The Bernstein Paper Studies Kit

The Bernstein Paper and Watermark Study Kit is a collection of ready-to-use tools that gives people the mean to set up their own online and/or offline digital services for paper studies, such as a database of papers and paper reproductions analysis software. The dissemination kit is a downloadable pack that contains the following:

1. the Watermark Toolkit for paper and watermarks database setup
2. image analysis and processing tools for paper and watermarks study
3. documentation relative to the kit software and paper studies

Watermark Toolkit

The Watermark Toolkit (WMT) is a database software specifically developed for cataloguing watermarks and information about the paper. The database can be connected to the online pool of integrated paper and watermarks databases of the Bernstein project or used autonomously. The following gives a brief description of WMT.

Database software

The developed software is implemented on a PC-based platform and runs under Windows XP or higher. It provides direct access to a standard Bernstein watermark database running on a MySQL^? server (version 5.0.67 or higher). The graphical user interface of the Watermark Toolkit package is implemented as the multiple document interface (see screen shots). The Bernstein textual and numerical watermark description standards are used in the developed software. The supported watermark image file formats are png, tiff, jpg, bmp. The main features are:

• Watermark (WM) classification and identification
• Database population
• Watermark comparison
• WM metric parameters measurement
• WM data search
• WM images capturing, storing, and digital processing
• WM images and report printing service.

Connecting WMT to Bernstein

/…/

Watermark classification

• Used classification model:
• Hierarchical, motif based model
• The current classification standard contains
  • 31 main motifs
  • 544 sub-motifs
• Classification model management is carried out by means of the graphical tools

Data starting kit

The data starting kit provides an initial set of paper and watermark descriptions that can be used as a model on how to interact with WMT and catalog papers and watermarks. It contains the templates of the Bernstein database tables sufficient to set up full functional watermark database and watermark studies services. The structure of these tables is based on the Bernstein standards.

Image processing and analysis

• Contrast enhancement of WM images, laid lines and chain lines
• Image resolution measurement and image scaling
• Geometrical transformations of WM images
• Noise of WM images suppression
• WM images normalization
• Watermark contour extraction.

Multi-linguality

The developed software is designed in the manner that provides scalable multilingual support. The developed final version will support seven languages (Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Russian and Spanish), additional languages being possible to insert as additional language resources.

Screenshots

The main window of WMT

Browsing through the watermark hierarchy

Checking information about the watermark

Image analysis and processing tools

The kit is expected to contain tools for:

• measurement of the chain and laid lines
• sieve extraction from backlight reproductions of papers
• enhancement of the visibility of the sieve structure

See extended list of Bernstein image processing tools here.

-- VictorKarnaukhov, VladAtanasiu - 10 Sep 2008