... digital images, Document Image Retrieval, as part of information retrieval paradigm, has been attracting a continuous attention among the Information Retrieval (IR) communities Various retrieval techniques ... increasing in an accelerating rate in many diverse application areas In an attempt to move towards a more paperless office, large quantities of printed documents are digitized and stored as images ... characterization, manipulation and retrieval of Chapter Introduction document images containing text, synthetic graphics and natural images In view of the fact that word, rather than character,...