Forensic check

HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY

HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY appears on 5.4% of modified results in our corpus. A marker is evidence about the file, not a judgement about the person who sent it.

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Marker profile

Image Forensics

A page captured from a physical copy rather than the original file.

Share of modified results

5.4%

Frequency rank

#10

Among the 56 markers seen in modified results

Certain confidence

38.6%

Of results with this marker rated certain rather than high

Fires alone

0.4%

Results where it is the only marker found

Marker profile

What HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY tells you

HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY is one of the named findings returned in modification_markers when a PDF is reported as modified. It belongs to the Image Forensics group of checks. These checks look at embedded images and scan-like pages for editing, re-saving or a capture origin that does not hold up.

On 0.4% of the modified results that carry HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY it is the only marker. A result with this marker carries 2.6 markers on average. It is most often found together with HTPBE_RENDERED_PSEUDO_SCAN, on 40.3% of these results.

Example API response

How it appears in a result

When a PDF is reported as modified, HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY is listed in modification_markers next to the verdict and its confidence. Each marker is a named, actionable finding – not a score.

GET /api/v1/result/{id}

{
  "id": "9f3a2c1d-8b47-4e6f-a012-3d5e7f890123",
  "status": "modified",
  "modification_confidence": "high",
  "modification_markers": [
    "HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY"
  ],
  "creator": "Adobe Acrobat Pro DC",
  "has_incremental_updates": true,
  "page_count": 3
}

Full schema in the API reference →

Distributions

What ships alongside HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY

The tools, formats and document traits that appear on the modified results carrying this marker. Shares are of those results.

Common Producers

3-Heights writes 20.1% of these results – and 85.7% of all modified results naming it carry this marker.

3-Heights85.7% of its modified20.1%

iLovePDF10.1% of its modified12.0%

iOS Print to PDF11.0% of its modified5.8%

Adobe Acrobat17.6% of its modified4.2%

macOS Print to PDF4.1% of its modified4.2%

PDFium7.1% of its modified2.8%

Adobe Photoshop41.7% of its modified2.6%

jsPDF48.4% of its modified2.6%

Common Creators

Scanner HP is the Creator on 19.9% of these results.

Scanner HP91.1% of its modified19.9%

Adobe Acrobat16.8% of its modified3.9%

PDFium6.5% of its modified2.8%

Scanner Ricoh31.3% of its modified2.6%

Photos100.0% of its modified1.9%

Adobe Scan83.3% of its modified1.8%

Scanner Canon50.0% of its modified1.6%

Preview5.2% of its modified1.4%

Often found together with

HTPBE_RENDERED_PSEUDO_SCAN sits next to HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY more often than any other marker.

HTPBE_RENDERED_PSEUDO_SCAN40.3%

HTPBE_DATES_DISAGREE38.2%

HTPBE_IDENTITY_BLANKED14.3%

HTPBE_ONLINE_EDITOR_ORIGIN13.4%

HTPBE_FAKE_SCANNER_ORIGIN11.8%

HTPBE_MULTIPLE_REVISION_LAYERS8.8%

HTPBE_TOOL_VS_STRUCTURE_MISMATCH7.7%

HTPBE_IMPOSSIBLE_TIMESTAMP4.6%

Document origin

Scanned61.1%

Consumer software15.7%

Online editor14.1%

Unverifiable7.2%

Institutional1.1%

Analysis incomplete0.9%

Creator → Producer pairs

Scanner HP → 3-Heights19.9%

Adobe Acrobat → Adobe Acrobat3.0%

PDFium → PDFium2.8%

Scanner Ricoh → Scanner Ricoh2.5%

Adobe Scan → Adobe Scan1.8%

Photos → iOS Print to PDF1.8%

Scanner Canon → Scanner Canon1.6%

Scanner KONICA MINOLTA → Scanner KONICA MINOLTA1.2%

Detected origin software

HP MFP19.9%

iLovePDF12.0%

macOS / iOS (Quartz)9.3%

Adobe Photoshop2.6%

RICOH MFP1.9%

Microsoft Print to PDF1.8%

Pdftools SDK1.2%

Xerox MFP1.2%

Confidence of the verdict

Certain38.6%

High61.4%

When these results were checked

April 202621.5%

May 20269.9%

June 20268.8%

July 202612.7%

August 202614.8%

September 202613.4%

October 202614.3%

November 20264.8%

Document length

1 page40.8%

2–5 pages27.5%

6–20 pages29.8%

21–100 pages1.9%

File size

Under 100 KB10.0%

100 KB – 1 MB68.3%

1 – 5 MB17.8%

Over 5 MB3.9%

PDF versions

PDF 1.435.2%

PDF 1.730.6%

PDF 1.319.0%

PDF 1.612.0%

PDF 1.52.1%

PDF 1.10.7%

Year the document says it was created

20211.9%

20220.9%

20230.5%

20241.1%

202521.1%

202646.5%

Long tail

Notable observations

Smaller cuts of the results carrying HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY – useful context, but treat each row as a single data point rather than a strong signal.

Digitally signed

0.4%

Of files carry at least one digital signature

Saved revisions

8.8%

Of files contain earlier saved revisions

Embedded JavaScript

0.9%

Of files contain JavaScript code

Embedded files

2.6%

Of files have attachments inside

Avg pages per document

4.4

Markers per result

2.6

Average number of markers on these results

Related checks

Other Image Forensics checks

Checks from the same group. Each card links to its own reference page.

HTPBE_IMAGE_EDITED_AND_RESAVEDEmbedded image showing signs of having been edited and re-saved

Share of modified0.3%

HTPBE_COLLAPSED_TO_RASTERDocument content converted to images after creation

Share of modified0.4%

HTPBE_FAKE_SCANNER_ORIGINA scan origin that does not hold up

Share of modified0.8%

Seen together11.8%

HTPBE_RENDERED_PSEUDO_SCANScan-like pages with signs of software rendering

Share of modified2.3%

Seen together40.3%

FAQ

HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY: common questions

What does HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY mean?

HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY is a named finding in an HTPBE? result: a page captured from a physical copy rather than the original file. It is returned in the modification_markers list of a modified result and belongs to the Image Forensics group of checks.

Does HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY mean the document is fake?

No. A marker is evidence about the file, not a judgement about the person who sent it. It records that the file shows this pattern; it does not say why, and it does not assess what the document states. Read it together with the verdict and any other markers on the same result.

What should I do when a result contains HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY?

Ask the sender for the original file straight from the issuing system, or request a fresh copy from the issuer. Check whether the document went through a later step such as re-saving, merging or converting, and verify it with the issuer before relying on it for a decision.

How common is HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY?

HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY appears on 5.4% of the modified results in the HTPBE? corpus. The corpus consists of PDFs people chose to submit for checking, so it skews towards documents someone had a reason to doubt and is not a sample of all PDFs.

Where do I see HTPBE_PHYSICAL_SCAN_GEOMETRY?

In the modification_markers list of the result returned by the HTPBE? API, and on the result page of a modified document. Other checks in the Image Forensics group are listed below on this page; all 63 checks are listed on the how-it-works page.

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