatic infrared lights which the photo source sends out after transmits the analyte across the same point to achieve the same point detection and improve the accuracy of the measurement. After the paper samples basis weight have carried out nondestructive testing, which was improved from the aspects of structure. By using the light source, halogen tungsten lamp, filter wheel, electrical equipment can be saved, and it can simplify the measuring system. The experimental results show that when measuring the thickness of the paper in the range, the relative error is within 1%.

Ink jet printability is rapidly becoming a requirement for all multipurpose office papers. These papers must have an optimized balance of properties so they can perform equally well under various printing methods such as xerography, ink jet, and thermal imaging. The office paper of today truly must be a multipurpose copy paper capable of providing good toner adhesion as well as controlled absorption of aqueous ink jet solutions. The demand for ink jet paper is increasing rapidly. The global market for cut-size ink jet papers will expand to nearly 1.4 million tons by the year 2000. By that time the global market for all cut-size multipurpose plain printing papers will grow to nearly twenty million tons. The ink jet printing process places a large volume of aqueous ink on the surface of a substrate. The manner in which the substrate handles that volume of ink determines in large part the quality of the print. Multipurpose office papers are composed chiefly of cellulose fibers, inorganic fillers, and chemical additives. All of these components affect the quality of the sheet as an ink jet substrate. The particle morphology, surface area, and surface treatment of PCC fillers affect the ink jet printability of multipurpose office papers. This paper focuses on results from pilot paper machine and commercial trials performed in an effort to turn 'plain' office papers into high quality multipurpose papers capable of meeting or exceeding ink jet print quality specifications.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

A methodology has been developed to digitize images from photographic color paper (reflection prints) and store the spectral information as a function of the three dye density basis functions inherent to the paper film type. The result is a highly accurate digitization of the spectral information at each spatial pixel that can be digitally stored with very little additional storage space over conventional RGB-type methodologies.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

IR monitoring is a basic tool for quality control and predictive maintenance in the paper industry. There are also other possible interests, e.g. measurements of temperature profiles of high speed production lines. The first possibility to use IR for the above mentioned use appears to be applications of glass heat treatment in on line production. At this time there is a lot of interest to be able to measure temperature profiles from a fast moving surface (e.g. in paper machines) with velocities like 10 - 20 m/s. Normal low speed line scanners typically give scanning speed of 50 Hz which in this case means 20 m/s/50 Hz equals 40 cm resolution. The obtained resolution is not normally high enough. To have more accurate vision from the studied surface IR camera line scanning was proposed to be a solution with line scanning frequencies of 8000 Hz which would provide resolution of 20 m/s/8000 Hz equals 0.25 cm between surface points. It is a well-known fact that all undesired frequencies in paper transfer systems disturb the uniform paper drying process which in some cases is the basic reason for low quality coating or even broken paper line. The possibility to detect these drying problems with IR frequency analysis will give a new way to control the paper drying process. With IR analysis it is possible to get information about temperature distributions along the paper track. Using a well established frequency analysis as a tool, the error estimations are obtained. In most cases an open-roll image from paper track is very desirable because there are no existing wide area measurement systems for this purpose. The careful analysis of this new method is given in the manuscript.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The expression 'Plain' paper was coined in the early days of electrophotography to distinguish the capabilities of the new dry toner based photocopying process which did not require a sensitized or special coated paper to produce an image. Currently 'Plain' paper is considered in the electronic printing industry, to be any uncoated paper, usually of the type used in office photocopying applications. It is assumed that all 'Plain' papers are identical or at least equivalent in their properties such that all papers will give equivalent print quality performance. Due to the wide availability and low price of 'Plain' papers, it is also considered desirable by vendors of electronic marking processes, that their technology be capable of producing good image quality on 'Plain' paper. The chemical and physical differences which can occur among 'Plain' papers are discussed with respect to the specific image quality and engine reliability requirements of the major nonimpact electronic marking technologies, including electrophotography and laser printing, electrographic and ionographic processes, thermal transfer and ink jet. Paper properties of interest include, smoothness, surface energy, electrical resistivity, porosity and aqueous and nonaqueous liquid adsorption. Color printing has added additional requirements to paper quality, if good image quality is to be achieved and maintained. Given the apparently conflicting requirements for some of the electronic marking technologies, it will be a challenge to define a single grade of paper which will produce optimum print quality for all electronic printing processes.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

