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Article
A Mask-Based Enhancement Method for Historical Documents
Proceedings of SPIE-IS&T Electronic Imaging
  • Elisa H. Barney Smith, Boise State University
  • Jerôme Darbon, CMLA, ENS Cachan, CNRS, PRES UniverSud
  • Laurence Likforman-Sulem, Telecom ParisTech
Document Type
Conference Proceeding
Publication Date
1-26-2011
DOI
http://dx.doi.org/10.1117/12.876668
Abstract

This paper proposes a novel method for document enhancement. The method is based on the combination of two state-of-the-art filters through the construction of a mask. The mask is applied to a TV (Total Variation) -regularized image where background noise has been reduced. The masked image is then filtered by NLmeans (Non-Local Means) which reduces the noise in the text areas located by the mask. The document images to be enhanced are real historical documents from several periods which include several defects in their background. These defects result from scanning, paper aging and bleed-through. We observe the improvement of this enhancement method through OCR accuracy.

Copyright Statement

Copyright 2011 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers. One print or electronic copy may be made for personal use only. Systematic reproduction and distribution, duplication of any material in this paper for a fee or for commercial purposes, or modification of the content of the paper are prohibited. DOI: 10.1117/12.876668

Citation Information
Elisa H. Barney Smith, Jerôme Darbon and Laurence Likforman-Sulem. "A Mask-Based Enhancement Method for Historical Documents" Proceedings of SPIE-IS&T Electronic Imaging (2011)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/elisa_barney_smith/37/