Patch Code is a

barcode A barcode or bar code is a method of representing data in a visual, Machine-readable data, machine-readable form. Initially, barcodes represented data by varying the widths, spacings and sizes of parallel lines. These barcodes, now commonly refe ...

developed by

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for use in automated scanning.

Symbology

A Patch Code consists of two wide bars ( ± ) and two narrow bars (). The bars are separated by three narrow spaces, so the Patch Code symbols are a fixed length. There are six distinct

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of the wide and narrow bars, so there are six Patch Codes. The patches are called: *Patch 2, WNNW, assigns image level 2 to the current document *Patch 3, WNWN, assigns image level 3 to the current document *Patch T, NWNW, assigns predefined image level to the next document (transfer patch) *Patch 1, WWNN, used for post scan image control *Patch 4, NWWN, used for post scan image control (toggle patch) *Patch 6, NNWW, used for post scan image control The Patch Code needs to be in a specific position on the page, but that position may vary with the image scanner used. The Patch Code is usually close to feed edge of the scanner. That way, the Patch Code can be detected early during the paper transport. Patch Codes are often printed along all four edges of a page. That covers the requirements for many scanners, and it allows the pages to work even if the page is upside down (rotated 180 degrees). Sometimes, the Patch Code is the only information on a page. That is, the page is only used for controlling a scan. In that situation, the scanner may just take the required action and not transfer the Patch Code image to the computer.

Application

The Patch Codes aid in batch scanning of documents to tell

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software Software is a set of computer programs and associated software documentation, documentation and data (computing), data. This is in contrast to Computer hardware, hardware, from which the system is built and which actually performs the work. ...

content management Content management (CM) is a set of processes and technologies that supports the collection, managing, and publishing of information in any form or medium. When stored and accessed via computers, this information may be more specifically referre ...

software how to classify or organize documents. Several documents may need to be scanned, and each document should end up in a separate file. Instead of running three separate jobs (loading the scanner with each document separately), the documents are loaded into the scanner with a Patch 2 separating each document. When the scanner encounters a Patch 2, then the scanner starts copying the scans to the next file. The

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tax return Form 540 had a Patch 2 on its first page. Several tax returns could be loaded into the scanner, and each return would be scanned into a separate file. Some scanning jobs may have different imaging requirements. Most of a document may have black and white pages, but there may be some color pages once in a while. Patch 4 (toggle patch) can be used to switch in and out of color scanning. Before scanning, the document is prepared by inserting pages that only have a Patch 4 on them before and after the color sections. The scan starts out in black and white. When the first toggle patch is encountered, the following pages are scanned in color. When the second toggle is encountered, the following pages are scanned in black and white. The toggle patch may also be used to switch between scanning resolutions, bit depth (

grayscale In digital photography, computer-generated imagery, and colorimetry, a grayscale image is one in which the value of each pixel is a single sample representing only an ''amount'' of light; that is, it carries only intensity information. Graysc ...

), and one-sided or two-sided scanning. The actions taken for Patch 2, Patch 3, and Patch T can be configured in a document scanning application.

's Capture Software assigns these default actions: * Patch 3 creates a new job and throws away the image with the patch * Patch 2 starts a new document and keeps the image * Patch T starts an attachment and throws away the image.

Interface

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has a facility for Patch Codes.

References

External links

* http://www.alliancegroup.co.uk/patch-codes.htm has an overview, but some details are wrong {{Barcodes Barcodes