Laser ablation offers cleaning method for historical and art works effectively. Difference between ablation threshold of contamination layer and the surface yields to remove contaminants from surface without detriment to historical material. In particular, lasers with ultrashort pulse duration are very convenient for brittle historical papers, fibers of which should be intact after cleaning treatment. Since duration of laser irradiation and material interaction is very short, the possibility of damage to the paper is very low. One of the other crucial issues after paper cleaning treatment is color variation on the surface. Authentic color of the historical paper has to be preserved after the procedure. In this paper, we present results of paper cleaning via femtosecond (fs) laser running at a wavelength of 1030 nm. In the first stage of this experimental study, we determined optimum laser parameters on artificially soiled and aged paper samples, then cleaned a handwritten manuscript with ‘sizing’. In calligraphy, ornamentation and miniature arts, sizing is applied on paper as a protective layer which increases strength of paper and renders it more useful. Papers with sizing have been prevalently used in Islamic or Ottoman culture. We observed that after laser irradiation, artificial soling layer is effectively removed, while original color of the subs-layers did not alter. We used scanning electron microscopy (SEM) to examine fiber integrity, and determined that the sizing layer was not removed when optimized parameters were used, thus the fibers were not damaged.

The UK National Quantum Technology Hub in Sensors and Metrology is one of four flagship initiatives in the UK National of Quantum Technology Program. As part of a 20-year vision it translates laboratory demonstrations to deployable practical devices, with game-changing miniaturized components and prototypes that transform the state-of-the-art for quantum sensors and metrology. It brings together experts from the Universities of Birmingham, Glasgow, Nottingham, Southampton, Strathclyde and Sussex, NPL and currently links to over 15 leading international academic institutions and over 70 companies to build the supply chains and routes to market needed to bring 10–1000x improvements in sensing applications. It seeks, and is open to, additional partners for new application development and creates a point of easy open access to the facilities and supply chains that it stimulates or nurtures.

The first thermal paper technology was developed in the 1930s. Since then, thermal recording systems have branched into two main groups, two-component systems and heat-transfer systems. In the 1960s, the leuco dye system was developed by NCR. This type of system has been used mainly in thermal recording systems. The leuco dye system however has some drawbacks such as poor image stability and an artificial texture. In a recent development, a compound with an epoxy functional group was added to the thermal sensitive layer of a leuco dye thermal paper to obtain good stability. A special overcoat layer gives the product the texture of plain paper. In addition to this product, other special thermal papers have been developed, such as two-color thermal paper, IR readable thermal paper, high resolution thermal paper, and translucent thermal paper.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

The coating color for the direct thermal paper basically consists of the leuco dye, the cobr developer and the sensitizer. Blacking dyes to be used for thermal papers call for other practicable properties than the tone, such as storage stability, thermal sensitivity and white background. Since no universally accepted theory in choosing proper developer and sensitizer is available, however, selection will have to be conducted on the designer's experience. Such practical considerations as the stability of the recorded image and matching with the particular machine to be used for are important beside the chemical considerations.

Conventional thermal paper utilizes an electron-donating colorless dye and an electron- accepting developer which react to give a colored image. To improve the image stability, various methods have been proposed. However, there has been no study on the prediction of the image stability. We found that under a defined condition of the thermal acceleration test, the Arrhenius Plot of the fading gives a straight line, and the predicted value gives good coincidence with the value obtained by actual aging. This report presents the outline of the method for prediction and the coincidence of the result of the test method with that obtained by actual aging.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.

This work addresses the study of repeatability of an optical laser system, previously implemented by our research team, for characterization of the fiber distribution and mass density of two paper samples with different characteristics. In the experiment that has been carried out in the current work, both paper samples were laser scanned by the system on a total of 16 times (4 times per day in 4 different days). The data acquired and registered during the experimental work, associated to both tested samples, were then processed and the obtained results showed that the optical system is precise.

Paper based composite with semiconductor nanomaterial is a fascinating orgnic-inorganic hybrid composite that has improved properties of flexibility, biocompatibility and functionality. Cellulose Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) is a kind of paper electric device. To improve functionality of EAPap, ZnO is used as hybrid inorganic composition. Cellulose- ZnO hybrid nanocomposite (CEZOHN) is fabricated by seeding and growing ZnO on cellulose film with a simple chemical reaction. CEZOHN reveals not only electrical, eletromechanical behavior but also photoelectrical behavior. This paper reports specially photo-response and sensitivity of CEZOHN under several light source: UV light, sun and fluorescent light. The fabrication process is briefly introduced, and induced voltage, induced current under light source are investigated. Also, the ZnO effect of CEZOHN and its mechanism is studied and its possibility of application as photosensor, photodiode, photovoltaic device will be discussed.

The appearance of translucent materials is strongly affected by bulk (or sub surface) scattering. For paper and carton board, lateral light propagation and angle-resolved reflection have been studied extensively but treated separately. The present work aims at modelling the BSSRDF of turbid media in order to study the angular variation of the reflectance as function of the lateral propagation within the medium. Monte Carlo simulations of the spatial- and angle resolved reflectance of turbid media are performed for different scattering and absorption coefficients, phase functions and surface topographies representative for uncoated paper grades. The angle-resolved radiance factor of turbid media is found to be function of the lateral light propagation within the substrate and both the reflected radiance factor and the fluorescence emission are found to be clearly non- Lambertian, although the latter clearly depends on the light absorption at the excitation wavelength. It is also suggested that the modelling of uncoated paper should not include surface scattering. The findings impact on the appearance of turbid media at different angles and make measurements of the lateral light propagation dependent on the instrument geometry.

This report describes a method for the creation and automatic content verification of low-cost self-verifiable paper documents. The image of an original document is decomposed to symbol templates and their corresponding locations. The resulting data is further compressed and encrypted, and encoded in custom designed high-capacity color barcodes. The original image and barcodes are printed on the same paper to form a self-verifiable authentic document. During content verification, the paper document is scanned to obtain the barcodes and target image. The original image is reconstructed from data extracted from the barcodes, which is then registered with and compared to the target image. The verification is carried out hierarchically from the entire image down to word and symbol levels. For symbol level comparison, multiple types of features and shape matching are utilized in a cascade. The proposed verification method is inexpensive, robust and fast. Evaluation on 216 character tables and 102 real documents achieved greater than 99% alteration detection rate and less than 1% false positives at the word/symbol level.

There are several parameters, which influence the characteristics of the final printed colors in digital printing. One of the most important one is the substrate (paper). In the present study, the effect of uncoated papers on the laser printed colors was investigated. For this purpose, three kinds of paper with the same grammage value of 80 and different whiteness and texture were selected. The effect of paper on the printer's reproducibility, light-fastness, color gamut and colorimetric characteristics of the final printed samples were studied for a Canon Laser Printer LBP-5050. It was found out that, the reproducibility of the printer is statistically dependent on the paper's type. The average of color change via exposing light is between 1.3 and 1.8 for different papers. The color difference caused by paper variation illustrates the effect of paper on the final printed colors. The texture properties of the papers were quantified with Edge Frequency technique as an appropriate texture analysis tool. A defined correlation between texture changes and color differences was obtained. Furthermore, the whiteness of the papers clearly affected the final printed colors.

A multilayer Paper Analytical Device (PAD) is provided for detection of at least two chemical components indicative of a low quality pharmaceutical or dietary supplement product. A method for detection of at least two chemical components indicative of a low quality pharmaceutical or dietary supplement product is also provided that employs a multilayer PAD. A kit is provided for detection of at least two chemical components indicative of a low quality pharmaceutical or dietary supplement product that includes a multilayer PAD and instructions for using the kit.

In this work, two optical systems previously designed and implemented by our research team, were used to enable the surface and bulk inspection of the ink-paper interaction by image analysis. Basically, the first system works by ejecting micro-liter ink drops onto the papers surface while monitoring the event under three different views over time. The second system is used for sectioning the paper samples through their thickness and to simultaneously acquire images of the ink penetration of each section cut. In the performed experiments, three black inks of different brands and a common copy paper were chosen, used, and tested with the two developed optical systems. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were carried out at the surface level and in the bulk of the paper. In terms of conclusions, it was shown that the three tested ink-paper combinations revealed very distinct characteristics.

In the recent times, cellulose-based Electro-Active Paper (EAPap) has been investigated to have electro-mechanical coupling and piezoelectric effects which are promising characteristics for a smart material. In this paper, the effects of electrodes of EAPap are investigated for vibration energy harvesting. Although piezopolymers have smaller value of electro-mechanical coupling constants as compared to the piezoceramics, but are very flexible, which motivates to use these materials as potential media for flexible energy harvesting. Cellulose based Electro-active papers are deposited with different metal electrodes like aluminum, gold and silver. The fabricated samples are tested with aluminum cantilever beam under an input excitation. The effects of area of electrodes are also investigated by comparing the output voltage at the different area of electrodes ranging from 400mm2 to 1200mm2. EAPap cantilever are tested at lowest resonant frequency and under varying acceleration amplitude to maximize the output voltage. From the experimental results, it is concluded that the potential of EAPap as a flexible energy harvester are very promising.

Many infectious diseases, as well as some cancers, that affect global health are most accurately diagnosed through nucleic acid amplification and detection. There is a great need to simplify nucleic acid-based assay systems for use in global health in low-resource settings as well as in settings that do not have convenient access to laboratory staff and equipment such as doctors’ offices and home care settings. In developing countries, unreliable electric power, inadequate supply chains, and lack of maintenance for complex diagnostic instruments are all common infrastructure shortfalls. Many elements of instrument-free, disposable, nucleic acid amplification assays have been demonstrated in recent years. However, the problem of instrument-free,1 low-cost, temperature-controlled chemical heating remains unsolved. In this paper we present the current status and results of work towards developing disposable, low-cost, temperature-controlled heaters designed to support isothermal nucleic acid amplification assays that are integrated with a two-dimensional paper network. Our approach utilizes the heat generated through exothermic chemical reactions and controls the heat through use of engineered phase change materials to enable sustained temperatures required for nucleic acid amplification. By selecting appropriate exothermic and phase change materials, temperatures can be controlled over a wide range, suitable for various isothermal amplification methods, and maintained for over an hour at an accuracy of +/- 1°C.

Lateral flow tests (LFTs) are well-suited for rapid point-of-care testing in low resource settings. The wicking action of the paper strip moves the sample and reagents through the device without a need for pumps, but LFTs are typically limited to tests that can be carried out in a single fluidic step. The materials from LFTs can be reconfigured to create paper networks that automatically carry out multi-step fluidic operations, while retaining the same easy-to-use format as a conventional LFT. Here, we describe basic principles of wicking and system-level behavior of paper networks by analogy to electrical circuits. We describe key design principles for a previously-developed 2D paper network (2DPN) and introduce an alternative linear paper network (Pseudo-1DPN) that takes advantage of system-level behavior to perform clean sequential fluid delivery while reducing device running time.

Wet paper code is a complex model which mainly used in the field of image coding. This paper is based on the wet paper code model and human visual system, and constructs a new wet paper code steganographic method. According to the regional complexity and other characteristics of the host image, the secret bits are adaptively embedded into wavelet coefficients of image subbands with wet paper code. Secret information receivers do not need to know the specific method of secret writing, just do a simple matrix multiplication operation and can extract the secret information, which in many ways to improve the security of the steganographic algorithm. The experiments show that the method has good visual invisibility and resistance of active steganalysis attacks.